The German88 mm gun was likely the best known, even famous, artillery piece of World War II. It was not one gun, but a series of guns officially called the 8.8 cm Flak 18, 36, 37, 41, and 43. It was originally developed as an anti-aircraft gun starting in 1928, and had its first use in combat late in the Spanish Civil War or early in World War II, when it was quickly adapted by German ground troops for use as a formidible antitank gun as early as 1940, against the French. This later use caused a substantial arms race in tank design, mostly between the Soviet Union and Germany, resulting in the massive main battle tanks in use even today.
