|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
TRUMP CARD OF THE GERMAN DESERT ARMY- THE 88mm FLAK GUN 18 |
|
|
 |
 |
The Germans' discovery of the potency of their heavy
flak (anti-aircraft) guns in an anti-tank role was one of their most startling contributions to the armoured warfare of the Second World War.
The '88' was a weapon both feared and respected by the Allied forces in the Western Desert; no tank could stand up to it; and the '88' came to be regarded as the ultimate German wonder weapon of the desert war, with almost mythical powers. It is seen here in it's mobile version (above top), in its normal anti-aircraft position (left) and as it was laid for anti-tank use (above lower). Rommel eked out his over-stretched resources in eastern Cyrenaica by digging-in '88s' to hold his front-line positions at Sollum and Halfaya; and these guns reaped a rich harvest when Churchill's precious 'Tiger Cubs' were rushed from the training-grounds of Britain to the desert battlefield. |
|
