PanzerArt GB35-050 Pz.Kpfw VI “King Tiger” standard Mantlet Henschel Turret with KwK43/3 Gun

The KwK43 (full designation: 8.8 cm KwK 43 L / 71) is a German 88 mm tank gun from the Second World War. The weight of the gun was 2265 kg, and the barrel length was 71 calibers, or 624.8 centimeters. The average rate of fire from this gun was 6-7 shots per minute with a well-trained crew, and the maximum range was about 9300 meters. The gun was developed and produced at the Krupp factories. In a way, the KwK43 gun is a far-reaching development of the KwK36 tank gun of the same caliber, with a barrel longer by over 1.3 meters and significantly better ballistic parameters, which made it probably the best anti-tank gun of World War II. It is worth mentioning that the gun was initially produced with a single barrel, but with time a two-piece barrel was used - in order to simplify production - which, however, did not negatively affect the parameters of the KwK43 gun. It is worth adding that this cannon fired various types of projectiles, for example: Panzergranate (PzGr.) 39/43, PzGr. 40/43 or Granate (Gr.) 39/3 HL and Sprgr. 43. The presented cannon was the main armament of the following vehicles: Panzer VI Ausf. B Königstiger, Jagdpanther and Nashorn. It was also produced as a towed anti-tank (anti-tank) gun under the designation PaK43.