luftwaffe field division 88mm flak 37Originally developed as an anti aircraft weapon, the Flak 37 8. 8cm (or Eighty eight as it became known by Allied troops) had a high muzzle velocity to allow it to reach the higher ranges modern bombers were capable of at the time. This would make it an exceptionally deadly anti tank weapon as many Allied tank crews would learn to their peril. The 88 could also be deployed as a conventional artillery piece as one infantryman noted, the 88 was 'anti