During the Paris siege in 1871, the German Armies could not prevent the escape of dirigeable airships from the besieged city to the free southern part of France. That lesson gave to the German Headquerters the need to pay some attention to the developemnt of a kind of artillery specifically dedicated to the fight against airships, earlier than any other nation.

Numerous tests and trials eventuelly gave birth in 1910 to the writing of a specification for anti-balloons artillery guns ('Bak' = Ballon-Abwehrkanonen) to the industry, imposing the 77mm calibre, a sufficient mobility or automobility, and a quick-aiming equipment.

As early as 1914, Rheinmetall proposed its '7.7cm Flak 14', later modernised into a '7.7cm Flak 16' ('Flak' = Flug-Abwehrkanone). Unhopefully, the deliveries remained chronically lower than the needs during the war and German had to improvise alternative equipments with existing fieldguns or captured materials to fight against the numerous allied aircrafts.

This gun will be the base of the further development of the famous German anti-aircraft 88mm gun in 1917-1918, that will one day be inspiring the mighty and celeb WW2 German 88mm AA gun.

Main specifications :

• Weight in firing position : 1350 kg
• Calibre : 77 mm
• Tube length : 30 calibres
• Projectile weight : 6.8 kg
• Initial velocity : 465 m/s
• Maximum range : 8025 m (Maximum efficient altitude 3000 m)