This 88 can be found outside of the Palm Springs Aviation museum in California. It was imported from England and was thought to have been used in the coastal defense of France. A pretty cool artillery piece to see up close.
This 88 can be found outside of the Palm Springs Aviation museum in California. It was imported from England and was thought to have been used in the coastal defense of France. A pretty cool artillery piece to see up close.
Looks great..Thanks for the pictures always nice to see such items photographed...thanks for sharing. Cheers Terry
One of the most devastating weapons looking all peaceful!
Great pic !
Nick
"In all my years as a soldier, I have never seen men fight so hard." - SS Obergruppenfuhrer Wilhelm Bittrich - Arnhem
Yup, always paid to be on the blunt end of that thing rather than the pointy end!
I'd be curious to see the effects of this beast on a modern tank.
The 88 was lethal on period tanks!
(only posted the pic for effect. I dont really know what hit this one, but seldom have I seen a tank so ripped apart).
Short answer is not a lot.
The Germans in North Africa provided armour piercing ammunition (Panzergranate) for the 88mm flak guns. Penetration of the 88mm, expressed in millimetres of armour plate that could be penetrated at 30 degrees from vertical, was reported by the Germans as:
Range Penetration
100 m = 98 mm
500 m = 93 mm
1000 m = 87 mm
1500 m = 80 mm
2000 m = 72 mm
If an 88 were to fire the best AP rounds available at the time at a modern piece of 200 mm homogenous rolled armour plate at 0 degrees and point blank range it would not penetrate it. The only chance it would have of disabling a modern battle tank like the Abrams or Challenger would be if it could get a lucky shot at close range, in the rear, on the top surface, or on the track. The crew compartment, ammo storage and turret it would not penetrate. The MBT would then locate the 88 by sight, heat sig, NV etc. and destroy it. TBH, the difference between tanks in ww2 and today compare favourably with aircraft of both periods in comparison. Imagine a P-51 up against an F-15 and you get the idea.
Regards, Ned.
'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
My thinking also hence the caveat.
Maybe it could look like that if it brewed up/ignited what was inside it after being hit also ... ?
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