88mm Pak-43
8.8-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 43
Overview
88mm Pak-43
Forward view of an 8.8-cm Pak-43 on display at Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, as seen in 2015.
Source: JustSomePics -
© CC BY-SA 4.0
Late 1942 (prototypes for testing)
Nazi Germany - Eisenwerk Weserhütte
German for "red-backed shrike"
Description
Introduction
The Pak-43 is a World War 2 era anti-tank gun of Nazi German origin. It was developed and tested in 1942. It did not enter service with its intended cruciform mount until 1944, over year later. In the mean time the Pak-43/41 with conventional split-trail carriage was introduced.
Design
The Pak-43 was developed by Krupp around the high velocity 88mm gun of the Flak-41, but is shorter in the anti-tank gun role. Nevertheless, the gun is large and heavy and thus requires a sizeable carriage. A cruciform mount with 360 degree traverse was developed. This had detachable bogies akin to the 88mm anti-aircraft gun. The silhouette of this mount was much lower, since no high angle elevation was needed. Due to Allied bombing and priority given to anti-aircraft gun mounts the Pak-43 was first produced using a large split-trail carriage as the Pak-43/41. This variant is described separately.
Firepower
Firepower is the key characteristic of the Pak-43. The 88mm L/71 ordnance has a similar performance as the guns used on the Hornisse and Jadgpanther tank destroyers, and the Tiger II heavy tank. These guns could penetrate all medium and heavy tanks in frontline service during World War 2. Accuracy was good and the high muzzle velocity resulted in a flat trajectile. Rate of fire is 6 to 10 rpm. Effective range is quoted as 2 km in the anti-tank role. Reportedly these guns were used up to ranges of 3.5 km versus T-34 tanks. Several types of armour piercing ammunition were available, as well as high explosive fragmentation shells.
Mobility
The lack of mobility was the main downside of the Pak-43. It is simply too heavy to manhandle in the field. This limits its role to a static position instead of the mobile warfare preferred in German doctrine. The cruciform mount with 360° traverse somewhat negates this issue since it can quickly engage targets coming from another direction. This is a major advantage compared to the split-trail Pak-43/41. The Pak-43 was mainly transported in the field by Sd.Kfz. 6 and 7 halftracks, as well as some heavy trucks or the sWS halftrack.
Users
Although tested late in 1942 the Pak-43 on the cruciform mount did not enter frontline service until 1944. It was mainly used on the Eastern Front and in Germany itself. In total over 2.00 of the Pak-43 were delivered, making it more numerous than the Pak-43/41 variant. Some of these were issued as divisional artillery as the 8.8-cm K-43 as a stopgap measure. The Pak-43 was used until the final desperate days of World War 2, but saw no frontline service after the war.
Details
Media
88mm Pak-43
8.8-cm Pak-43 on display at the United States Army Ordnance Museum, as seen in 2007
Source: Mark Pellegrini
Copyright: CC BY-SA 2.5
88mm Pak-43
Artist impression of 8.8-cm Pak-43 in firing position. Note one of the detached bogies alongside.
Source: Trumpeter models
Copyright: Copyright lies with original owner
88mm Pak-43
German soldiers with a well camouflaged 8.8-cm Pak-43 in France in June of 1944.
Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-720-0315-04A
Copyright: CC BY-SA 3.0
88mm Pak-43
German soldiers with a well camouflaged 8.8-cm Pak-43 in France in June of 1944.
Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-720-0315-05A
Copyright: CC BY-SA 3.0
88mm Pak-43
Close-up of the breech and gun shield of an 8.8-cm Pak-43 on display at Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, as seen in 2015.
Source: JustSomePics
Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0
88mm Pak-43
Abandoned 8.8-cm Pak-43 with pressurized tires in the village of Heusden, the Netherlands, on the 12th of September 1944.
Source: War Office Second World War Official Collection
Copyright: Public domain
88mm Pak-43
Captured 8.8-cm Pak-43 in transport configuration on rigid tire bogies.
Source: Unknown author
Copyright: Copyright lies with original owner
88mm Pak-43
Artist impression of Pak-43 with soft tire bogies seen in an emergency fire position with bogies still attached.
Source: Unknown author
Copyright: Copyright lies with original owner
88mm Pak-43
Artist impression of Pak-43 with rigid tire bogies seen in transport configuration.
Source: Unknown author
Copyright: Copyright lies with original owner
Related articles
75mm PaK-40
The Pak-43 is significantly more powerful than the Pak-40. However, the Pak-40 can still be used in a somewhat mobile role by its crew, while the Pak-43 is static only.
88mm Pak-43/41
The Pak-43/41 uses a more conventional, and less useful, split trail carriage and entered service a year earlier than the Pak-43 on cruciform mount.