I am doing an extensive study on German Anti-Aircraft guns, and Anti-Aircraft Gun Vehicles {Flak Trucks} , Like the Bak-Wagen, Kraftwagen 14 mit 7.7 cm BAK, 7.7cm leichte Kraftwagen-Flak L/27. 1914 by Krupp/Daimler and Ehrhardt/Rheinmetall. or any other variants. Any information would be very useful, and appreciated.
Below are some links to images of German flak guns that I have found. Please let me know if you can provide more complete descriptions of the guns or if you believe my identifications are wrong.
misc. small flak guns: www.flinthills.com/~john/landships/german flak/small flak/german-artillery-ww2-08b.jpg
unknown guns with special flak carriages: www.flinthills.com/~john/landships/german flak/1m.jpg www.flinthills.com/~john/landships/german flak/flak02.jpg www.flinthills.com/~john/landships/german flak/up84-23.jpg www.flinthills.com/~john/landships/german flak/Untitled-4.jpg
Looking at your pics I can articulate a bit on them:
1) Small Flak gun - This was originally designed as a light weight, high calibre defense weapon for the German airships. Have never found evidence it was ever used in that capacity( introduced late in the war), but it did see service as a ground mount. An example survives today at the Royal Armee Musee in Brussels (though their example has been assembled with the reciever upside down somehow).
2) Unknown guns - The two You illustrate are 7,7cm Krupp BAK mounted on the Krupp-Daimler Platform Truck Model 1914.
3) KwgnG14 - These are excellent studies of the 7,7cm Rheinmetall BAK mounted on the Ehrhardt Platform Truck Model 1914.
4) 8cm Flak 102 - In reality, this is the 8,8cm K-Flak L/45 ( I have the original manual). The still photo is of the piece residing at Aberdeen. For decades now, it has been erroneously refered to as the model 102. Actually, that's the production number stamped on the reciever block that one hapless fellow( who authored the book the other pic is from) decided was the model number. The other "88" photo you have is the Rheinmetall version of this gun. It is distinguished from the Krupp by the longer tube and carraige. Look closely at the carraige and you will note similarity to the later Flak 18.
5) Flak02 - This is a PK photo of the captured French "75" converted to the AA role. These guns were all rebored to 7,7cm and fitted to a new carraige. This was the most numerous purpose built Flak piece in German use. (Contrary to what is generally believed, the Germans captured these guns in large numbers. )
6)Early Flak - This is a rare image of the little known 7,62 Flak18(R). Based on the excellent M02 Russian gun they were intended to become the standard medium Flak piece in the army. They were not wheeled; rather fitted to a pedistal mount. The Germans actually had a high regard for Ruskie artillerie, and pressed captured pieces into use in larger numbers than any other catpured ordnance. The performance of the 7,62cm round particularly impressed them enough to manufacture the type from 1916 onward. (Curiously, they found the French 75 to be inferior to their own 77; the later actually outranged the former, and they never manufactured the French round... though they loved the French 120mm and did tool up to turn them out for their captured examples).
Hope this information is of some interest, and hasn't put anyone to sleep.
Jack! Does your Flak 8,8 instruction include plans/drawings of the gun? I'd like to scratchbuit the model of that gun i 1/72, and maybe Karaya will produce the kit, if only we find credible data of that gun! Could you contact me on my e-mail: grzegorz_mazurowski@poczta.onet.pl
BTW, I have article about German AA artillery in Over the Front (or was that Cross and Cockade?) magazine. TIA! Grzegorz
