8.8 cm PaK 43

The PaK 43 ("Panzerabwehrkanone 43") was a German 88 mm anti-tank gun developed in competition to the Rheinmetall Flak 41 88 mm anti-aircraft gun and used during the Second World War. It was the most powerful anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht to see service in significant numbers. A number of armored vehicles also carried versions of this gun, under different designations, including: heavy tank Tiger II (KwK 43 L/71), self-propelled gun Nashorn (PaK 43/1), as well as tank destroyers Ferdinand/Elefant (PaK 43/2) and Jagdpanther (PaK 43/3 and 43/4). It was an excellent weapon that able to penetrate the heaviest Allied armor at combat ranges, including the Soviet IS-2 and the American M-26 Pershing.

The main version of the PaK 43 was based on a highly efficient cruciform mount, which offered a full 360 degree traverse and a much lower profile than the anti-aircraft version of the 88 mm. However the manufacture of this version was slow initially, and to speed up production some guns were mounted on a two-wheel split-trail carriage from a conventional howitzer, resulting in a version known as PaK 43/41. This version, while retaining the full power of the gun, was much more difficult to handle and camouflage.

ee also

*88 mm gun

References

* Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. "Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945". New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3

* Hogg, Ian V. "German Artillery of World War Two". 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X