Type 99 88 mm AA gun
The was an anti-aircraft gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The Type 99's number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2599 in the Japanese imperial year calendar (1939 in the Gregorian calendar). History and development During the Battle of Nanjing in the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese forces captured a number of German-made SK C/30 anti-aircraft guns from the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. These weapons were originally naval anti-aircraft weapons for the Third Reich's Kriegsmarine, and should not be confused with the more famous FlaK 88 mm anti-aircraft gun. Quickly realizing the superiority of this design in terms of range and firepower over the domestic Type 88 75 mm AA gun, the Japanese Army Technical Bureau quickly reverse engineered it, and placed it into production. Approximately 1000 units were built. Design The Type 99 88 mm AA gun had a mono-block gun barrel, semi-automatic vertical sliding breech block, and hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism. The firing platform was supported by five legs, each of which (along with the central pedestal) had adjustable screwed foot for leveling. The gun barrel could easily be removed from the breech end-piece, and the entire assembly