Vehicle Description
To be OFFERED AT AUCTION at Auctions America's Auburn Spring event,
May 11-13, 2017.
Chassis No.
BILL OF SALE
Estimate:
$ 75,000 - $125,000 US
The dreaded "88" is regarded by most historians as the best
artillery piece of World War II. Initially intended to be an
anti-aircraft gun, its adaptability to anti-tank and indirect
artillery use was quickly recognized. The Flak 36 displayed is an
improved model of the initial Flak 18. The Flak 36 incorporated
removable barrel liners and an improved transport trailer assembly.
The cruciform platform (gun mount) with its folding legs, enabled
the gun to be fired in any direction and to be emplaced and
withdrawn quickly. Its accuracy, rate of fire and ability to
destroy any Allied tank was respected by friend and foe alike. The
"88" was first used in action during the Spanish Civil War and
served on all fronts during World War II. Its first known encounter
with the Western Allies was with the British in North Africa where
it came as an eye-opening shock, just as it did the Russians during
the opening phases of Operation Barbarosa (The German invasion of
the Soviet Union). By August 1944, approximately 11,000 "88s" (Flak
18, 36/37 and 41) were in service with the German Wehrmacht.
