88mm

[BlackSheep214]

I finished watching Band of Brothers for the 10th time and wondered during the Battle of the Bulge, was the 88mm a howitzer or a tank version?

[Gary Brantley]

This is a pretty good article, even if from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8.8_cm_Flak_18/36/37/41

[Stikpusher]

I finished watching Band of Brothers for the 10th time and wondered during the Battle of the Bulge, was the 88mm a howitzer or a tank version?

The German 88 was never a howitzer. Its primary purpose was anti aircraft, with a secondary direct fire role against ground targets such as vehicles or strongpoints such as bunkers, etc. it did have an indirect fire mode similar to a howitzer, but due to the ballistics of the gun and ammunition, would give different performance when compared to an actual howitzer. As much as GIs liked to say that they were under fire from 88’s, the most common German howitzers were actually 105mms, just like in the US Army.

[Tojo72]

Question,in the movie did they refer to the guns at Brecourt Manor as 88's even though they were 10.5cm or am my mistaken?

[BlackSheep214]

Good question.

So my question is what type of artillery equipment did the Germans use to fire upon the GIs with such artillery firepower that had the ability to zero in and cause everything to explode all around them including the trees split in half?

I'm trying to find a kit of artillery it was used in Bois Jacque prior to the 101st advance into Foy

[Stikpusher]

Question,in the movie did they refer to the guns at Brecourt Manor as 88's even though they were 10.5cm or am my mistaken?

In that episode, when the brief the assault plan as being on a battery of 88’s, but afterwards in the debrief, Winters says that they were actually 105s.

[Tojo72]

Thanks,I knew they weren't 88's unless they had 88 howitzers

[Stikpusher]

Good question.

So my question is what type of artillery equipment did the Germans use to fire upon the GIs with such artillery firepower that had the ability to zero in and cause everything to explode all around them including the trees split in half?

I'm trying to find a kit of artillery it was used in Bois Jacque prior to the 101st advance into Foy

That would depend upon the units that they were facing in the area. Supporting artillery ranged from 75mm to 150mm, both towed and self propelled. Add in multiple rocket launchers as well as mortars and the possible choices for weapons used increases dramatically. To be truly accurate you’d need to see the war diaries of the units involved.
The ability to zero in is dependent upon the skills and experience of the artillery observers correcting the fall of the shots and the gun crews in following the directions of the observers. Effects in the impact area depend upon the types of rounds used, fuze settings, and volume of fire.

[Stikpusher]

Thanks,I knew they weren't 88's unless they had 88 howitzers

No, the Germans never had an 88mm howitzer, only the Flak and PAK guns in 88mm caliber, along with their derivative Kwk 88mm tank guns.

[speedgraflex]

Tom, There is a cool YouTube channel on historical accuracy of shows and movies. If you are curious I’ll find it and drop a link. He did BoB.