hnh3_cm Posted July 22, 2000 Share Posted July 22, 2000 Hey, swamp, that's a really good site. Thanks for the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted July 22, 2000 Share Posted July 22, 2000 And just to further fill out everything you ever wanted to know about the word FlaK, the F and the K are capitals because in German nouns are capitalized. Same goes for StuG (Sturm Geschutz), KwK (Kampfwagen Kanone), etc. ------------------ It's a mother-beautiful bridge and it's gonna be THERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wazron Posted July 22, 2000 Share Posted July 22, 2000 As a side question, in Saving Private Ryan, when the American soldiers are (rather stupidly it seems), all piling up on the German tank, and the Germans start firing a gun at them that rips them all apart, is that a FLAK gun? Yes... the Germans were very keen on multi-barrelled AA batteries... the example in SPR looked to be a 20mm quad, which were normally mounted on light skinned vehicles. Incidentally, the weapon depicted, while excellent for use against light skinned vehicles (and barely average against most aircraft), it may well not have been so effective against infantry as depicted. It would be let down by a rate of fire lower than depicted in the movie, as well as manning problems in quarters as close as those depicted in SPR. Weapons of this type were generally only deployed against soldiers in light cover, such as treelines, light wooden buildings, sandbaggings and light bunkers. The weapon is at its most dangerous in this role as its rounds smash dirt, splinters, rock chips, bits of bone and smashed friendly equipment around in a cloud. God help anyone in a regular civilian structure that has a quad HMG open up. By the desert war, the 88mm was in regular use as a heavy AT gun. Many people have failed to mention that one of the 88's best attributes was its (comparatively) flat trajectory. Combined with its considerable range, the 88 could engage targets over a considerable range with minimal barrel elevation adjustments to correct fall of shot. Imagine, if you will, that your gun is staked out for a 800m shoot. A tank manages to sneak up using dead ground and exposes itself for a few seconds at 175 metres as it tries to flank your pit. If you were an English, Russian or American gun crew you would have to adjust the barrel elevation by a considerable amount and even then there's no guarantee you'd hit. With the 88, the level of drop could be calculated instinctively, as hardly any adjustment would be needed. The end result is a weapon that is not only more accurate, it's also faster firing. here endeth the drivel. ------------------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted July 22, 2000 Share Posted July 22, 2000 The 20mm in SPR was the single barrel variety. Still a nasty piece of work. ------------------ It's a mother-beautiful bridge and it's gonna be THERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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