What does it mean to catch flak?
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What does it mean to catch flak?
Wolfe’s use likely gave credence to the belief of a relationship between the “criticism” sense of flak and the “publicity” sense of flack, seeing as “to catch flak” for another is to absorb the criticism directed at another so that person doesn’t look bad in the public eye.
What exactly is flak?
Flak typically refers to the anti-aircraft fire coming at one from anti-aircraft guns, derived during World War II from the German Flugabwehrkanone, for “aircraft defence cannon” in turn derived from Flugabwehrgeschütz (flag).
What is black flak ww2?
The versatile 88mm cannon was Germany’s main heavy antiaircraft—or “flak”—gun during World War II. When an 88mm projectile exploded at altitude, it sent out jagged metal fragments that tore through nearby aircraft. It also left a characteristic black cloud hanging in the sky.
How dangerous is a flak round?
This means for your typical heavy flak round that there are about 50 pieces of metal that could do serious hurt to people on the ground. The USAAF did an extensive study of flak and discovered that high bursts were the least dangerous as most of the resulting damage was from falling shrapnel, just as it would be on the ground.
How does flak work in the military?
Answer Wiki. 7 Answers. Flak, or Fliegerabwehrkanone, works by arming artillery class cannons for the use of Anti-Air duties. Flak as we know it ( the exploding ordinance variety ) works by using fuses.
How dangerous was flak in WW2?
The USAAF did an extensive study of flak and discovered that high bursts were the least dangerous as most of the resulting damage was from falling shrapnel, just as it would be on the ground. Now, in terms of German flak there are instances of them firing box barrages using as much as 30,000 rounds in a matter…
How many Allied bombers were destroyed by flak-hits?
German Flak accounted for 50 of the 72 RAF bombers lost over Berlin on the night of March 24th, 1944. Top-scoring for Flak: 56 bombers were destroyed or crippled by flak during a B-17 raid on Merseburg in November of 1944. But I could not find any reliable percentages of Flak-hits, how many took they out of the air per hundred Allied Bombers?