8.8cm Heavy AA Platoon
(GBX98)
includes two plastic FlaK 36 8.8cm AA guns, two plastic Gun Crew sprues, two large six-hole bases, one base plug sprue and one Unit card.
The German Army appreciated the heavy 8.8cm FlaK36 anti-aircraft gun as an anti-tank gun. It's ability to knock out any tank at long range was far more interesting to front-line soldiers than its ability to protect their supply lines from Allied bombing raids. As a result, German divisions were often accompanied by Luftwaffe (Air Force) heavy anti-aircraft batteries operating as anti-tank guns. These units were so effective that Allied tank crews soon started referring to any effective anti-tank gun as an '88'.
The 8.8cm Heavy AA Gun
The 8.8 cm Flak 36 (commonly called the eighty-eight) was a German 88 mm 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 that conflict.
The '88' performed well in its original role of an anti-aircraft gun and it proved to be a superb anti-tank gun as well. Its success was due to its versatility: the standard anti-aircraft platform allowed gunners to depress the muzzle below the horizontal, unlike most of its contemporaries. As WW2 progressed, it was becoming increasingly clear that existing anti-tank weapons were unable to pierce the armor of heavier enemy tanks and ground commanders began increasingly to use the 8.8 cm Flak against tanks.
During the North African campaign, Rommel made the most effective use of the weapon, as he lured tanks of the British Eighth Army into traps by baiting them with apparently retreating German panzers. A mere two flak battalions destroyed 264 British tanks in 1941. Repeated high tank loss from well-placed 8.8 cm Flak guns in the battles of Halfaya Pass earned it the nickname "Hellfire Pass".
By the end of World War 2 Allied soldiers were known to refer to every enemy anti-tank gun as an '88' and every tank a 'Tiger', such was the legend that these pieces of equipment built up.
Content
Plastic FlaK 36 8.8cm AA Gun Sprue (x2)
Plastic Gun Crew (x2)
Large Six-hole Base (x2)
Base Plug Sprue (x1)
Unit Card
8.8cm Heavy AA Platoon (x1)
15mm, plastic
Battlefront Miniatures
Product safety information
Manufacturer information:
Battlefront Miniatures Europe Ltd
Tissington Close Unit 4C
Nottingham, Vereinigtes Königreich, NG9 6QG
customerservicerow@battlefront.co.nz
https://www.flamesofwar.com/
Responsible person:
Frontline Games
Faerbereiweg 3A
Schleswig-Holstein
Huetten, Deutschland, 24358
info@frontlinegames.de
https://www.frontlinegames.de/
