12.8 cm FlaK 40

12.8 cm Flak 40
300px A static mounted 12.8 cm Flak 40.
Type	Anti-Aircraft
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1942 to 1945
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Rheinmetall-Borsig
Designed	1936
Manufacturer	Rheinmetall-Borsig
Produced	1942
Number built	450
Variants	12.8 cm FlaK 40 12.8 cm FlaK 40 Zwilling
Specifications
Weight	17,000 kg (37,478 lbs)
Length	7.835 m (25.7 ft)
Barrel length	61 calibers
Caliber	128 mm (5.03 in)
Breech	Horizontal sliding
Recoil	Hydropneumatic
Carriage	Static or railcar mounted.
Elevation	-3 to +88 degrees
Traverse	360 degrees
Muzzle velocity	880 m/s (2,887 ft/s)
Maximum range	10,675 m (35,025 ft)
Feed system	Power rammer

The 12.8 cm FlaK 40, was a German World War II anti-aircraft gun built as the successor to the 88 mm gun. Although it was not produced in high numbers, it was one of the most effective heavy AA guns of its era.

Development of the gun began in 1936, with the contract being awarded to Rheinmetall Borsig, the first prototype gun was delivered for testing in late 1937 and completed testing successfully. The gun weighed nearly 12 tonnes in its firing position, with the result that its barrel had to be removed for transport. Limited service testing showed this was impractical, so in 1938 other solutions were considered.

The eventual solution was to simplify the firing platform, based on the assumption it would always be securely bolted into concrete. The total weight of the system reached 26.5 tonnes, making it practically impossible to tow cross-country. In the end this mattered little, since by the time the gun entered production in 1942 the production of mobile guns larger than 105 mm was prohibited. In August 1944 there were 450 such cannons available. As a result only a few were built and used, amongst other places, in the anti-aircraft flak towers protecting Berlin, Hamburg, and Vienna. Approximately 200 were mounted on railcars, providing limited mobility.

The gun fired a 27.9 kg (57.2-pound) shell at 880 m/s (2,890 ft/s) to a maximum ceiling of 14,800 m (48,556 ft). Compared with the 88mm FlaK 18 & 36, the 128 used a powder charge four times as great which resulted in a shell flight time only one-third as long. This made aim against fast-moving targets much easier.

Variants

File:12.8 cm Flakzwilling 40 1.jpg

Flakzwilling 40 at US Army Ordnance Museum.

• 12.8 cm FlaK 40
• 12.8 cm FlaK 40 Zwilling Twin mounted anti-aircraft, capable of firing 20 rounds per minute.

External links

• http://www.429sqn.ca/flak.htm
• 12.8 cm FlaK 40 Zwilling on display at the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum: http://ordmusfound.org/flak40.html

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
• Hogg, Ian V. (2002). Anti-aircraft artillery. Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-502-6. 

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