July-August - Air Defense Artillery School

creased velocity during effective penetration, the design
was continued and improved. Small cavity cyclonite-Ioaded
AP-HE, C and BC shells were developed specially for
this new weapon. In the opinion of this observer, no
armored vehicle able to move can withstand the shell from
this Flak 41 at average tank battle ranges.
Thus again to destroy this gun requires tactical handling,
not the optimistic courage of a few tank crews. For this
reason a modern army requires the support of mobile artillery
to remove A.T. gun opposition. Just prior to the introduction
of the Flak 41 the Germans developed a special
tank carriage in which was mounted a Flak 18. This
mounting afforded a mobility to this weapon never before
realized when on the dual purpose mount. This is the
tank now called 'The Tiger." A muzzle brake helped ease
the recoil of the giant 8.8 gun.
ROUNDS OF OPPORTUNITY
In addition to the regular types of ammunition, the normal
German artillery pieces always carry an A.P. round of
opportunity. Such rounds are much like the smaller caliber
A.P. designs, all being base fuzed with adequate bursting
charges. Thus if an artillery position is overrun by enemy
tanks, gun crews if they stick to their guns and survive
have some chance of stopping or destroying these ta
German A.T. doctrine insofar as a piercing projectile
concerned has one principle of design which is not
AP-HE, but a design wherein the projectile carries a sptcial
hard core. The core is usually tungsten-carbide, a I
is capable of tremendous penetration at close ranges. I
most instances such projectiles weigh much less than tilt
heaviest weight of shell which would normally be COn _'
sidered proper for the gun. Therefore a sharp advance in
velocity is always realized. These hard cores are usualh
about one-half the diameter of the projectile. On impact
only the hard inner core penetrates; and it is evident tha
at best comparatively small damage can be done; whereas
tank armor hit by a normal sized AP-HE in most in
stances means a burnt out tank and a dead tank crew. "
This hard core type of ammunition, therefore, \\'OUld
clearly seem to be ammunition of opportunity. A captured I
German 37mm P.A.K. handbook seen in the l\'Iiddle EaSt
cautions the gun crew on the use of this type of ammum (
tion, stating that the rounds are expensive (scarcitv of \.'
metal) and the Right of the projectile is ballistically' un '\.
sound, especially over 400 yards. Very little damage wa<
seen on Allied tanks which could be credited to this type of
round. Damage from AP-HE on the other hand was al
Captured German A.T. weapons. In the foreground is the 2cm Solothurn rifle; next,
the 37mm P.A.K.; and in the background the 28j20mm M41 reducing bore A.T. gun.
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