Men of the 578th Field Artillery Battalion (attached to US 90th Infantry Division) emplace a captured German gun in preparation for firing on Germans trapped in the Harlange Pocket, northern Luxembourg, 5 miles south-east of Bastogne, Belgium; Battle of the Bulge, January 11, 1945.
8.8 cm. Panzerabwehrkanane 43/41. The powerful L/71 length barrel was mounted on a 10.5 cm. leichte Feldhaubitze carriage with the wheels of a 15 cm. schwere Feldhaubitze carriage. It fired two types of armor piercing rounds: the Panzergranate 39/43 and the Panzergranate 40/43. These had a muzzle velocity of 1,000 and 1,130 meters/second respectively. It could also fire a high explosive round, the Sprenggranate 43, which had a muzzle velocity of 950 meters/second. The 8.8 cm. L/71 gun was also mounted on the Jagdpanther tank destroyer, Nashorn tank destroyer and the King Tiger tank. Because of its latge size, the gun was nicknamed the "Scheunentor" (barn door.) Some guns were also used in coastal defense positions.