The was an anti-aircraft gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. The Type 88 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2588 in the Japanese imperial year calendar, or 1928 in the Gregorian calendar. It replaced the earlier Type 11 75 mm AA gun in front line combat service, and at the time was equal in performances to any of its contemporaries in western armies and was considered capable of handling any targets the Japanese army was likely to encounter on the Asian mainland. Although it was soon overtaken by improvements in aircraft technology and was largely obsolete by 1941, it continued to be used on many fronts until the end of the war. History and development The Type 88 75 mm AA gun was based on an exhaustive evaluation by the Army Technical Bureau of several existing overseas designs, amalgamating some of the best features from each design (especially from the World War I-vintage British Vickers QF 3 inch 20 cwt AA gun) into a new, Japanese design. The Type 88's number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2588 in the Japanese imperial year calendar, or 1928 in the Gregorian calendar. The Type 88 was superior to Type 11 in accuracy and range of fire. The Type 88 75 mm AA gun entered service between 1927 and 1928, and was deployed to virtually every anti-aircraft field artillery unit as protection against medium level aircraft attacks. Although it was difficult and expensive weapon for Japan to produce with its limited industrial infrastructure and production technology, it was produced in larger numbers than any other medium anti-aircraft weapon in the Japanese inventory. Over 2000 units completed by the time of the surrender of Japan. In the early phases of World War II, Allied military intelligence initially assumed that the Japanese Type 88 was a copy of the formidable German Flak 36/37 88 mm gun due to its name. However, there is no connection between the two weapons. The confusion arose from the Japanese Army's nomenclature system. “Type 88” corresponds to the year 2588 in the Japanese imperial year, and not to the caliber of the weapon. Design The Type 88 75 mm AA gun had a single piece gun barrel with sliding breech, mounted on a central pedestal. The firing platform was supported by five legs,