No gun of the war was more feared than the "88." It was built as an anti-aircraft weapon — Flak, from Flugabwehrkanone — but its true fame came on the ground. In the North African desert, Rommel turned his 88s on British tanks and found that their high velocity and flat trajectory could kill any Allied tank at ranges where the tank could not even reach back. The lesson spread, and "the 88" became a byword: to a frightened tank crew, every powerful German gun was an 88. It killed aircraft, tanks, bunkers, and men with equal ease — and its barrel was adapted to arm the Tiger, the most dreaded gun on the most dreaded tank.

The twelve-piece set builds the Flak 36/37 on its cruciform carriage — two trails folding up, the other pair riding limber bogies for the move — with a seated gunner and ammunition, in the early-war overall grey. It anchors an artillery position: crew it with "Preparing for Action" (the gun crew), lay it in with the Artillery Officer on the Field Phone, and traverse it onto the tanks it was so good at killing, the U.S. M4A3 Sherman.

W. Britain model 25088. 1/30 scale, matte-painted metal. Twelve-piece set — the 88mm Flak 36/37 gun on its cruciform carriage with limber bogies, a seated crew figure, and ammunition, in the early-war overall-grey finish. Boxed.