In 1940 Adolf Hitler was a very angry man. The RAF had launched a successful raid on the German capitol of Berlin and something had to be done to protect the city. He ordered the building of three enormous flak towers – and they were to be constructed in just six months. Other cities in the Reich soon followed this example and today these massive concrete and steel leviathans still dominate the skylines in some places.
It is easy to shrug the shoulders and dismiss the amount of protective power offered by a flak tower. It isn’t until the full scale of these constructions is revealed that one realizes that they were designed to afford the maximum repellent possible to enemy aircraft. They were, to a greater extent, considered invulnerable. The three that encircled Berlin were, on their own, able to protect the city – such was their enormity. Anti-aircraft warfare requires some serious artillery power so these blockhouses were equipped with at least eight 128 mm guns, with a range of around 14 km, and up to 32 20 mm guns covering 360 degrees. Each had the ability to sustain a combined rate of fire of 8,000 rounds per minute! The ones which survive serve as a poignant reminder of a continent in a state of total war.
The Flak Towers (in German, Flaktürme) were effectively above ground anti-aircraft positions in the shape of a huge blockhouse. They were manned by the Luftwaffe and the fire power was frightening. As well as dealing out death in the sky, the towers also served another purpose. Their three and a half meter thick walls meant, too, that they could be used as above ground air-raid shelters by civilians. They saved lives as well as destroying them. Thousands of people sheltered in Berlin’s Flak Towers during air raids and, when the Soviet ‘Red Army’ invaded the city, many Berliners only surrendered due to a lack of food supplies.
These things were practically indestructible. I think that after the war only one of them was fully demolished. To be fair, any sort of structure with 3 meter thick concrete walls is going to be a real pain to destroy.
malgoya on November 11st, 2017 at 01:54 UTC »
In 1940 Adolf Hitler was a very angry man. The RAF had launched a successful raid on the German capitol of Berlin and something had to be done to protect the city. He ordered the building of three enormous flak towers – and they were to be constructed in just six months. Other cities in the Reich soon followed this example and today these massive concrete and steel leviathans still dominate the skylines in some places.
It is easy to shrug the shoulders and dismiss the amount of protective power offered by a flak tower. It isn’t until the full scale of these constructions is revealed that one realizes that they were designed to afford the maximum repellent possible to enemy aircraft. They were, to a greater extent, considered invulnerable. The three that encircled Berlin were, on their own, able to protect the city – such was their enormity. Anti-aircraft warfare requires some serious artillery power so these blockhouses were equipped with at least eight 128 mm guns, with a range of around 14 km, and up to 32 20 mm guns covering 360 degrees. Each had the ability to sustain a combined rate of fire of 8,000 rounds per minute! The ones which survive serve as a poignant reminder of a continent in a state of total war.
The Flak Towers (in German, Flaktürme) were effectively above ground anti-aircraft positions in the shape of a huge blockhouse. They were manned by the Luftwaffe and the fire power was frightening. As well as dealing out death in the sky, the towers also served another purpose. Their three and a half meter thick walls meant, too, that they could be used as above ground air-raid shelters by civilians. They saved lives as well as destroying them. Thousands of people sheltered in Berlin’s Flak Towers during air raids and, when the Soviet ‘Red Army’ invaded the city, many Berliners only surrendered due to a lack of food supplies.
Individual pictures:
https://i.imgur.com/b5VWdo3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9YvLeC2.jpg
HMS_Minty_Fresh on November 11st, 2017 at 02:10 UTC »
These things were practically indestructible. I think that after the war only one of them was fully demolished. To be fair, any sort of structure with 3 meter thick concrete walls is going to be a real pain to destroy.
bocaj78 on November 11st, 2017 at 03:17 UTC »
Random question. How effective would something like this be in today's battlefield?