KING & COUNTRY WS103 - 88mm Flak 18 PRIME MOVER BODY MINT IN BOX - Retired 2008

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KING AND COUNTRY - WS103 - 88mm Flak 18 - PRIME MOVER BODY - MINT IN BOX - Never Opened or displayed. FREE Insured UPS delivery in the Continental US. Will ship worldwide. This 12-ton monster mounted the 88 on an armoured half track prime mover body. Our model, one of K&C's biggest, comes with a crew of 5 Wehrmacht artillerymen and is 3-tone camouflaged in the style of typical mid to late war European Theatre of Operations and perfect for a Normandy style scenario.The 88 mm gun ( eighty-eight ) was a German anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun from World War II . It was widely used by Germany throughout the war, and was one of the most recognized German weapons of the war. Development of the original models led to a wide variety of guns.The name applies to a series of guns, the first one officially called the 8.8 cm Flak 18 , the improved 8.8 cm Flak 36 , and later the 8.8 cm Flak 37 .[ N 1 ] Flak is a contraction of German Fl ugzeug abwehr kanone [3 ][ N 2 ] meaning "aircraft-defensive cannon", the original purpose of the eighty-eight. In informal German use, the guns were universally known as the Acht-acht [N 3 ] ("eight-eight"), a contraction of Acht-komma-acht Zentimeter ("8.8 cm"). In English, " flak " became a generic term for ground anti-aircraft fire.The versatile carriage allowed the eighty-eight to be fired in a limited anti-tank mode when still on wheels, [2 ] and to be completely emplaced in only two-and-a-half minutes. [2 ] Its successful use as an improvised anti-tank gun led to the development of a tank gun based upon it. These related guns served as the main armament of tanks such as the Tiger I : the 8.8 cm KwK 36 , with the "KwK" abbreviation standing for KampfwagenKanone ("Battletank Cannon").In addition to these Krupp's designs, Rheinmetall created later a more powerful anti-aircraft gun, the 8.8 cm Flak 41 , produced in relatively small numbers. Krupp responded with another prototype of the long-barreled 88 mm gun, which was further developed into the anti-tank and tank destroyer 8.8 cm Pak 43 gun, and turret-mounted 8.8 cm KwK 43 heavy tank gun. Contents [ hide ] 1 Background 2 Flak 18, 36 and 37 3 Flak 41 4 Production numbers 5 Combat history 5.1 Anti-aircraft defense of the Reich 5.2 Support of German ground troops 5.3 Coastal defence 5.4 Use by other armed forces 6 Comparison to other anti-aircraft guns 7 Pak 43 and KwK 43 8 The 88 "family" 8.1 Guns using the early 88×571R mm cartridge 8.2 Guns using the 88×855R mm cartridge 8.3 Guns using the 88×822R mm cartridge 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links and further reading [edit ] Background Initially, anti-aircraft artillery guns of World War I were adaptations of existing medium- calibre weapons, mounted to allow fire at higher angles. By 1915 the German command realized that these are useless for anything beyond deterrence, even against the vulnerable balloons and slow-moving aircraft. [4 ] With the increase of aircraft performance, many armies developed dedicated AA guns with high muzzle velocity – allowing the projectiles to reach greater altitudes – and high rate of fire. The first such German gun was introduced in 1917, and it used caliber 88 mm, common in the German navy. [4 ]After losing the war, Germany had been forbidden to procure new weapons of most types. Nevertheless, the Krupp company started the development of a new gun in partnership with Bofors of Sweden . The original design was a 75 mm model. [4 ] During the prototype phase, the army asked for a gun with considerably greater capability. The designers started over, using 88 mm caliber. [edit ] Flak 18, 36 and 37 Flak 18, North Africa 1942. This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2008) Prototype 88s were first produced in 1928. These early models, the Flak 18 , used a single-piece barrel with a length of 56 calibres, leading to t... read more

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