Germany’s 88-millimeter cannon terrorized Allied pilots

Published 11:17 am Tuesday, May 19, 2015

One of Germany’s most respected weapons was the 88-millimeter cannon. This powerful gun was much-feared by Allied flyers, tankers and infantry men. In the air, fighter pilots were instructed to change course every seven to ten seconds to keep an 88 shell from exploding nearby. Bomber pilots, stuck in big formations, had no way to move away from the 88’s 22-pound shells spraying jagged metal through the skies. On the ground, one wrong move and tankers could fall into the sights of the wicked German weapon. An 88 projectile could go through a Sherman tank’s armor from hundreds, even thousands, of meters away.