Monday 5 December 2016

88 mm AA Gun in AT Role Instruction

"Actions of the 88 mm cannon in combat with tanks
  1. The saturation of a tank division with anti-tank weapons grants protection for tanks that move forward. As experience shows, the enemy uses T-34 in increasing amounts. As the 88 mm gun is suitable for combat against this type of tank, the combat group artillery commander can attach one or two 88 mm guns with a 20 mm gun each.
    If two 88 mm guns fire at ground targets, they must be subordinate to a heavy AA gun battery, as two guns cannot fire at air targets, even with a targeting device,
    Attaching an entire AA gun battery to fight tanks proved ineffective. Guns dedicated to anti-tank defense weaken anti-air defense.
  2. Do not take up positions on flat terrain. Positions should have good visibility. Open fire from a range of 500-600 meters, as firing too early alerts the enemy too soon, which leads him to either change the location of the offensive or fire from all tanks (from up to 2000 meters with the T-34), the effectiveness of which is well known.
  3. In addition, ammunition is conserved when firing at close range. You can destroy a T-34 tank with two or three shots at 500-600 meters. It's important to start aiming at a larger distance to achieve a hit.
    The ammunition load for firing at ground targets includes 2-3 anti-tank shells and 1-3 shells with contact fuses or distance fuses, the latter of which are used to fire at other suddenly appearing targets, especially in the case of an enemy breakthrough.
    A prerequisite for successful defense is the rapid movement of the AA squadron to its position without wasting any time. The best position has no value if it can only be occupied after the enemy already moved past it. It is important for squadrons to have passing rights. A simple way to inform all members of the division is with an order like this: "Combat vehicles of the 4th Squadron of the 128th Tank Regiment (tactical mark: playing card ace) has passing rights."

1 comment:

  1. considering the date of the document (1942) that´s with old Flak AP ammunition (88mm Pzgr Gg of 9.5kg with 160g HE).

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