Big AA guns

[SubSonic]

I have seen that AA guns, specially FLAKs has large caliber. Germany had there 88mm, but i found a 128mm FLAK 40 Zwilling. http://users.belgacom.net/artillery/art ... tml#208626

Must be terrefying

But I fought i had seen the biggest caliber of an AA, but I found that Sweden provided a lot of equipment to finland. During the winter war.
Be leave it or not it was 175mm AA, tottaly of 9.

But I'm little suspiciouces about it.

You can find it on http://www.tankhistory.com under Finland

[Tony Williams]

I have an official Bofors catalogue from 1936, detailing all of their equipment. There is no mention of any gun in 175mm calibre. On the other hand, they do offer some 75mm AA guns. Draw your own conclusions!

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and Discussion forum

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

There isn't any difference between an AA-gun and a Fla.K...

The large caliber guns were usually used in groups.

Christian

[Erich]

As Christian mentioned the large caliber such as the 12.8cm Zwilling were used on Flak towers in Berlin, Hamburg and Wien. Single 12.8cm weapons were located throughout the Ruhr defending the heavy industrial centers, some of the big guns were placed on rail-flatcars and moved. 10.5cm's were also used in this capacity as well.

E

[Witch-King of Angmar]

Be leave it or not it was 175mm AA, tottaly of 9

The Japanese had developed and AA incendiary shell for the main guns of the battleship Yamato. Believe it or nor, it was 460mm(18.1in for our American friends)

~The Witch-King of Angmar

PS Frenchmen had 15in/380mm AA shells for Richelieu-class battleships' main guns. Pierre Clostermann claimed to have seen the ship firing once, at a lone Ju-88

[Erik E]

I have also seen a reference to a 24cm railway gun battery (4 guns) which had ammunition which mad it possible to fire on "larger formations of planes"
Atleast one incident with 12,7cm Coastal artillery fireing at planes are known.

However, I guess this question was about aa guns, not special versions of regular artillery??

Single 12.8cm weapons were located throughout the Ruhr defending the heavy industrial centers

Also for defending the uboat bunker in Begen, Norway

EE

[beaviso]

What was the foundation for 12.8 cm Flak?
I mean - how many bolts and diameter of bolt-ring(s)???

There is a 10.5 cm Flak site near former Gotenhafen (today in Poland) which also has 2 foundations of larger type with double rings, presumably 12.8 cm.

Another 12.8 cm Flak (Sperre) was located in Lubjewo near Stettin (Szczecin).

[beaviso]

And I've read that Germans worked also on 15 cm and... 24 cm Flak!!!

[Tony Williams]

The British 8 inch (204mm) naval gun fitted to 1920s RN cruisers was given 70 degree elevation so it could be used against aircraft. I don't know if any ships used it in that way, but some of the guns were emplaced on the south coast of England, and they were recorded as firing on V-1s as they crossed over. Must have been quite a sight!

Tony Williams

[JTV]

But I fought i had seen the biggest caliber of an AA, but I found that Sweden provided a lot of equipment to finland. During the winter war.
Be leave it or not it was 175mm AA, tottaly of 9.

But I'm little suspiciouces about it.

You can find it on http://www.tankhistory.com under Finland

Unfortunately its a typo in that website. The 9 guns in question were 75-mm (Finnish military named them "75 ItK/30 BK"). More information in this page (which is part Finnish Army 1918-1945 section at my website):

http://ankkurinvarsi.com/jaeger/AA_GUNS3.htm

During WW2 Finnish Army wish list included small number of 105-mm AA-guns, but the Germans were unwilling to sell any. So the largest real AA-gun used by Finnish military was 88-mm. Largest Finnish gun even to shoot down an aircraft was 152-mm L/45 Canet coastal gun.

Bit more about this one-of-a-time case:
Certain coastal fort had problem with Soviet fighter plane which liked to attack its supplies sleds when they arrived, as the sleds arrived from the mainland at the same time each morning, so did the fighter plane. The Soviet pilot in this case also liked to attack from same direction and angle (from the sun) practically every time. The coastal fort didn't have real AA-weaponry so they aimed one of the 152-mm coastal guns to estimated direction and angle where the Soviet fighter plane usually arrived. Next morning the supplies sled arrived as usual and as the soldiers at coastal fort spotted the aircraft again coming from the same angle they fired the gun - and (with huge amount of luck) scored direct hit blowing up the aircraft to small pieces.

[SES]

During WW I the Germans had deployed a number of 24 cm Anti Zeppelin guns in the southren part of Denmark - still occupied since 1864.
BTW for those of you who have an interest in WW I bunkers, there is still dozens left in Southern Jutland in a very interesting but largly unknown defensive line streching across the ismuth.
The 38 cm battery at Hanstholm could use it's guns to engage aircraft - with radar direction.
Regards
SES

[jopaerya]

Hello All

As far as I know all 12.8 cm Flakzwilling 40 were used at Flakturme and a
few were used bij the Marine Flak in Wilhelmhafen, Kiel and Gotenhafen .
This photo of the same gun looks to be taken at a wooden field bettung ,
does any one know if the Luftwaffe used this on other places then the
Flakturme in Hamburg , Berlin and Wien ?

Photo = Ebay.de

Regards Jos

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi all,

Along the same lines as Eric E's Post,

Battery Mirus on Guernsey which was armed with 4 x 30.5cm K.14 (r) and the battery was also equipped with a Wuerzburg Riese radar which provided a facility for accurate height and range prediction for AA defence.

So to this end a method was devised for the use of the 30.5cm guns to be used as AA guns

Pre-set reading were established for a 5 round salvo with the guns firing in the sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, using high explosive shells with a time fuse, to form a 500 metre box pattern.

Both former Kapitaen-Leutnant Hans Mertens and Stabs Obergefreiter Martin Haeuslmeier testify to the intoduction of this use for the 30.5cm guns, with the latter being responsible for the design and fabrication of a special quadrant height/range scale employed on the plotting table. This device was clamed to have been used successfully on at least occasion, when the enemy aircraft was destroyed

Kapiaen Steinbach subsequently forbade (mid to late 44) the use of the 30.5cm guns in a AA role. The idea was then re-introduced by Admiral Hueffmeier, who became the German C in C of the Channel Islands in Feb 45. The opportunity for its use did not recur.

Sorce; 'Mirus' The Making of a Battery
By Colin Partridge & John Wallbridge.

Malcolm

[Carl Schwamberger]

A quick glance at my copy of Hoggs 'German Artilley of WWII' show a 12.8cm FLAK 40 & a FLAK 45. He has photographs for five diffrent mounts, including the railroad mount, and a permently mounted dual barrels. The next section discusses specifications and testing of 15cm FLAK guns and specification from the air force for 21cm & 24 cm FLAK & from the navy for a 20cm, all laid on in the 1930s. A combined navy/airforce reaserch project for a 24cm FLAK gun came to a end in 1943. Hogg also has a few paragraphs on the Hansler research towards a 4cm electric FLAK weapon.

[20P7]

Hello Jos,

as far as I know 12,8 cm Flak guns were placed in single mount positions in the fields near Emden. I once visited this place. There are only small traces of concrete left, were the sockel itself was fixed.

Greetings

daniel