8,8 cm Pak 43/3

[Andrzej Ditrich]

Hi,

here some details of Pak43 in fortress mount:
aku mountng and brake

brgds
@ndrew

[searay]

The box shaped device in the drawing shows the retrofit of a 12V battery below the gunner's seat to replace the original 2.4V battery originally issued that proved inadequate in use (it was used in the fire controls of the gun)

[jopaerya]

The post-war picture of a 8.8 cm PaK 43/3 on a Behelfs-Lafetten-Kreuz in a park in Berlin ( Ebay photo caption )

Regards Jos

[Lars Bertelsen]

Hello Jos
Thanks for sharing this interesting photo.
According to the German files, the Sockellafetten IIa at Berlin were fitted with 8,8 cm KwK 43 rather than 8,8 cm Pak 43/3. The latter was used at the Western Front only.
The two gun types were almost identical and hard to distinguish from each other. One main difference was that the bearings (Schildzapfen) of the 8,8 cm Pak 43/3 were placed in a more forward position than those of the 8,8 cm KwK 43.
On the two attached photos it seems that the distance between the gun sight holder and the recoil/recuperator cylinders is shorter on the “berlin” gun than on the “france” gun. This might indicate, that the first is a KwK 43 and the latter is a Pak43/3. But I am not sure.
greetings lars

[jopaerya]

Thanks Lars

[Lars Bertelsen]

Hello
According to document from Festungseinbaukommando Ost (dated 07.02.1945), the 8,8 cm KwK 43 guns at Berlin were mounted in SKL IIa.
But according to a Gerätliste (dated 12.04.1945), 8,8 cm KwK 43 guns were to be mounted in SKL IIb.
Maybe the different designations of the SKL were just to distinguish between the guns mounted in them.
(copies: NARA files + Waffen-Revue #84)
greetings lars

[jopaerya]

A other Berlin picture from Ebay , according to the photo captions near airfield Tegelhoff . Sorry It's very blurry .

Regards Jos

[Lars Bertelsen]

Thanks for the picture Jos.
I guess that the airfield mentioned in the photo caption must be Tempelhof. That would fit very well with the positions on the attached map (from NARA). The map shows about 34 8,8-Pak-Stellungen (and a number of Flak positions too).
Hard to say whether the gun on your photo is a Pak 43/3 or a KwK43. But at least it does not have a counterweight at the muzzle or a Panzerblende, which was used with the Pak 43/3 only.
According to a German document (from NARA - I have a copy somewhere), Pak 43/3 guns should be fitted with either a counter weight or a Panzerblende to keep them balanced.
Some photos show, however, Pak 43/3 guns without any of these. But maybe the installation of those guns was not finished?
Greetings lars

[forttravel]

Hi All Is it korrekt that this 8,8 cm gun was used in the Jagdpanther, the bettungen with 8,8cm pak were planned in the Westwall in 1944. Regards Jos

Here are documents with locations and one more drawing.

[jopaerya]

Thanks Forttravel

[Manuferey]

One of these guns somewhere in Germany in 1945:

Source: https://www.ww2online.org/image/german- ... any-1945-0

Source: https://www.ww2online.org/image/german- ... rmany-1945

Emmanuel

[jopaerya]

Thanks to Jabier

A blurry Ebay photo of this gun .

Regards Jos

[forttravel]

RH 10/423 Merkblatt 47b/40.- Bedienungs- und Schießanleitung für die 8,8 cm Pak 43 (Kreuzlafette), 17.7.1944

https://invenio.bundesarchiv.de/invenio ... e7171876c/

[forttravel]

Berlin Mariendorf.

[Jens Andersen]

Forttravel,

Thank you for the link to the document - and the bonuses that followed on the same page.

Jens