Download or read book The German 88 written by Terry Gander and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-10-19 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The German 88 mm guns became the most famous and feared artillery pieces of the Second World War. They appeared in a whole series of forms ranging from anti-aircraft to anti-tank and tank-guns, including several self-propelled platforms. Although primarily anti-aircraft guns they gained an awesome reputation as anti-tank weapons, a reputation that remains to this day. Terry Gander, in this in-depth, highly illustrated study, tells the story of the 88 from its first manifestations during the Great War to its clandestine development in Sweden, its production in Germany, its first 'multi-role' initiation during the Spanish Civil War and its part in the campaigns of 1939-40. As well as a detailed technical description of the gun and its development, his book features vivid accounts of the 88 in action in many of the main theaters of the Second World War, in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany, and on the Eastern Front.
Download or read book German 88 MM Anti Aircraft Gun written by Dept W War Dept Washington 29 June 1943 and published by . This book was released on 2006-06-01 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The German 88 Gun in Combat written by Janusz Piekalkiewicz and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 1992 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book by renowned World War II historian Janusz Piekalkiewicz presents the history of the famous German "88" in its ground combat role - a role it mastered. First used by the Legion Condor in Spain, the 88 was soon recongnized as a superb anti-aircraft weapon. When Rommel turned the 88's on British tanks in North Africa its anti-tank capabilities became legendary. Over 200 action and close-up photographs show the 88 gun throughout its us in the Second World War on all fronts. Janusz Piekalkiewicz (1925-1988) was a world-renowned author on many aspects of World War II history. Over 30 of his books are in print including BMW Motorcycles in World WarII, from Schiffer Military History.
Download or read book Flak written by Edward B. Westermann and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2001-11-12 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Air raid sirens wail, searchlight beams flash across the sky, and the night is aflame with tracer fire and aerial explosions, as Allied bombers and German anti-aircraft units duel in the thundering darkness. Such "cinematic" scenes, played out with increasing frequency as World War II ground to a close, were more than mere stock material for movie melodramas. As Edward Westermann reveals, they point to a key but largely unappreciated aspect of the German war effort that has yet to get its full due. Long the neglected stepchild in studies of World War II air campaigns, German flak or anti-aircraft units have been frequently dismissed by American, British, and German historians (and by veterans of the European air war) as ineffective weapons that wasted valuable material and personnel resources desperately needed elsewhere by the Third Reich. Westermann emphatically disagrees with that view and makes a convincing case for the significant contributions made by the entire range of German anti-aircraft defenses. During the Allied air campaigns against the Third Reich, well over a million tons of bombs were dropped upon the German homeland, killing nearly 300,000 civilians, wounding another 780,000, and destroying more than 3,500,000 industrial and residential structures. Not surprisingly, that aerial Armageddon has inspired countless studies of both the victorious Allied bombing offensive and the ultimately doomed Luftwaffe defense of its own skies. By contrast, flak units have virtually been ignored, despite the fact that they employed more than a million men and women, were responsible for more than half of all Allied aircraft losses, forced Allied bombers to fly far above high-accuracy altitudes, and thus allowed Germany to hold out far longer than it might have otherwise. Westermann's definitive study sheds new light on every facet of the development and organization of this vital defense arm, including its artillery, radar, searchlight, barrage balloon, decoy sites, and command components. Highlighting the convergence of technology, strategy, doctrine, politics, and economics, Flak also provides revealing insights into German strategic thought, Hitler's obsession with micromanaging the war, and the lives of the members of the flak units themselves, including the large number of women, factory workers, and even POWs who participated.
Download or read book German 88 Mm Antiaircraft Gun Materiel written by Ray Merriam and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-08-15 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Merriam Press Military Reprint 12. First Edition (August 2012). This is the War Department manual for the German 88mm Anti-aircraft/Anti-tank gun that was famed and feared throughout the war. Extensive coverage in text and photos and illustrations of the weapon and its equipment, based on captured examples as well as documents and printed materials. Contents: Introduction; Gun and Mount; Ammunition; Sighting and Fire Control Equipment; Firing Tables; References; Index; 122 photos and illustrations.
Download or read book TM E9 369a German 88 MM Antiaircraft Gun Material Technical Manual written by War Department and published by . This book was released on 2013-06 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 88-mm gun was a German anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun from World War II. It was used substantially by Germany throughout the war, and was one of the most recognized German weapons of the war. Development of the 88-mm led to a wide variety of weapons. The 88-mm name applies to a series of guns, the first one officially called the Flak 18, then the improved Flak 36, and later the Flak 37. Flak is a contraction of the German word Flugzeugabwehrkanone, meaning "aircraft-defense cannon," the original purpose of the eighty-eight. In English, "flak" became a generic term for ground anti-aircraft fire. In informal German use, the guns were universally known as the Acht-acht, meaning eighty-eight. During the North African campaign, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, also known as The Desert Fox, made the most effective use of the weapon, as he lured tanks of the British 8th Army into traps by baiting them with apparently retreating tanks. When the enemy tanks pursued, hidden 88-mm guns picked them off at ranges far beyond those of the tank's guns. A mere two flak battalions destroyed 264 tanks throughout 1941. Created in 1943, this technical manual reveals a great deal about the 88-mm's design and capabilities. Intended as a manual for those responsible for operation and maintenance, it details many aspects of the 88-mm's assembly, recoil and accessories. Originally labeled restricted, this manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. Care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text.
Download or read book German 88mm Gun vs Allied Armour written by David Campbell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-02-18 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few weapons developed a more deadly reputation than the German '88' in the role of anti-tank gun, its long reach and lethal hitting power making it a significant problem for every type of British and later American armour. Despite its individual potency, it was almost always utilized as part of a comprehensive system of defences that relied on a mix of weapons carefully deployed in anticipation of the enemy's likely avenue and method of attack. Used in this way, the 88 became a particularly deadly part of the Afrika Korps' attempts to shatter British armoured power in the Western Desert. Initially extremely successful over the course of 1941 and 1942 in Operations Battleaxe and Crusader, the Allies' tactics and vehicles (such as the American-made M3 and the Crusader III) eventually evolved to deal with the 88's awesome power. This detailed new book tells the story of that evolution and provides an in-depth treatment of this key weapon of World War II.
Download or read book A History of Warfare written by John Keegan and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 776 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed author and preeminent military historian John Keegan examines centuries of human conflict. From primitive man in the bronze age to the end of the cold war in the twentieth century, Keegan shows how armed conflict has been a primary preoccupation throughout the history of civilization and how deeply rooted its practice has become in our cultures. "Keegan is at once the most readable and the most original of living military historians . . . A History of Warfare is perhaps the most remarkable study of warfare that has yet been written."--The New York Times Book Review.
Download or read book P 47 Thunderbolt vs German Flak Defenses written by Jonathan Bernstein and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-10-28 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the end of World War 2, the tactical air war over Europe has been largely overlooked by historians and authors alike in favour of analysis of the higher profile strategic bombing campaign. Involving just as many aircraft as the daylight heavy bombing campaign, the fighter-bombers (principally of the Ninth Air Force) wreaked considerably more havoc on German ground forces. Indeed, Thunderbolt units undertaking such missions effectively complemented the strategic campaign, ensuring the defeat of Nazi Germany. P-47 pilots paid a high price to achieve this victory, however, as the German flak arm was well equipped (nearly a quarter of all war-related production was devoted to anti-aircraft weaponry) with weapons of various calibres to counter tactical air power's low to medium altitude threat. The USAAF four numbered air forces that saw action over the European continent suffered significant fighter-bomber losses to flak. The principle fighter-bomber from the summer of 1944 through to VE Day was the P-47D, with both dedicated ground attack units and squadrons that had completed their bomber escort tasking seeking out targets of opportunity across occupied Western Europe. While heavy-calibre anti-aircraft fire was intended to both shoot down enemy aircraft and force bombers to drop their ordnance sooner or from higher altitudes, thus reducing bombing accuracy, low-altitude flak batteries put up a virtual 'wall of steel' for enemy fighter-bombers to fly through. Damaging a low-flying fighter-bomber made it easier for other flak gunners to track, engage and destroy it. Innovations like lead-computing gunsights gave gunners a higher probability of intercepting low-altitude fighters. Conversely, the appearance of air-to-ground rockets beneath the wings of P-47s gave pilots better standoff range and a harder-hitting punch when dealing with low and medium altitude flak units. This volume analyses the tactics and techniques used by both P-47 fighter-bomber pilots and German flak gunners, featuring full-colour illustrations to examine the Allied tactical air power in Europe from 1943 and how German defences were overpowered by the air threat.
Download or read book German 88 Mm Anti Aircraft Gun Material written by United States War Department and published by . This book was released on 2013-10 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a new release of the original 1943 edition.
Download or read book Flak in World War II written by Donald Nijboer and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-09-01 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than half of the U.S.’s aircraft losses in Europe in World War II were due to German antiaircraft artillery, and many of the American aircraft shot down by Luftwaffe fighters had first been driven out of formation by flak and made easy prey for the fighters. A world away in the Pacific, American flak guns aboard naval ships formed the last line of defense against Japanese kamikazes. Historian Donald Nijboer relies on firsthand accounts, newly discovered files, photos, diagrams, and maps to reveal the forgotten contribution of flak in World War II, from doctrine and tactics to combat stories on the ground and in the air about what it was like to fly into the teeth of antiaircraft fire.
Download or read book The Combat History of German Heavy Anti Tank Unit 653 in World War II written by Karlheinz Munch and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hundreds of photos, many never published before, of Germany's rarely seen tank destroyers, including the Ferdinand, Elephant, and JagdtigerColor illustrations focus on unit markings, numbering, and camouflageAccompanying text chronicles the unit's combat operations plus there are personal accounts from the men who rode in these mechanical monstersGerman Heavy Anti-Tank Unit 653 was equipped with the heaviest tank destroying vehicles of the German armed forces. Initially activated as an assault gun battalion and redesignated in April 1943, the 653 received its first Ferdinand heavy tank destroyers (later modified and renamed Elephants) in May 1943 and went into action on the Eastern Front a month later. In 1944, the unit converted to the even more massive Jagdtiger. The seventy-five-ton, heavily armored Jagdtiger was the behemoth of the battlefield and boasted a 128mm gun-as opposed to the Ferdinand's 88-with a range of more than thirteen miles, making it deadly despite its limited mobility. Outfitted with these lethal giants, the 653 saw service in Russia, Italy, Austria, and Germany.
Download or read book German 88mm Gun vs Allied Armour written by David Campbell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-02-18 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few weapons developed a more deadly reputation than the German '88' in the role of anti-tank gun, its long reach and lethal hitting power making it a significant problem for every type of British and later American armour. Despite its individual potency, it was almost always utilized as part of a comprehensive system of defences that relied on a mix of weapons carefully deployed in anticipation of the enemy's likely avenue and method of attack. Used in this way, the 88 became a particularly deadly part of the Afrika Korps' attempts to shatter British armoured power in the Western Desert. Initially extremely successful over the course of 1941 and 1942 in Operations Battleaxe and Crusader, the Allies' tactics and vehicles (such as the American-made M3 and the Crusader III) eventually evolved to deal with the 88's awesome power. This detailed new book tells the story of that evolution and provides an in-depth treatment of this key weapon of World War II.
Download or read book The 88mm Flak written by Werner Muller and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 1997-01-07 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the 88 mm flak and its use by German forces during WWII.
Download or read book Stumbling Colossus written by David M. Glantz and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on evidence never before seen in the West, including combat records of early engagements, David Glantz claims that in 1941 the Red Army was poorly trained, inadequately equipped, ineptly organized, and consequently incapable of engaging in large-scale military campaigns - and both Hitler and Stalin knew it. He provides a complete and convincing study of why the Soviets almost lost the war that summer, dispelling many of the myths about the Red Army that have persisted since the war and soundly refuting Viktor Suvorov's controversial thesis that Stalin was planning a preemptive strike against Germany.
Download or read book Toward Combined Arms Warfare written by Jonathan Mallory House and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1985 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The War Against Germany and Italy written by Kenneth E. Hunter and published by . This book was released on 1951 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
