8.8 cm Flak

[@MM22966]

For those who don't know: The white rings around the barrels you see in Johnny's combat footage are kill-ring markers. Every ring signifies a plane or tank killed by that gun-crew.

[@coryhall7074]

It depended on the color too sometimes, with some crews using colored paint as tens and usually white paint as ones, but that wasn’t standard and doesn’t comme across in the black and white footage of the time.

[@MrGabol100]

In the memoirs of Wigand Wüster, Officer of an Artillery Crew with the 71st Division who spearheaded the attack on Stalingrad he speaks in detail about his ARTILLERY (NOT ANTI-TANK) crews putting on kill-rings over knocked out tanks after a battle during the summer of 1941. They knocked them out with direct fire from 15cm Howitzers as they came down a slope in plain sight. His battery was later made to take the kill-rings off because of an ongoing feud with the commander.

[@puppetguy8726]

The aircraft are shot down at such heights it's usually impossible to tell which gun in the battery fired which shell, so those markings aren't for aircraft at least.

[@andrewpease3688]

@@puppetguy8726you think?Every gun in the area is going to claim

[@oddballsok]

No shit… and I thought those were lgbtq rainbow color rings to demonstrate how diverse the crew was..

[@patriotenfield3276]

This Gun is the perfect example of "Jack of all Trades & Master of All as well "

[@tuukka518]

As a backup gun for the coast artillery it managed 12 rounds per minute at a surface target 15 km away

[@PeterT-i1w]

no, not really. people usually don't know -and Johnny didn't explain either - that "the 88" was not a single gun type, but a series of vastly different guns that didn't even use the same ammo, despite all having the same 88mm caliber. there were many different AA and tank variant that had no interchangeable parts at all.

[@spinosaurusiii7027]

@@PeterT-i1w But that's the thing though, the original FlaK 36 was used against all targets. That's why the latter variants of the KwK 36 and Pak 43/KwK 43 even existed. Though, I do find it curious that the 88 gets all the attention when the allies basically did the same thing with the 85mm 52-K / D-5 / ZiS-S-53 / D-44 for the Soviets and the 90mm M1/M2/M3 for the Amricans.

[@opshunter1228]

Ah yes, the 88mm gun the anti everything gun.

[@scockery]

Mussolini even wanted to copy it for antipasto.

[@gabespiro8902]

@@scockery that’s a spicy meatball 👌

[@stahl1624]

​​@@scockeryItaly already had a 90mm gun that was more powerful than the 88. It was one of the most successful anti-aircraft guns to see service. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannone_da_90/53

[@meta_cross1099]

@@stahl1624 thank you for this information. this is actually really interesting.

[@stahl1624]

@@meta_cross1099 No worries g I found out about this from playing R.U.S.E.

[@LS-nq3yw]

Without a doubt, one of the most feared weapons of World War II.

[@scockery]

The second most feared weapon of the war? You guessed it: Frank Stallone.

[@Il_Principessa]

Katyusha and dive bombers: Am I a joke to you?

[@rinzler3260]

​@@Il_Principessayes

[@duckfliper696]

lol, how about nukes?

[@Motoko_Urashima]

@@duckfliper696 nobody knew about nukes until the war was over, so it's fair to say they were only feared *after* the war.

[@BHuang92]

Interesting Fact: The Japanese main anti-aircraft cannon was the 75mm Type 88. Although unrelated to the German Flak 88, Allied intelligence mistakenly derided the Japanese Type 88 designation as a derivative of the German gun.

[@erwinsetyo1061]

Japan do have 8,8 cm. But, it was a copy from German 8,8 cm SK L/45 named Type 99 88 mm AA Gun

[@fatboy537]

Being able to track tank kills must have been way easier that air kills.

[@ArchOfficial]

You know what they say about assumptions.

[@vincentsun2759]

Fun fact: the type 88 AA gun can only reach about 8 km, whereas B-29 fly somewhere around 22 km above ground. The only gun able to reach that height is the 150 mm AA gun, but those were in a fixed position and cannot rotate.

[@marceletiennou5182]

En anti aérien faisait du tir de zone suivent les directives des télémètre 😅​@@fatboy537

[@timothyhouse1622]

Interesting fact is that the 8.8 cm Flak battalions were attached to corps level and exclusively manned by Luftwafffe personnel. So, if you see a TV show or movie with an 8.8 cm and the crew has straight winged eagles as worn by Heer, it is incorrect. They would have the Luftwaffe eagles. A myth with the 8.8 cm Flak is Rommel "discovered" it was good against tanks. This is bogus. They always knew it would be good against tanks and were issuing it with AP rounds as early as the Spanish Civil War. OH, and the Nashorn was armed with an 8.8 cm Pak 43, not an 8.8 cm Flak like Tiger I was. The Pak 43 was not developed from the Flak but was a separate develop from Krupp. It used different ammunition and was also found in the Tiger II.

[@bobdickens3674]

feel like it may have just been slightly overkill for the Spanish civil war, considering it was probably fighting at most T-26 and BT tanks

[@coenisgreat]

@@bobdickens3674 Ain't no kill like overkill

[@sthrich635]

Heer infantry did use Flak 88s, they had their own organic heavy AA batteries, and they even had the own army version of Flak award badges! Also, same goes with Waffen SS too. Still the majority of 88mm Flaks were used by Luftwaffe troops, mainly in static defense, in HQ, cities, or airfields. Those closer to frontlines and shooting at Shermans being Heer or Waffen SS would be more accurate.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

That makes sense as ammunition suitable in the AA role (HE) isn’t very useful for tanks, and AP ammunition is useless against aircraft.

[@INSANESUICIDE]

Similarly the self propelled guns had artillery uniforms and were considered part of the artillery arm and had artillery uniforms and markings, self propelled guns were things like the StuG. Also interestingly many of the tank aces or most famous tankers actually came from a background within this "artillery arm" from self propelled guns.

[@the_lost_navigator]

"Ack! Ack!"' - Mars Attacks? - Nein! - Germany does!

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

Killer Tomatoes!

[@bryceanderson4864]

Acht acht. Almost like "Oct oct"

[@Stormoak]

​@@bryceanderson4864 No it does not really because in German the "CH" in Acht is not spoken like a "K" but as a rasping and rattling ch . I know this particular sound is not easy because it does not exist in modern English. Just clear your throat with a lot of rasping and you get it

[@the_lost_navigator]

@@bryceanderson4864 Zehr gut, but AA - also known as 'Ack-Ack Guns' over here in the West ;)

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

​@the_lost_navigator They most certainly are good, Sir. Kudos to you!

[@chardaskie]

Flak is a cool word. Another great video!

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Flaking rights it is

[@THECHEESELORD69]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsqbro you can’t say that!!!! My mom is going to stop the sleep over if you say that again man!

[@Stormoak]

And the vocal sibling of "Flak" in german military language is "PAK" ( Panzerabwehrkanone = Anti Tank gun)

[@marceletiennou5182]

FlugAberkanon en abrégé Flak😊

[@BigDub1]

Still absolutely loving these videos man, I'm a history major in my undergraduate degree right now studying 20th century history and these videos are always a treat. Hoping to do my masters or PHD in something related to the history of warfare technology and weapons. Been watching for quite a while now, keep up the entertaining, informative work Johnny!

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Keep it up! Studying history at the University of Saskatchewan brought me here in life and I couldn't be happier.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

Good luck! I took a history degree as a 28-year old after a tour in West Berlin during the Cold War…never regretted it

[@larrybrown1824]

The Germans also had the Flak 128. From a distance they looked a lot like the 88. They were only used in Germany as far as I know.

[@guts-141]

Being heavy like a Destroyer cannon I can see why it's impractical to mass produce for land defense compared to their Kriegsmarine version where it can go anyone in the sea

[@timothyhouse1622]

There was also a 10.5 cm Flak 36 which they used in a TWIN mounts and on ships.

[@timothyhouse1622]

Oh, and speaking of 12.8 cm. The 12.8 cm Pak 44 was not derived from the 12.8 cm Flak. It was a separate development like the 8.8 cm Pak 43, as used by Tiger II, was not derived from the 8.8 cm Flak.

[@JackOQuin]

My father was a US artillery officer in world war II. He told me that the usual German mortar and howitzer shells were subsonic, so you could hear them coming. But, when you heard an 88 shell, you knew it had missed you, because it was supersonic.

[@fishingthelist4017]

Your production numbers are wrong. According to anyone who fought against the Germans, every gun was an 88, so there were about a million of them built.

[@radicaljellyfish4435]

Survivors Bias?

[@gabespiro8902]

And every German and their grandmother was riding a tiger

[@alanmacpherson3225]

Plus in a lot of movies and war comics the guns were all 88s and every tank was a Tiger.

[@konstantinriumin2657]

*morbillion

[@sthrich635]

Average American WW2 European Campaign: Every German tank was a Tiger I Every German machine gun was MG42 Every German AA/AT gun/Field artillery/Guns bigger than a mortar was a Flak 88 Every German tank destroyers/assault guns/SPG was a Tiger I Always started in one of the beaches in DDay, can only be the first waves, and always survive the MG fires, and the other 50 guys in front and around always get shot. Every first and/or second battle was against German regular Heer soldier in field-grey. Every third and beyond battle was against elite Waffen SS soldiers in camouflage uniform. If in any Airborne units, German Fallschirmjager was to be fought as well. One of the above battle beyond D-Day was included at least one German tank (Tiger I), regardless of area. Every German tank knocked out was shot out from side or back. Every German tank before that was obligatory shot in the frontal armor that shall never penetrated, and with a mandatory "OhCrap" reaction from the responsible American GI. Every battle before the last one or two was to have American air support and artillery went missing, while the American infantry squad was to successfully take up the slack and inflict comparable German losses at least on a company-level, using small arms, grenades, bazooka, and "brilliant" tactics Germans never saw it coming. The last or second-last battle was a hopeless one until a sudden precision strike by P47s without any prior notice and callings that took out some German tanks and caused the rest to either surrender or retreat.

[@inductivegrunt94]

Such a cool anti-air and anti-tank cannon. And it has such an incredible legacy to it. Also, Flak 88 and Ack-Ack are really cool nicknames for such a fearsome piece of ordnance.

[@klauskainzinger9978]

Acht Acht (Acht is the German word for 8)

[@DavidCowie2022]

Ack Ack is anti-aircraft in general. Ack was old British phonetic for A.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

“Ordnance”

[@JeffBilkins]

It's crazy shooting guns at airplanes without counter measures is accurate enough to be dangerous. The math and analogue engineering is amazing.

[@samuelrobert4171]

The singular guns weren’t accurate at all at that range, the danger came by the sheer volume of flak being sent in the middle of the bomber formation

[@andrewwaterman9240]

I once knew someone whose father was in the Wehrmacht during WW2. After the war he and a large number of former soldiers were assigned to crew a number of 88's being used to dispose of surplus ammunition by shooting it into the ocean. He said they fired thousands and thousands of rounds.

[@Sanj1n]

I don't know if this was uploaded before but I will watch it for sure. The Flak 88 is one of the most famous weapons in WW2.

[@christopherwang4392]

0:23 to 0:30 It should be noted that Nazi Germany's heavy tanks and tank destroyers used 88s with different barrels and ammunition: the 56-caliber KwK 36 and the 71-caliber KwK / PaK 43.

[@elcamino817]

The "Nashorn" is spoke in German as "Nas-horn", not " Nash-orn"😜, and means Rhino

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Acht!

[@bryceanderson4864]

Literally, "Nose horn"

[@u.s.1974]

@@bryceanderson4864 It's even on the English wikipedia entry (The genus name Rhinoceros is a combination of the ancient Greek words ῥίς (rhis) meaning 'nose' and κέρας (keras) meaning 'horn of an animal'). I wonder why some many English native speakers aren't able to add 2 and 2 together. German is different to English, but the have the same roots.

[@kyledunn6853]

"Muck and Penkala!" "What?!" "Muck and Penkala got hit!"

[@mattharrell6880]

By a German 10.5 cm gun. Not an 88

[@guts-141]

105 is definitely the standard Howitzers for both sides

[@alexrosen4357]

Flaking good video! Eagerly awaiting the one on the F-86 Sabre.

[@joshuasinger8385]

Thank you for producing these video's I always enjoy them

[@WojtazTheMLGPRO]

Thanks for the content johnny.

[@NTAD]

One of my favorite things about the Close Combat PC game series, particularly the first one, was its attention to detail. For example the Americans would use an '81mm' mortar but the Germans would use an '8cm' mortar. Little things like that really go a long way towards immersion. I wasn't sure how you were going to fit the pun in at the end and yet you still pulled it off.

[@armand37]

U should try Gates of Hell: Osfront. The best and most detailed ww2 rts game ever made in my opinion.

[@NTAD]

@armand37 I'll look into it. I also read report yesterday that Soldiers: Heroes of WWII just got a big update on Steam after years, too. That game can be brutal but it's so much fun with the detail. Gotta pick that up again

[@SergeWallace]

Thanks Johnny, another great video, and I really am pleased the aspect ratio has not been stretched to Widescreen!

[@Chris_the_Dingo]

Great video! I think the 88 is the first artillery piece I ever remember hearing about.

[@PitFriend1]

Bit of trivia, “flak” is an abbreviation of a much longer German compound word. The full word is “fliegerabwehrkanone” which literally just means “anti-aircraft cannon.” Flak is just a lot easier to say.

[@HarbisonelII]

8:33 No, that is a common, albeit still a misconception. 8.8 cm guns in 1941 and 1942 only accounted for about 8-10% of Russian T-34 tank losses. About 60% of T-34's were still lost to the 5 cm guns, either in the "Short" form on the Pz.Kpf.W. III or in the "Long" form as AT guns. 7.5 cm howitzers and guns also made up a significant portion of lost T-34's. By 1942 the Pz.Kpf.W. IV with a long 7.5 cm cannon made an appearance, further decreasing the amount of situations where bringing in an 8.8 cm FlaK gun was necessary. So yes, the German armored and anti-armor companies were very much equiped to deal with heavy Russian armor. The idea they weren't is a misconception from videogames and movies. It would be quite difficult for Germany to advance to Moscow if the only way to deal with Russian tanks was through static defences I think.

[@EthanSmejkal]

Great dive into the 8.8 and the use of footage

[@nematolvajkergetok5104]

The 88 was also exported to Japan, in limited numbers. One was used during the battle of Okinawa. It proved to be just as formidable as in Europe.

[@TheBr1ckMeister]

Love the video Johnny

[@gordoh7634]

The US had the 90mm M1 and M2. But like many of you commented on, the 88 was everywhere in Germany. The 90 mm gun M1/M2/M3 was an American heavy anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun, playing a role similar to the German 8.8cm Flak 18. It had a 3.5 in (90 mm) diameter bore, and a 50 caliber barrel, giving it a length of 15 ft (4.6 m).

[@JamesGodfrey-i6j]

When Johnny drops the legendary 8.8 I click.

[@Ethanprice-ij2pv]

The old footage is awesome, as per usual

[@eldar-h7l]

I've been intrested in this flak stuff for a few days now and you perfectly came out with this video when i was intrested, just 12 hours after you uploaded i watched.

[@huskerhank9896]

How did that light signal work?

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

I really liked that scene where they were inserting the nose of the Projectile into that device that set the fusing on it. I'd never see that before. The Germans had a tactic called a _PAK Front_ . _PAK_ was short for Panzer Abwer Kanone or Anti Tank Gun. What they would do - was set up a line of _PAK's_ in fortified positions. Then they'd use their tanks to attack the enemy. At some point - they'd feint a retreat, falling back through the _PAK_ Front - luring any following enemy tanks into it's kill zone. It took some of the Allies forever to realize what they were doing. The way to deal with a _PAK_ Front - was to lead your attack with Infantry supported by Artillery. When the Infantry got close enough to be engaged they'd call in Artillery Support to blast the _PAK_ Front. Then you'd bring up your own tanks. One thing the British and Americans had - was a Fire Direction Center. This FDC could direct the fire of most if not all of the Artillery in an area. Thus - any Private with a Handy Talky - could call in every single tube within range of a target if the FDC though it worth while. The FDC had a tactic known as Time On Target - or TOT. What they would do - is calculate the flight time from every gun to the target - so that they would then schedule the guns farthest away to fire first - then those next closest and so on - until all the guns in the Bombardment had fired. This would cause every shell the FDC was controlling to all land at the same time. Thus - there would be no warning early rounds and they would catch the enemy soldiers out in the open with everything. They could also call in fire with Proximity Fuses. The Proximity Fuse had a little radio transmitter in the nose of the projectile - as mentioned - which would be transmitting as the shell approached a target. At a set distance from the target - the shell would detonate. Early on - they only used these for AA fire from ships - as any dud's would fall in the water. They didn't want the enemy to know what they were doing. But later on - they began using them over land. Here - if the enemy did not have over head protection - even if they were in a fox hole or trench - the Air Burst above them would rain shrapnel down on them. The Germans had their Artillery divided up so that each Battalion got so many guns to support IT - but not anyone else. IIRC - they had no FDC. The American and British FDC's both had about the same capabilities - but - the Americans tended to be more profligate in their expenditure of Artillery Rounds. There is an anecdote about allied intelligence people interviewing German Soldiers after the war; Interrogator: _"Which did you think were the better Allied Solders - The British or the Americans?"_ German: _"Oh. The British of course."_ Interrogator: _"So you would rather fight the Americans?"_ German: *_"Mein Gott Im Himmel - NEIN!!!_*_ The Americans shot ALL DAY!!! If we got shelled like that on the Eastern Front - we knew we were about to be attacked!!!!"_ The American Army's Slogan was - _Victory Through Fire Power_ and the basic approach the Americans took to war - was to find the enemy and then shell and bomb the hell out of anything they found. They were lavishly equipped with Artillery on all levels that they could have the FDC mix and match however they wanted. Plus of course - Air Strikes with Bombs, Rockets and Strafing. The British had their 17 Pounder AT Gun while the Americans had a 90mm AA Gun - which could also be used as AT weapons - they just rarely had an opportunity to do so - in either role. The closest the Germans got to the _Meuse_ in The Battle of the Bulge - was when some tanks approached the river and an ATG knocked out the first tank. The Roads in the Ardennes being what they were - when the next tank tried to go around the wreck of the first one - the ATG got it too. At that point - the road was blocked and the Germans had to go look for a crossing point elsewhere - which they did not find. .

[@gregoryhattenfels7864]

Best weapon of WW2 ,designed in 1917 ,a wicked A.A. platform but lethal in an armoured vehicle. Thanks Johnny ,great info as always. Safe travels Bud.

[@samuelrobert4171]

The flak 88 is definitely my favourite artillery piece. It has a rich history and the design is very pretty

[@blusofa8814]

Thanks again Johnny! Hope all is well. And to all those reading this, remember to take care of yourselves.

[@jonthompson3279]

Another great video. I first heard of 88"s in Kelly Heroes.

[@Cherb123456]

Enjoyed the watch, thank you!

[@christophersnyder1532]

You wont get flak from me, with these videos. Take care, and all the best

[@poromafia]

In Finland the Flaks mostly worked as AA for coastal guns, but I have seen a few configurations where the barrel and firing mechanism were recycled into an anti ship role.

[@israelforreal]

I show my support. Thanks for the video

[@bobmetcalfe9640]

In the last three months of the war, Allied troops often came upon the anti-aircraft defences of German cities - consisting partly of 88s - in large numbers. Manned largely by kids and old people, but still very effective. The British had a very similar anti-aircraft gun, but never used it for anti-tank purposes. I think it might have got a few anti-tank rounds for self defence but apparently - AFAIK anyway - it was not designed for firing horizontally, and not very good at it.

[@classifiedsecret6383]

Very nicely presented, informative video. Thank you. Cheers

[@freddyfox5102]

4:24 "The gun fires immediately" Does this mean that there was no trigger and as soon as the round was placed in the chamber the gun fired automatically??

[@ozanaydin9854]

nah u need to press a pedal and sometime button like device.

[@ogerpinata1703]

I need your video with just the guns firing and without the narration. Beautiful

[@eric1752]

Excellent and informative video.

[@tavish4699]

88s were usually manned by luftwaffe service men that were part of a flak/aa batterie they were called up to the front of no other anti tank capabilities were avialable

[@TallDude73]

Great video, great gun. It was ubiquitous and so effective.

[@Qnnrad]

Love your videos!

[@bigbrowntau]

3:00 When the Australian Defence Minister in the 1980's, Kim Beazley bought new artillery pieces, the Royal Australian Artillery were pleased, but pointed out the Army's last purchase of rangefinders was in 1925. "Don't worry" one smart-alek pointed out, "We still have the ones we captured from the Germans at Tobruk in 1941". Mr Beazley soon arranged for new rangefinders.

[@Dariusfrost45]

Been waiting for you to feature this iconic gun

[@Reviewmaster19-x4c]

Awsome video Johnny I’m currently working on a TAMIYA flak 88 great video and explanation ❤

[@fsabot19022]

Thanks Johnny!

[@donwillman4587]

I’m curious about the damage on the ground by flak shells that failed to explode or from the aforementioned proximity fuse shells that never got near enough to a target. They have to come down somewhere any many of these things were being fired very close to major cities.

[@MrElliotc02]

A kind comment for a productive educator is just what I had in mind. You're the best at what you do.

[@padawanmage71]

You look in almost any media of WW2, particularly in Europe, and the 88 is almost always mentioned. I can't remember which video game it was (the first or second Medal of Honor?) but there's a mission where you storm some redoubt or some such and take over an 88 to shoot at enemy planes or tanks.

[@paulwee1924dus]

In "The Forgotten Battle" (2020) is also a real 88 mm gun Johnny.

[@synthilein]

6:04 Still the same in today's Bundeswehr. Long distance AA systems like all the Patriot Batteries (called "Staffel" in German) belong to the Luftwaffe. Short range systems like the IRIS-T will belong to the _Heer_ (Army)

[@mavislenya1110]

a wonderful video as always.

[@AussieBattleCat]

I was always curious how they aimed such long distances

[@HandyMan657]

I always leave a kind comment for ya, Johnny. Why wouldn't I, you always present us with cool informative episodes. And dreadful dad humor. Best part. Take care, man. Keep warm.

[@angryeliteultragree6329]

3/4 of all 88mm guns were pointed twords the sky. Why? The USAAF, and the RAF. During night, the Brit’s, and by day, unending waves of bomber missions.

[@daredemontriple6]

I think what's really interesting about the '88' is that it became what it is known for at all. The 88 wasn't really special - a good gun for sure, but the British had the QF 3.7" AA gun and the Americans the 90mm M1/M2/M3 which were both probably slightly more capable guns, being almost identical to the 88 in every way except for having slightly larger shells. But the 88 was the only one that really became an all-purpose, and later adapted for specifically anti-tank use as a tank gun, not towed artillery. Yes the 3.7" was used as the basis for the 32pdr but that gun was only fitted to tortoise, and so it hardly qualifies. 10,000 3.7" guns were made, and yet none of them ever turned to AT duties. The American 90mm saw more widespread adaptation, but even then only really showed up in the M36 Jackson and the M26 Pershing, but both vehicles were only produced in numbers just over 2,000 - the Germans managed 1,350 odd Tigers and Germany was hardly the economic and industrial powerhouse that America is - for reference, almost 50,000 Shermans were built. I just find it fascinating that the allies had equivalent weapons but never really chased down the possibility of finding another use for them, the same way the Germans had found an alternative employment for the 88. Also of interesting note is just how manageable the 88 (and similar guns) really were. In the context of WWII we often think of guns like the 88 being about as big as it gets, needing a tractor to tow and a large crew to serve it and such. But look at the guys loading in these clips - they can handle the ammunition quite easily on their own. It really puts it into context just how much has changed, when you see how big 120mm shells are and how cumbersome they are to handle by comparison

[@sapphyrus]

The results they got even without proximity fuses is remarkable.

[@David_Crayford]

I am 55, my grandad was in the RAF, and yet here I am years later in 2025 when I first learn that Ack Ack is 88. Every day a school day. Another cool video, Johnny. 🙂

[@klauskainzinger9978]

Acht Acht (Acht is the German word for 8)

[@DavidCowie2022]

Ack Ack is anti aircraft in general. "Ack" was the old British phonetic for the letter A.

[@darthcalyx8986]

I kinda thought that the joke for this one would be "I hope this video wasn't too flaking" but what he came up with was almost just as bad

[@quehensley7035]

Flak A T T A C K

[@quehensley7035]

First btw

[@Dornana]

flak D E F E N D D

[@ThommyofThenn]

That's kinda fun cause it rhymes

[@sidecat5315]

At least I have a job

[@ddegn]

That "auto load" system sure looks like it wants to remove the hand of the loader.

[@kennagel8088]

Love your stuff. Keep it up

[@briancolwill3071]

Johnny the gentleman

[@youngmasterzhi]

In the final episode of the anime “The Familiar of Zero: Rondo of Princesses”, the Japanese protagonist Saito and his Halkengian friends used the 8.8 cm Flak (dubbed the “Great Spear” by the Halkengians) to destroy a Jormangund, a square-class golem blocking their escape back to Tristain, but can only do so after Louise, a Void Magician, was enticed into casting a Dispel enchantment on the shell to break through Jormungand’s magical force field

[@aaronjohn6586]

Great video and breakdown

[@TheYamR6Sp]

A question about the shrapnel from flak, if a shell was fired at an aircraft did the shrapnel fall back down and was there a no go zone were chanse of injuries was likely when in it?

[@dannyjohnston1872]

Great clip keep up the great work thanks. Just wondering if you ever thought about doing a video on the LEE Enfield 🤔🇨🇦

[@mogaman28]

The chin cannons of the AT-AT from Star Wars are also 88mm cannons. The derrière was also a german half-track.

[@meepmerp6935]

What about the histroy of the flak and how it changed to fit the AT role, like the nashorn or the Tiger(s)

[@kmorris180]

Ok, I'll leave a hateful comment for you. Why do your videos have to be so short? Do you not appreciate that we can't really get enough of them? That's about as "hateful" as I can be towards you, kuya. Love the videos. You always make them informational and enjoyable. 👍🏿👍🏿

[@iLano79]

Johnny you makes the cool vidjas about the historicals and that's what I appreciates abouts yous 🐿👨‍🌾

[@hiltonian_1260]

The US and British eventually sussed out the German antiaircraft control system and its timing. There was always a lag between sighting and firing and the arrival of flak at 30,000 feet. If the bombers changed course randomly at the right timing the flak would end up mostly where they would have been, not where they were. Not flawless, but it reduced losses.

[@JGCR59]

I was w8ting for the pun :) very excellent video, everything me, mister wannabe know it all wanted to write in the comments was covered :P

[@Indy500huskfolf]

Without a doubt one of my favorite artillery pieces of all time! I got to hear one fire in real life one time and the sound it makes is terrifying. I can only imagine what a tank crew must have thought and felt when they heard that sound.

[@daviddavidson2357]

88 is just a good number overall. Can go back in time with it.

[@BinBintheRiceCake]

Ah yes, the anti everything gun! Also, do people ever give you 'flak' for your puns at the end of every video?

[@floomuscw6628]

One of my favorite model kits has an 8,8 with it's half track

[@g.t.richardson6311]

One of first ones I ever did .. my brother has it in a display in his home office with 8/10 others including Tiger, Pz 2 and 4, couple armored cars, and motorcycle troops

[@caselleknoxiv589]

No wonder during the scene from Saving Private Ryan when Captain Miller was giving the report about his casualties he mentions that the Germans didn’t want to give up their 88s, I can see why. They really didn’t want to give them up.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Thank you JJ and i am 21 hours late lol.... Old F-4 pilot Shoe🇺🇸

[@treyweaver5396]

Good vid!

[@planetvegan7843]

Thank-you.

[@andrewstravels2096]

I live in Dayton, Ohio and I’m very close to the Air Force Museum. They do have a flak gun at the museum.

[@GreekTrumpeter]

hell yeah brother

[@aaronhancock9864]

Well, I've decided where I'm going for my summer vacation.

[@papaversomniferum2365]

Wich one? I mean that Flak stands simply for Flugzeugabwehrkanone, wich means just Anti aircraft gun.

[@andrewstravels2096]

I think its an 88.

[@butternutmunchkin]

I'm ordering another ILoveKit 1:16 8.8 cm gun kit to build next month.

[@Flusterbomb]

Thank you!

[@gleisbauer25]

I remember being in the Gießen Area in Germany in the early 2000‘s there was a building where the ceiling had a round whole. It was marked with the date (1943 or 44) and the info that a dud 8,8-shell fell through the roof.

[@NobodyHere115]

Came for the pun, stayed for the 8.8 Flak

[@Captain_Redshirt]

It might sound stupid, but how does the round not fall out if the gun is elevated so steep?

[@UnicornGamingRX03]

The 88 has been a favorite AA/AT weapon of choice in my early gaming years like panzer general II to Panzer Corps. Even using the 88 if it was captured (when I was the allies) to great use. I kinda wished (RWBY) Atlas Military used the 88's during their great war and the present day as those guns would ruin larger Grimm monsters at range.

[@opoxious1592]

There is original footage with 2 flak battery's firing a artillery barage over a flat trajectory. In this video they fire 1 shell every 2 seconds. It's not to hard to find it.

[@MyRuno]

Great video.