As many viewers have noted, HEAT means High Explosive Antitank, not High Energy Antitank. I apologize for the error.

I've worked in powerplants in Philadelphia, PA my entire career, specifically with steam turbine maintenance. When I first started back in the late 1980's, there were still WW2 vets as foreman and management. We used heavy pneumatic tooling to disassemble the turbines. We had a 2 1/2" drive pneumatic gun that was used to disassemble the turbine casings during outages. This gun was so large that we had to hang it from the overhead crane to use it, simply because it was so large that we could not hold it up. The sound of this thing was deafening. Imagine the pneumatic guns that are used today in F1 or NASCAR or your local auto shop to remove tires, well those guns usually use a 1/2" or 3/8" drive (at least in America). The gun we used was 2 1/2" drive, It resembled what a jackhammer looks like. The old timers (WW2 Vets) affectionately called that gun the "88". The reason they called it the 88 was because they said it sounded like a German 88 firing during the war. We used that gun into the late 90's, long after all those Vets had retired. Just something I thought I'd share, My little piece of history.

My wife's grandfather was a member of the Luftwaffe: an NCO in charge of an 88 and its crew stationed near Wilhelmshaven. His military career ended one day when, as he told it, an unexploded shell from another battery fell back to earth and detonated, destroying his emplacement and killing his crew. He had just walked to the far side of a staff car and was shielded from the blast but, as he explained, the car itself was a shredded hulk of burning metal after the explosion. Opa spent the remainder of the war recovering from his near-fatal wounds and he never missed the opportunity to say "I was in the Luftwaffe, but I was never a Nazi."

Heard in Africa a captured British officer complained that using AA guns against tanks was unsporting. One of the German officers replied that it was unsporting of the British to field tanks that required AA guns to knock out.

I’ve told this before, my Father was in the Artillery in WW2, in the Middle East his 25 pounder just plain wore out, they were issued with a new new German 88 mm that had been captured, they fought the 88 for nearly 9 months. He showed me that same 88 over 35 years later, it was in a museum in Australia, it still had shrapnel scars on it from a close burst that put him in hospital for over a month and killed other members of his crew.

An 88 story from the American side: My grandfather was gun chief on a 155mm howitzer in the 3rd Army, apparently after they'd crossed the Rhine at Remagen his battery was moving along a mountain road to new firing positions to support the advance, his truck towing his gun being the lead vehicle. As they rounded a curve on the mountain side he looked right down the muzzle of an 88 a few hundred meters ahead. He screamed "everybody out" and they bailed as the 88 blew the truck to pieces. His crew all survived the blast and scooted back around the curve to stop the rest of the convoy. He said what hurt the most was the loss of about a dozen cases of cognac that had been in the back of the truck!

We trained with 88s in Finnish coast artillery back in -88. Often, when you looked at a shell against light, you could see the german eagle shape under the paint. Good and accurate gun. In comparison, we later trained with russian 76mm guns. In that gun, there is an additional crew member, the leaner. And leaner has one job: to lean. You would place a pole to the gun, where there was a factory-made place for it, and the idea was to take away all that extra horizontal movement (there was plenty) and keep the tension to the same side in order to hit something. Also, one crew member had to surrender their trouser suspenders, because the aiming telescope was plagued with the same problem, lots of movement. Suspenders tighten the telescope.

My dad was a tank crewman with the Canadian Army in Italy and northern Europe. I heard several horror stories about 88's taking out a Sherman by "going in the front, and out the rear", and still hitting the tank behind..... FEAR is an understatement when the 88 is involved.

Wow! I can’t believe you mentioned Colonel Hans von Luck! I have not heard that name in a long time. I actually met him in the early 90s. I took a WW2 history class from Stephen Ambrose at U of New Orleans and he brought him to speak to our class. He was a very nice guy. He also brought Major John Howard from the British 6th Airborne. This was right around the time. Band of Brothers was released. He also put on a seminar where I met Dick Winters, Carwood Lipton and Walter Gordon before they were famous.

Not only was the 88 an extremely effective artillery piece, it just looked cool. Points for style.

While the 88 was, without a doubt, the most effective artillery piece of WW2 just remember - A gun is only as accurate as the person aiming it. Kudos to the highly trained crews who manned these guns.

Rommel used the 88 in North Africa to employ a whole new style of warfare. During his strategic retreat from Montgomery, Rommel had his tanks tow 88's behind them. When he reached desirable terrain, he would turn and dig in his tanks and 88's to decimate the approachings British armour, effectively doubling his firepower. When maximum damage had been achieved, the tanks would hook up the 88's and the retreat continued. Brilliant hit and retreat strategy.

When I was a boy, back in the dark ages, one of my friend's dad was a german immigrant. A really good guy - warm-hearted and fun to be around. After I'd known him a while, he told me he'd been a crew captain of an 88 anti-aircraft gun doing his best to bring American bombers down. I was somewhat taken aback, but he explained that he'd been a conscript, and had he refused duty, he'd have been shot. He came to the USA after the war the first chance he got. That was an important lesson for a young lad - to expand the consideration of what an "enemy" can be. Brings the great song "Brothers in Arms" to mind...

My uncle was flying over Normandy one day in June 1944 when one of them showed up outside his gun turret. It had run out of puff, and since it didn't explode, maybe a dud, but it was a huge shell, and there it was, sitting there. Raus and von Luck both write incredibly good books, too, for those interested.

My dads main job in WW2 as a Liaison pilot and spotter for an armored artillery battalion was to scout ahead of the columns for just this weapon. He was nearly hit twice by 88's before he discovered them as the Germans had them very well camouflaged and intelligence reports often had them marked as eliminated when they were only slightly damaged and the crews were quickly replaced. Needless to say, those guns were destroyed in short order by 155mm fire called down on them. they were greatly feared by all armored units, but fortunately, they were used as direct fire weapons and the terrain in most situations allowed them to be spotted from the air before they could fire on the armored columns. Dad not only saved hundreds of allied lives, but accounted for several dozen 88's during the final push against Germany.

My story, is from the D day Ohio event in August. A fun reenactment event in Northeast Ohio off lake Erie. I was 20 ft away when they did a test fire of a flat 88. Even a black powder charge felt like a kick to the chest from the muzzle blast and I admit I giggled like a schoolgirl. It was awesome.

History guy for President. Only someone so well studied in history is fitting to lead us into the future.

As I viewed this video it gave me pause. In Nam I was tasked with reading "TACREPS" (tactical reports) and consolidating them into a morning briefing for the higher highers. Many read as follows: "Units of the so and so division while on patrol received fire from at tree line at so and so grid coordinates. Result friendly 1 WIA, 1 KIA, enemy unknown." I always thought of the parents or wives or fiancees, whose lives had been radically changed and at the moment I was reading the TACREP, they didn't even know. This video unfortunately brought back to me a little of that same sadness and depression. To hear "within minutes, a half dozen tanks were destroyed or burning" while accurately portraying the results of the engagement, says nothing about the effects on the parents, wives, or fiancees, of the tank crews that were never going home. History Deserves to Be Remembered, but I am compelled to remember it from "inside the tank" and not as numbers on an after action report. That said, great job THG.

A gun with mechanics and optics designed to shoot down fast, high flying aircraft married with a high velocity shell... no wonder they were so murderous against armor.

History Guy - APR '45, Dad on team of 6 ordered to attack 4 Tigers stopping advance. 2 SGTs led w/Tommy Guns, 3 GIs had Panzerfaust, but Dad had 2. Both SGTs KIA, 2 GIs KIA leaving PFC Robert Fish of NY, and Dad from Mich. Dad crept up nailing 2 Tigers clearing the 10 crewman. Fish said eff this so fired his weapon in general direction missing. Both Dad & Fish advanced zigzagging to rear at warp speed but Fish suffered hit beneath blasting him 25' in air. Seconds later Dad dove under fence at road when "88" landed between legs penetrating ground beneath & blew him up into the barbwire fence's remains. Dad hung there paralyzed for 2 hours until couple of Thunderbolts slipped thru slit in overcast clearing Tigers in one sweep. Dad cut down & hauled to Field Hospital w/PFC Fish. I guess I was lucky to have been born in '50 as 88mm round had torn up Dad with over 400 holes in long coat, so no BP. Put in dead pile, but rescued by Guard noticing Dad's trigger finger moved each time he paced by. Dragged to intake for triage again, one Guard stayed with him & when Doc said we've already checked him...he's dead. Guard slammed his .45 on table and said "Look again". Upon further review Dad alive, 4 Docs sewed up wounds leaving shrapnel inside to get BP. Whisked to London as Monte intervened reporting his name to Ike on KIA list as Dad had been trainer for D-Day prep.Upon further review, Monte had found Dad KIA list wrong & Dad evacuated to French hospital. Monte ordered flown to London & transported to hospital w/no vitals by insane ambulance driver scaring hell out of both attendants. Driver came to visit with her crew & ice creams few months later as Dad learning to talk & walk. Dad, Nurse, and company made too much noise so Nurse in charge and Asst. came rushing in scolding them...paused... then said "Sorry for the intrusion Your Highness" and left. Afterwards Dad asked his Nurse "So who the hell was "Your Highness"? She replied "That was Princess Elizabeth, ambulance driver that saved your life". Guess she knew how to make somebody "Live Long and Prosper" as Dad passed 1-2-2007!! Long live The Queen!!!

I live in the Ruhr, where many of the factories that made parts for the „Acht-Acht“ were located. Bochumer Verein (who manufactured barrels for the gun) and Eisen-und Hüttenwerke AG (who also supplied some of the special alloys needed for the U Boats - renamed SWB after the war), among others, are located here. Bochum, Essen (where Krupp was located) Duisburg and the rest of the Ruhr were basically the industrial powerhouse of Nazi Germany, where much of the heavy industry and mining operations were located. So the area was considered crucial for the war effort, making it a prime target for air raids. I saw a photo exhibition recently where pictures were shown, made during the last days of the war as well as the first post-war years. It is such a strange feeling to see these pictures - even more so if you know exactly where they were shot. Some landmarks have not changed much at all. So in some cases you can still go and stand exactly where the photographer stood, 70+ years ago, give or take a few feet.

I had a inflatable 88mm shell from the Tank Museum like you do, then my Granddaughter wanted to play with it... The mighty 88 fell to her assault.

Finland used 88s after the war for a long time. Some were used as coastal artillery and were retired as recently as early 2000s. One battery of 88s located at Helsinki Air Defense regiment was pre-aimed at the nearby airport and had a special mission to shell the runways if a hostile force ever attempted a surprise landing there during the Cold War.

Saw an old diagram of the 88’s average accuracy ratings for vehicle targets. @1000m- 93% hits @2000m- 80% hits @3000m- 50% hits Something to that extent. Which is incredible.

My grandfather,a medic in France up until Dunkirk and then from D-day until late 1946,said that he remembers the sound of these as distinctive and very 'metallic' but mostly he remembers the first time he encountered an American tank that had been hit by an 88mm field gun. He didn't go into details and never did,but as he was telling me I could see by the change in his facial expression and a distant look in his eye for a second or so that whatever he saw was firmly etched even all those years later,which also told me all I needed to know.Such notoriety is only achievable by success,that success is also measured by how it affected people physiologically,I've never watched a WW2 documentary without at least half of the old veterans mentioning the '88s' and how devestating and morale crushing they were.

88's were nasty, but the Pak 40s and Pak 43's were equally as nasty. Scoring more kills than the duel purpose Flak gun. Even the 76mm L45 on the Stugs had an impressive kill ratio. Great episode, WWII history always tickles me fancy.

"Either you're a dead man, or you earn yourself a medal"... Some people just don't know how to take "No" for an answer :-)

The original 8.8cm gun was as a light gun for use against torpedo boats on German armored warships starting circa-1890 or thereabouts. When the first 88mm/56 guns, later also used in the Tiger I tank, were deployed as AA guns, somebody decided that they, perhaps for self-protection, should have an anti-armor projectile. What they got was a miniature version of the latest naval capped AP round used in such ships as HIPPER, SCHARNHORST, and BISMARCK (and in later coast defense guns up to 16"). This projectile was not designed for high-velocity penetration of armor thicker than the projectile diameter (rarely found in most battleships of that time, though some got pretty thick armor during WWII) and was also specifically designed with thick hardened caps for penetrating face-hardened armor ("Krupp Cemented" and its German and foreign variants used for thick side armor on battleships particularly). Since few tanks had such thick-faced armor, but did use armor that was in some cases as thick as the projectile size (some Russian tanks, as mentioned in the video), these shells turned out to be somewhat weak and subject to breakup at close range against such armor, as that single KV tank showed. Later new shells for this gun, the longer 88mm/71 used in the TIGER II, and the long-barreled PANTHER 75mm gun replaced the naval-type projectiles, using an AP cap with a thinner, more flat-cone front face, a better hardening process, and a much smaller internal cavity for its explosive charge (tanks have small inner compartments, unlike warships, and do not need big explosive charges to cause sufficient damage after penetration). These better projectiles were the ones used by the TIGER and PANTHER tanks and 88mm anti-tank guns during most of WWII.

Worth mentioning is that a good part of what made this gun effective in the anti-tank role was its high velocity, resulting in a flatter trajectory and greater chance of getting hits at any range.

My Grandfather and Great uncle fought in France and of the very few things either would talk about was the unique sound of the 88. 30 year after the fact Uncle Al (Cross of Lorraine Div) got goosebumps remembering the sound and fury of those guns. Thank you for yet another piece of history that deserves to be remembered.

Yet another slice of history remembered in a video of High Caliber.

I just finished reading "To Hell and Back" (again)... Audie Murphy and his men hated, respected and feared these guns... They were especially effective in the German defensive actions at Anzio...

1320-1340: That's one ballsy Wehrmacht ground commander. "I'm from the Luftwaffe...killing tanks is your job." Von Lucht's response: "Either You're killing tanks and earning medals, or you're a dead man." That's a statement from a warrior! Although I'm an American whose Grandfather fought on the other side...I salute you sir!

Hans Von Luck was a true gentleman. After the war he lectured at several schools about the German Tactics and became close friends with many officers he had fought against. Very interesting man.

In an issue of a scale modeling magazine there was a diorama built showing the battle of Halfaya Pass in North Africa in which the German 88's were dug in at ground level with the sun at their back while the British tanks were advancing into it and afterwards the British tankers referred to it as " Hell Fire Pass " . I had a copy of the magazine in the late 1960's .

Dad was RCCS and went through Sicily/Italy. I could tell he was in awe of the '88 by the way he spoke about it. He only did that a few times, after a few drinks, and never told me anything else about his war years.

i was a tanker in the army and stories of the 88 were still told [90's]. that the armor core based [took notes on] the 90mm and 105mm on the 88 shows what a good design it was.

My Dad was with the 7th Armored Division in northern Europe in 1944-45. He did not talk much about the war, but did mention the 88. He told me that the GI's said that it could shoot around corners. I think he was only half joking.

An old timer I used to know commanded a Sherman in WW2 Europe. He told me what impressed him most about an 88 he examined was the optics of the sight.

My dad was conscripted in 1944 at 16yrs and was on a crew on an 88 until he was injured in may of 45. I have some photos of him and the crew, with the gun, one of the guys on the crew was so small, and young he was swimming in his uniform as it was way to big for him. A few of the photos have some notes and signatures on the backside. My dad did survive the war, married my mom and moved to Canada, he worked hard and had a successful life, although he did have some demons.

The first time I heard of the "88" was when reading Spike Milligan's war memoirs as a child, and reading of the terror and anxiety this gun wrought on the troops in N. Africa with it's fast, low-trajectory projectiles. It caught my imagination and seemed like a near-mythical weapon.

As a child growing up, my Father a Battle Of The Bulge veteran, always told us how terrible the "88" was, he got fuc##d up pretty good there. Thanks for this video, I understand better now. (;

About 30 years ago, I was seeing a WWII veteran as a patient. He told me the story of the Germans were so accurate with the 88. They shot a running American in a large field just because they could. He also said they were more afraid of the 88 than any other weapon.

I had an olds 88 that was just as deadly. It used to just bounce off trees.

The 88 was also a nasty anti-personnel weapon as well. When my father was in Anzio, he said the sound of 88 shells buzzing through the air was a fearful sound. The airburst would kill and wound even dug in troops.

"The Allies were working with limited intelligence"...I warned 'em about some of those officers ;)

my grandad, who served as a 25 pounder gunner in the British Army and was stuck in Toburk during the siege, would when a bit drunk, get pretty hysterical about these things. 88's take cover, take cover, he would then make this noise - like a whoosh/shhh sound - and then shout bang!

I still consider that one of the best artillery pieces ever made.

The History Guy's Magellan ad is more compelling than the 30,000 Discovery Plus ads I've seen today on cable.

So close to that 1 million mark‼️ I hope you hit it by end of month, you deserve it. Love the videos and your passion for them. Much love from a fellow Missourian. (I think you are on our side of the river at least).

My WWII hero was my father, Merchant Mariner...sunk TWICE by the Germans. He still had great respect as he told me some of his world...

I need an 88 to mount on the roof. With one of those I'm sure I could "deter" the HOA before they ever get near the door.

Really appreciate the hard work that makes your channel special. Thanks and hopefully we can continue and enjoy our 'History' for years to come.

My husband unearthed an anti-tank round while working in a field near Seimbach, Germany. EOD took it away but warned that finding more was likely.

As I notice there are already over a thousand comments in the section, this may have already been brought up. But it’s pretty well known that during WW2 when allied ground forces in the European Theater of Operations would be on the receiving end of German artillery fire, it was most always later be referred by the troops involved as something of the effect of, “getting hit by the 88’s.” Even through the vast majority of German artillery fire directed at allied units were from some version of towed 10.5cm or 15.0cm field gun(s). Sorta the way GI’s would, lots of times, in after-action reports after contact with German armor, refer to the German Mk. IV Medium Tank as a “Tiger Tank.” In both circumstances, a totally understandable mistake, considering they both appear similar and in both cases it’s you’re ass on the hot receiving end of the weapon.

After landing in Normandy my uncle was caught up in hedge row country with a reformed mortar group. After firing a few rounds at the Germans an 88 got them lined up and landed a shell that blew up the entire platoon. My uncle had a severe belly wound that sent him home, luckily mostly in one piece. Years later a surgeon who had worked on him for diverticulitis expressed his confusion when he found part of his pancreas growing in his intestine. I explained to him it was those damn 88's of the Germans!

My dad was with the 899th TD co. B during WWII. He liked to send photo letters home. One picture was of a 88 and on the back he wrote this is the gun that scares the sh-- out of us!

I knew a WWII vet. He exact words were """That 88 was one wicked gun"".

The 88 was a AWESOME WEAPON. My dad was at Anzio beach head and told me about a couple maybe one 88 was holding up the Invasion because they was mounted into the side of the mountain overlooking the beach. Because of that they could not do much without the 88 DESTROYING anything moving on the beach. Even jeeps were picked off the beach even though they were small and fast. Bombers bombed the mountain but they pulled back into the safety of the mountain. It had to be over runed by troops from above to knock them out. I believe it is TRUE, my dad told me the story. He was a VHF CREW CHIEF and a veteran of 9 CAMPAIGNS in the Atlantic Theatre. 😉😁😎

I used to fire 88mm cannon in ex Yugoslavia army as artillery soldier and I was impressed and I understood why Germans were very effective in WWII.

Many people believe the 88s were pressed into serving as A.T. guns in an emergency. It was then that Rommel realized they would make great A.T. guns. The fact is they carried armor piercing ammo for just such a purpose. They were designed to act as anti aircraft OR anti tank weapons from the very start. It wasnt just by chance.

The past few years, an "88" has been present at the "D-Day Ohio" reenactment in Conneaut. It is said to be the only one in the world in full working order. When it fires--using a reduced-power charge in deference to its age and rarity--you don't just hear it, you *feel* it.

I read an account from the Caucasus where it was said a German 88 crew hit a Soviet tank on a road. The range was 7000 meters. They were on high ground and the tank was broadside to them.

0:31 . Yes, both the Flak and Tiger's cannons were 88mm, but the Flak's cannon wasn't used on the tiger. A whole new cannon was developed for the tank.

I enjoy not so much learning, which is always critical, but the way, speech, cadence, and enthusiasm you bring is what makes your videos well worth watching. Thank you.

You should do an episode on the proximity fuse. Maybe its not a "weapon" per se, but it certainly was one of the most important and effective technological innovations of the war.

There's one here in New Orleans WWII museum. It's a serious piece of kit no doubt. I always check it out when I visit and I still stand in awe of it's power. If you happen to visit NOLA make sure you take a day and visit that museum. It's incredible to visit especially if you are a WWII nut like me.

@The History Guy I LOVE your Splendid stories of History, but I am even more moved to read the History of WW2. Your depth of knowledge is hard to match. Even more fascinating are the personal accounts of actual WW2 Veterans who comment on your videos. As well as the people who had personal relationships and stories to tell of such men of the Greatest Generation. Your historical literaries, or should I say Visionaries, bring out accounts of such historical personalities that would otherwise been lost to time, now written for all to see, preserve, and of course, remember. Thank you, good Sir, for bringing History alive, and evoking the Memories therein. I have more respect for you than for any other historian that I know of. After you are gone, witch I hope is a LONG time from now, History will Definitely remember You, THG.

One memorable cartoon from "Up Front" by Bill Mauldin ( a collection of WWII cartoons from the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper) showed a number of angry GI's hanging around a tent where German POW's were being interviewed. One of the officers that was doing the interviews told the soldiers "We'll let you know if we find the one what invented the '88'."

If you get a chance, check out the "Willy and Joe" cartoon with the one grunt talking to an MP POW processers and the MP telling him "We'll let you know when we've found the guy who invented the '88". In fact, "Willy and Joe" would make a great show!

My father drove a tank in ww2 and he said just the mention of these things gave him the Willie's!

My dad was a factory engineer and voluntered for AA duty at Battersea in WW2. He was involved in modifying the 6 pounder (57mm) anti-tank gun. Later he helped link batteries of 3.7" (94mm) AA Guns to a radar director. These were used very successfully on the V1's fixed flightpaths (early V1 versions used permanent fixed ramps and British AA was sited accordingly). He wondered why the 3.7" had not been adapted as the 88 was. The 17 pounder (76.2mm) was big enough (on Firefly) and turrets could not be adapted for the bigger recoil of the 3.7". Postwar, other guns armed the British Army MBT (Centurion).

Speaking of Arras, please consider doing an episode on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, aviator, author, and journalist. While probably best known for his novella _The Little Prince,_ he wrote many other harrowing and, occasionally, tragic, works such as _Wind, Sand and Stars,_ _Night Flight,_ and _Flight to Arras._

Von Luck wrote his memoir titled "Panzer Commander" and is a very fine book. His detailed account of Goodwood is interesting to say the least.

The scene I most remember from “Saving Private Ryan” is one where the American officer played by Tom Hanks is describing a battle he and his men had fought as part of their first day at Normandy and you can tell it is very difficult emotionally for him to think about the recent battle and relate to his superior officer what the officer needed to know and he shakes his head and referring to the Wehrmacht soldiers they had undoubtedly killed says “those boys sure didn’t want to give up those 88’s”. That scene to me speaks volumes about the value of the 88’s to the German soldiers and the horrific price each side had to or was willing to pay to keep them or to take them.

I always enjoy your take on historical stories. Thank you man, keep it up!!! Hope you and Mrs History Guy are doing Wonderfully!

Another Excellent short documentary. Thank you Sir. PS . We miss Mrs History Guy. Give her our regards.

Thank you for another wonderful episode. I like the three stories format.

I wish my Dad was still alive. He was in the 351st Reg. 2nd Bat. Co.F 88th Inf. Div. WW2 Rome/Arno/ N.Apennines campaign. He could tell you a thing or two about that dastardly gun and the aces that fired it.

The British 3.7 inch anti-aircraft gun was as effective (if not more effective) as the German 8.8 cm Flak in an anti-aircraft role. But the 3.7 inch AA gun was almost never used as a stand-in for inadequate anti-tank guns because the British 25 pounder field gun was more effective at this, having a much lower profile (thus easier to conceal). The 25 pounder was provided with armour-piercing ammunition, and with a full charge loaded in the cartridge case (it used separate loading of shell and propelling charge) was capable of taking on any German tank before the excellent 17 pounder anti-tank gun became available. Its calibre was 3.45 inch, or 87.6 mm (88 mm to the nearest mm).

A single tank crew holding off an entire army. Now that would make a good movie...

My dad, a WWII vet serving in Europe, used to talk about the 88 as the best gun any military had during the war. And, while cursing the US military bureaucracy for many things, about the war, the most cursed thing was the lack of an equivalent to the 88. Of course, as an old man myself now, and looking back through the lens of history, the US did have an equalizer to the mighty 88...Total domination of the air. But, my fathers passion on the subject illustrates the effectiveness of the 88.

Years ago i had a brief conversation with a south african guy.he said he was cruising along at 30000ft in his spitfire when an 88mm blew his wing off.wish i could speak to him now and ask a lot more questions!

I subscribed to the history guy when there was less than 20 thousand subscribers now he has almost a million I love this channel he does a great job explaining history keep up the good work a fan for life👍👍👍

My Dad seldom talked of his WW-2 experiences, but the German 88 was presented to me as a 'dark' memory.

I've been a "history guy" for many years, with particular interest in the world wars. So I am well educated on the German 8.8. And your video was informative, very much so in fact. But, more than your knowledge, what draws me to your channel and thoroughly entertains me is your presentation. Your voice, mannerisms and inflections, the concise yet precise script, the well thought out storyboard, all tied together with that signature bowtie really, really make your videos an exceptionally entertaining experience. I'm "clicking & subscribing" right now. Great work! Thanks for the effort.

My godfather was an 88mm AA gunner in the Luftwaffe, first stationed in Nuremberg and Munich in ‘44. During training they would fire at a kite being pulled by an aircraft. The instructors told him to lead the kite lots, don’t be shy. So he did. He didn’t hit the tow plane, but the pilot radioed down saying that’s enough for today. For AA use they had an optical range / direction finder that was wired to several ‘88s. The ranger finder operators (in my own words) would find the altitude of the bombers, set the correct lead and move the scope to stay on the bombers. Signals were wired out to the guns so as the scope moved, dials on the guns moved as well to show direction and elevation to target. The gun operators moved there guns to match the dials using hand cranks. The loaders set the fuse on the rounds to match the altitude, load it and let ‘er go. He said it was like trying to hit a fly with a pea shooter. But the 88’s had a fairly rapid firing rate and they’d just keep shooting. He said he had the scope on a bomber, cant remember if he said it was a B17 or a Liberator. The bomb doors were opened, and he saw a round go into the bomb bay. I’ve read Allied stories of how they also could see the round coming when they were in line with the target. Later his unit was attached to a Panzer division if I recall, in Belgium where he remembered taking out several tanks of Patton’s forces in the Battle of the Bulge. I think that was over Christmas of ‘44 (not sure), for maybe a week or two in Belgium, then they destroyed their guns as they were being over run, and got out. He said many of the 88’s were made from Russian barrels they bored out to 88mm.

This was awesome. Wish ad for Magellan service was at end but it is worth getting thru to hear these great stories. I listened to it while running this morning and could picture scenes (esp. the 88 shells going l the corn fields in my mind) Now I will have to watch it. Great job!

We are blessed to have your excellent history lectures! They fit the goldilocks principle of just right.

I would highly recommend VonLuck’s book “Panzer Commander .”

I worked with a surgeon who had been a battlefield surgeon in WWII. He told of an action where troops had to pass through a railroad tunnel to reach a German-held chateau. The Germans had an 88 sited to fire straight down the tunnel. The Americans made it through, but the doc said that when he passed through the next day, there were pieces of G.I.s stuck to the tunnel walls.

In the 1950's an old army buddy of my father's would come to visit us, and I became aware that the gentleman could not be outside in direct sunlight for any length of time. Curious, I asked my father why that was, and in response, he replied with a rather sardonic chuckle: "A German 88 took the top of his head off, and an aluminum plate was inserted in his skull to replace the lost bone. Direct sunlight makes it expand, and that causes discomfort." Commentary: (1) As an adolescent, I had no understanding of a "German 88", or shrapnel, and merely imagined that an intact cannon shell hit him in the head. (Such an event would have been immediately life-extinguishing.) (2) Ordinary aluminum would have been an impossibly bad choice for a medical implant due to corrosion problems, so it must have been some medical-grade alloy, although I rather doubt that the preferred choice, titanium, or alloy of same, would have been available during WWII, or even for some/many years after. (3) My memory is hazy, but I think the injury was inflicted at Anzio.

I read Von Luck's book and saw him in a British reunion video about the same attack. He mentioned the 88 incident when he had to threaten the Luftwaffe officer with slightly different verbiage. The city fighting was some of the worst I have ever read. Great historic video.

This is amazing , 2 nights ago I was talking about the 88s and how unbelievable they were. Thank you again for doing it again. You make me at age 45 still want to learn .

I knew a German WWII vet that was a spotter for the dreaded 88....He said that if you were in the same place , after they missed you the first time; you would be gone in 30 seconds....deadly accurate......

Great Episode, History Guy. I'm kind of a military history nerd (WWII specifically) and have read lots of books about WWII and the 88 was definitely a feared weapon that excelled at multiple roles. I really like reading/hearing first hand accounts of action in WWII and am very thankful that I wasn't around to have to fight in it. America's Greatest Generation for sure.

We would be thrilled to see the granite state represented on your program, from the peak of Mount Washington and the home of the world's worst weather with the first Cog Railway, to America's Stonehenge oh, the Great Stone Face- "The Old Man of the Mountain" in Franconia notch ( the anniversary of its demise is coming up on 3rd May), or the Wylie house disaster with the entire family and a couple of guests wiped out by a rockslide in a storm. The various ships that plied the Waters of Lake Winnipesaukee; the Mount Washington, the side-wheeler which sank in the lake or the most recent which originated on the great lakes in the 19th century and is still in service? We have many events which you might find intriguing and worthy of your attention.

Wow this one is going on the "Best of History Guy" playlist, that tank story was incredible!

I know 2 ww2 veterans hit by 88s . One took the turret off his churchill tank he was the only survivor ( driver ) hospitalised for 2 years and blind for the first 9 months . The other went through the wing and toolbox of his dingo after they reversed after seeing the muzzle flash .

Great video, the Flak 88 been one of my favorite weapons of all time,thankyou