Flak Towers: Effective or not?

Рет қаралды 2,057,932

7 жыл бұрын

In World War 2 Germany constructed several “Flak Türme” or in English Flak Towers. There were located in 3 cities, namely, Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna. Many of them actually survived up to this day, because they were usually too difficult to destroy. For instance, in Vienna all 6 are still standing and they were also the most modern ones.
Military History Visualized provides a series of short narrative and visual presentations like documentaries based on academic literature or sometimes primary sources. Videos are intended as introduction to military history, but also contain a lot of details for history buffs. Since the aim is to keep the episodes short and comprehensive some details are often cut.
»» GET OUR BOOKS ««
» Stukabook - Doctrine of the German Dive-Bomber - stukabook.com
» The Assault Platoon of the Grenadier-Company November 1944 (StG 44) - sturmzug.com
» Army Regulation Medium Panzer Company 1941 - www.hdv470-7.com
» Achtung Panzer? Zur Panzerwaffe der Wehrmacht - panzerkonferenz.de
»» SUPPORT MHV ««
» patreon - see videos early (adfree) - / mhv
» subscribe star - www.subscribestar.com/mhv
» paypal donation - paypal.me/mhvis
» KZfaq Membership - / @militaryhistoryvisual...
»» MERCHANDISE ««
» teespring - teespring.com/stores/military...
» SOURCES «
Sakkers Widmann, Hans Elmar: Flaktürme - Wien - Hamburg - Berlin
Zaloga, Steven: Defense of the Reich 1941-1945 (Fortress)
Schabel, Ralf: Die Illusion der Wunderwaffen. Die Rolle der Düsenflugzeuge und Flugabwehrraketen in der Rüstungspolitik des Dritten Reiches
Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg - Band 7: Das Deutsche Reich in der Defensive. Strategischer Luftkrieg in Europa, Krieg im Westen und in Ostasien 1943-1944/1945
Wille, Valentin E.: Die Flaktürme in Wien, Berlin und Hamburg: Geschichte, Bedeutung und Neunutzung
» TOOL CHAIN «
PowerPoint 2016, Word, Excel, Tile Mill, QGIS, Processing 3, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Audition, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate.

Пікірлер: 1 800

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 5 жыл бұрын

If you like in-depth researched videos on Military History, consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/mhv/

@JeanLucCaptain 4 жыл бұрын

is there any indication that these were ever designed or intended for use as ground artillery in city defence? because that's certainly what happened to the soviets!

@cezaryjedrzycki6184 4 жыл бұрын

@The last Prussian German cruel idiocy.

@xtremegamer3d480 3 жыл бұрын

I once saw a flaktower in Dresden when we did a cruise on the Elbe

@ScubaShark--8964 2 жыл бұрын

Noice~!!

@daskissenwurdegecaged-snai3265 2 жыл бұрын

i always see a gefechtsturm in berlin when i drive to my grandparents with the S-bahn

@durgun8247 4 жыл бұрын

I just realized that flak towers are basically the most modern type of castle

@masterhacker7065 2 жыл бұрын

Except that things like gunpowder weapons could easily destroy castles but these flak towers were indestructible to anything short of a nuclear weapon detonated inside the building.

@horehoundbasedcandy8736 2 жыл бұрын

@@masterhacker7065 exactly, hence why they said “modern”. They still functioned similar to a castle

@Lecruque 2 жыл бұрын

Really? Just now?

@freshoiled3493 2 жыл бұрын

Its actually looks like tower defence game...lol

@chumby2447 2 жыл бұрын

I didn’t even know flak towers existed until today

@TheRetu81 7 жыл бұрын

Finland also had two flak towers. In true Finnish manner they were placed to defend an alcohol distillery at Rajamäki. (they made Molotov cocktails)

@X3h0n 7 жыл бұрын

Finland must've had an awkward time with their prohibitionist alcohol policy during the war, huh?

@stsk7 7 жыл бұрын

Nico Laub the Finnish were high caliber men but the Russians were a never before seen level of incompetent. Stalinn was the leader of the incompetents, so it figures.

@pekkapuska5543 7 жыл бұрын

TheRetu81 onko muka?

@neues3691 7 жыл бұрын

First things first!

@vsbaratinho 7 жыл бұрын

lol

@95spades 7 жыл бұрын

An important point overlooked both in your and Bis's video is the very, very, very important role of flak guns as weapons of area denial. You show effectiveness by shots per kill while a successful ground to air engagement mostly is measured by targets not bombed rather than airplanes shot down. The main purpose was to deny access to the bombing targets, and thus kills is a poor estimate of success as a raid getting called off or postponed due to heavy flak is a larger victory than shooting down a lot of planes while still getting your city bombed, so I'd just like to put that out there. Otherwise, great video as always.

@chayophan3078 5 жыл бұрын

Great point and well presented. Thanks!

@MrSonofsonof 4 жыл бұрын

That is a good point. It makes the enemy's bombing less accurate and forces them send more bombers to drop more bombs on a wider area. Of course in Nazi thinking this is a success - "Hooray, the RAF only hit low-value civilian targets rather than our sprocket factory".

@yuurichito1439 4 жыл бұрын

@@chayophan3078 yup just looked if anybody was confused why it would take such an high amount of ammo

@N8570E 3 жыл бұрын

Good Point.

@MrJamesbond207 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome point

@WalkerKlondyke 7 жыл бұрын

The original Tower Defense game.

@projectkepleren 6 жыл бұрын

the original game

@adityasinghamahapatra4108 6 жыл бұрын

Friendly Robot

@juliang7807 5 жыл бұрын

It stops being a "game" when bombers fly in and kill little babies before they can even be born, or if they kill your wife, or your husband, or your child, or even if they kill your pet. I would suggest that it is important to show respect for the maimed and the dead and all the sad people in real life, rather than to use terms such as "game" about this.

@DiverWithTheBends 5 жыл бұрын

Julian G go to r/wooosh

@splasqy3973 5 жыл бұрын

@@juliang7807 r/whooosh

@Wouftur 7 жыл бұрын

Fun fact: The Flakturm in Hamburg on the Fledstraße actually houses a nightclub, I've been there and it was kinda weird being there to party inside of a place of fear from air raid attacks. It's kind of a double feeling. I drank a bit too much and I stopped worrying about it after some time in there.

@noobster4779 7 жыл бұрын

I dont know if it is the same one but one flak tower in Hamburg near St.Pauli has a music school in it.

@Wouftur 7 жыл бұрын

Yes that's the one! I guess something different for every floor then! Nice to see it's actually being used for a good purpose instead of standing there like a concrete empty shell as a reminder of past times.

@hedgehog3180 7 жыл бұрын

In Berlin they blew one of them up and turned it into a massive hill.

@fireops 7 жыл бұрын

One of the flaktowers in Vienna in Esterházypark was turned into a zoo. An aquarium and terrarium to be more precise. It's for sure the coolest and unique zoo I've ever heard of, came across and visited in my entire life. The specific name for the aquarium is *Haus des Meeres*.

@DarkshadowXD63 7 жыл бұрын

FireOps So there is a zoo, aquarium, and a terrarium on different floors that sounds pretty cool.

@MilitaryAviationHistory 7 жыл бұрын

Ah, my secret hideout...I mean, what an interesting architectural design

@justinowens2077 7 жыл бұрын

Bismarck Bismarck!!!!!!!! Big fan dude

@signal1739 6 жыл бұрын

Bismarck why do I keep running into you in the comments?

@memeboi8880 6 жыл бұрын

Bismarck - Military Aviation History does it run doom ?

@kurtstergar1042 3 жыл бұрын

How would it ba a hide out in the middle of a major city.

@patrickfitzgerald2861 3 жыл бұрын

@@kurtstergar1042 Go to Vienna and stand next to one. It was a beautiful sunny day when I did it, and still I felt like running away in terror.

@mandolinic 4 жыл бұрын

What you didn't mention was that these towers could also move - but only orthogonally, never diagonally.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 4 жыл бұрын

😂

@barryquinn5840 5 ай бұрын

187 likes 😂😂😂 Will I get more likes if I say they also dispense free ice cream? People are idiots 😂😂

@redsentry9785 5 ай бұрын

@@barryquinn5840shut up retard

@OrangesAndCookies 5 ай бұрын

@@barryquinn5840 or people just appreciate the chess joke.

@gabespiro8902 5 ай бұрын

Took me way too long to get this

@sirjanska9575 7 жыл бұрын

I thought Medal of Honor: Airborne made these things up. My favourite level in the game though so cool to discover that there's actual history behind it.

@5seba56 7 жыл бұрын

Only a shame they messed up the interior of the tower... But then again the level wouldnt be extremely intresting i guess ;)

@616lordofdarkness 7 жыл бұрын

also would be messed up if you at soem point bursted into a room or hall full orf german civilians , and feel bad because you are basicly killed the guys who tried to defend them ...

@5seba56 7 жыл бұрын

Well honestly that would make a game a lot more realistic and therefore a lot more interesting :P Unfortunatly they never put such things in games...

@johnbeauvais3159 7 жыл бұрын

I love that game, the occasional weird glitches made it fun too

@undyingUmbrage 7 жыл бұрын

5seba56, Spec Ops: the line. That's where it's at. All of dem feelz for indiscriminately killing civillians with white phosphorous

@gobindsingh4510 7 жыл бұрын

It was pretty interesting how they were used in the battle of Berlin and even the heaviest soviet artillery couldn't destroy the towers

@yetanother9127 7 жыл бұрын

With three-meter concrete walls, I'd hope not :P

@sundoga4961 7 жыл бұрын

Given they were designed for air defence, not ground, I doubt the Germans attempted to hold them against the advancing Red Army. So they wouldn't have been primary targets.

@thatguys773 7 жыл бұрын

Sundog A but they did hold out against soviet forces

@victorayorke7123 7 жыл бұрын

I heard from somewhere that the towers were meant to be used as rallying points for retreating Heer units, and filled with supplies and ammunition to service them. I've also heard the SS had a habit of colonising the towers, shutting the doors to any and all Wehrmacht and attempting to survive the Soviet onslaught alone while enjoying a large stockpile of food etc. Then again, I have no available source for this, so disregard at your leisure.

@JeanLucCaptain 7 жыл бұрын

ineffective my ass, these things accounted for 80% of bomber commands casualties right until the end of the war. EDIT: i have NO IDEA where i pulled that figure from plz ignore.

@ragoonsgg589 7 жыл бұрын

I love the anachronistic nature of flak towers. These nearly medieval castles of concrete and steel are products of the same society who redefined modern warfare with experimental weaponry. One of my favorite videos so far. Would love to see more of these!

@ragoonsgg589 3 жыл бұрын

@rimacutem of Alsvartrsmiðr ah yes I love intellectual discourse. It turns my knowledge peen into a smart boner

@RealRotkohl 2 жыл бұрын

@rimacutem of Alsvartrsmiðr Trench Warfare will never come back, regardless what happens.

@LordSniggles 2 жыл бұрын

@@RealRotkohl yeah, our missiles/bombs/artillery/drones are literally too smart for large scale trench warfare to be effective, would just be a big target.

@jb76489 2 жыл бұрын

@@ragoonsgg589 “redefined modern warfare” lmao what a twat

@rrai1999 2 жыл бұрын

@@RealRotkohl Iran-Iraq war..? ring a bell?????

@ianlarson517 5 ай бұрын

You have to give those Germans credit for the quality of the concrete they used. The fact they are still standing with seemingly minimal structural cracks is a feat to the engineering that went into making these towers.

@mcfrisko834 5 ай бұрын

Facts just look at the fortifications still standing in Normandy at the Atlantic wall

@jaykilborn2508 5 ай бұрын

In Lorient, the Germans built concrete sub pens, to protect the U-boats from allied bombing raids. They are still there because they are too big to be destroyed. @@mcfrisko834

@halo-7797 5 ай бұрын

I’ve visited Vienna some time ago and saw the towers (one tower to be exact, the one in the park) myself. They certainly are in a good state and the pictures don’t do justice for their size, they are gigantic in person.

@mcfrisko834 5 ай бұрын

@@halo-7797 Just imagine how devastating the psychological impact was on allied soldiers. Having a huge amount of gear on while running through a maze of flying bullets and dead soldiers in an attempt to storm this massive and impenetrable looking fortification. Good Lord...

@ZaHandle 5 ай бұрын

It’s kinda hard to crack through 2.5 meters of reinforced concrete

@MSGtJimator 7 жыл бұрын

Your timing couldn't be better! I'm in Vienna right now and just went to see the flak towers in Arenberg park!

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 7 жыл бұрын

I would recommend the Augarten Towers, the stop is "Friedensbrücke", cross the bridge and few hundred meters. Also at the bridge there is butcher that has horse meat, so you can get the "full Wehrmacht experience" ;)

@xmanhoe 7 жыл бұрын

Military History Visualized I assume the beams that stick out below the perimeter gun barbettes are to prevent Soviets from trying to hit them from below with hand held anti-tank weapons ??? ps I love the videos

@MSGtJimator 7 жыл бұрын

Military History Visualized Thank you for the tips. I saw the entrance to one of the towers, where it said Nur Wehrmacht. That made me smile. Unfortunately I was there just for the day. But I'll czech out the other ones next time. Might try the horse meat instead of Wiener Schnitzel as well :)

@DirtyHairy1 7 жыл бұрын

"The beams under the platforms were to be used for maintenance."

@weltvonalex 7 жыл бұрын

Are you a Viennese ? Wenn ja Servus aus Wien nach Wien :D

@juliancate7089 7 жыл бұрын

Its somewhat easy to criticize the leadership for their emphasis on FlaK guns over fighters, and I would agree with this criticism to some extent. But, one must remember that guns had some advantages over fighters, namely: 1) Guns could - with proper target acquisition and fire direction equipment - fire accurately day or night and in bad weather. They were available 24/7. Fighters were limited by the technology of the day to daylight, fair weather only until fairly late in the war. Night fighters operated in small numbers and even if they made a successful interception and kill, it would never have been enough to stop massed bomber raids. Night-capable, all-weather fighters were expensive to manufacture. 2) Heavy and sophisticated AA guns were/are expensive to manufacture. BUT, they don't require many strategic materials to make and training crews is easy. Furthermore, crews can be men or women who would be unsuited for front line service. None of these are true of fighters, except that they are expensive to make also. 3) Fighters can be opposed by, not only heavily armed bombers, but also escorting fighters. This means that even if you emphasize fighters as the main weapon of air defense, that is no guarantee that the enemy will not engage you with as many escorts. Additionally, I recall a statistic that B-17s achieved a 1 - 1 kill ratio in aerial combat. I cannot find the source, but it is clear that bombers accounted for many fighter losses. More fighters would not necessarily reduce the ability of bombers to shoot them down. The B-29 never flew against the Luftwaffe, but its sophisticated defense system proved deadly to Japanese fighters. 4) AA guns are relatively safe from air attack themselves for obvious reasons. Moreover, it would have taken a major air campaign to deliberately target AA defense zones in order to neutralize them. So AA guns are a resilient defense that's hard to directly counter with force. 5) I believe AA guns were more effective than the German statistics reveal, because I assume they were counting as a "kill" only those bombers that were shot down over German-controlled territory which they could confirm. How many bombers and fighters were written-off as complete losses that managed to fly home or were lost over Allied territory due to battle damage. The Germans could not have known this number, nor the number of crew killed by FlaK. So, the performance of AA is probably better than the numbers suggest. I'm not suggesting that German leaders should not have focused on fighters. On the contrary, but I am saying that AA guns should have been a part of any integrated air defense, and given Germany's limited circumstances, a dependence on AA guns is not completely unreasonable.

@juliancate7089 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jimmy, I appreciate the kind words.

@justinhansen7384 7 жыл бұрын

The Germans had fuel shortages. They couldn't even fly their planes as much as they wanted. As the war progressed the shortages became more severe. Fuel shortages curtailed flying resulting in less pilot training and eventually less sorties due to fuel rationing.

@juliancate7089 7 жыл бұрын

Justin, I don't know if you are trying to add to my argument or contradict it, but either way, what you've stated is not entirely correct. Firstly, the Germans didn't start to experience crippling fuel shortages until 1944. Which means that Germany was OK for fuel for the first 4 1/2 years of war before it was a critical problem. They got their fuel from two primary sources: Romanian oil and synthetic fuel plants that converted coal into gasoline, diesel, some lubricants and even rubber. For example, by 1937, two years BEFORE the war started, just the 4 largest synthetic fuel plants in Germany produced 4.8 MILLION gallons of gasoline. In 1938, a plant in Huls, Germany, produced fuel and buna, which is a material used to make synthetic rubber. So the true part of what you stated didn't become reality until late 1944. Also, the reduced time spent training pilots was not entirely due to fuel shortages. it was more the result of high loses of pilots that the Germans needed to replace quickly. Another point is that Germany committed to heavy AA defenses long before the shortage of fuel effected the ability of the Luftwaffe to make operational sorties. Look up the Kammhuber Line on the internet and you'll see that the German leadership started committing much resources to AA defense in the summer of 1940. That was 1 1/2 years before the US entered the war and 3 1/2 years before the USAAF began a bombing campaign against Germany. Also, look up the Fischer-Tropsch process and the Bergius Process if you'd like to learn about the history of synthetic fuel and how the Germans converted coal into fuel.

@Halinspark 7 жыл бұрын

There is also the psychological effect. Air crews tend to be hesitant to fly over heavy AAA areas, so the threat would help deter bombing runs until their side felt they could, or needed, to afford the risk.

@juliancate7089 7 жыл бұрын

There is no evidence that heavy FlaK ever deterred bombing missions or that the USAAF waited until it was necessary to go.

@neues3691 7 жыл бұрын

Jet fuel can't melt flak towers

@MrSonofsonof 4 жыл бұрын

Wo sind die Motoren?

@javo5270 3 жыл бұрын

@@MrSonofsonof Ehre, ein fahrender Flak Turm wäre schon geil haha

@kurtstergar1042 3 жыл бұрын

No but it would turn them into a crock pot , cooking all inside.

@personeater747 5 ай бұрын

I didn't know george bush was involved in ww2?

@cookingwithmom8081 5 ай бұрын

@@personeater747He was a pilot in the Pacific. He was shot down, ditched and got plucked out of the ocean by the US Navy. A few of his less fortunate fellow pilots landed on a Japanese held island, were executed, and eaten

@senpaizac4687 5 ай бұрын

My grandma was in the Flackturm in Augarten during an air assault on Vienna. She said after the war the government wanted to destroy them but they are so massive that the whole 20th district would blow up too

@piatpotatopeon8305 7 жыл бұрын

First armored trains, and now flak towers! You keep producing videos on subjects I'm really interested in, but haven't been able to find materials on. Bravo, good sir!

@phil6715 7 жыл бұрын

When u speak German I get an eargasm

@JeanLucCaptain 7 жыл бұрын

the gay who makes german sexy!

@montanus777 7 жыл бұрын

the problem is, that he doesn't - he speaks austrian. :P

@zach8269 7 жыл бұрын

montanus777 which is a german dialegt.....

@phil6715 7 жыл бұрын

Zacha Wasser exactly

@mikeromney4712 7 жыл бұрын

And the qoutes were read in glasclear Oxford- German...no wait.....^^

@thedolt9215 5 ай бұрын

My dad‘s B-17 was hit by flack over Berlin in March 1944. I’ll bet it’s one of these darn towers that got them! He later crashed in Amsterdam and was taken POW. But he and his whole crew survived the war, inStalagluft one. Good video man!

@frankmehrle547 5 ай бұрын

In circles arround the cities were a lot of "Flak" operated by Teenies 😥

@sd906238 2 жыл бұрын

We saw 2 of the flak tower in Vienna a few years ago. One was turned into an aquarium and the other was being used as a communication center by the Austrian army.

@adambazso9207 Жыл бұрын

Yes, it's called "House of the sea (Haus des Meeres)" and is really worth to check out. 😊

@ffffffff5500 7 жыл бұрын

MOH Airborne anyone?

@AtomicPeacenik 7 жыл бұрын

Ffff Ffff "TRAVERS TAKE OUT THAT A.A. GUN" *MG42 Super Nazi Appears*

@ffffffff5500 7 жыл бұрын

Human History lol i was dissapointed that you didn't made a reference in the video

@eisenkrieg553 7 жыл бұрын

Human History I still can't beat that game because of the super Nazis in the basement

@allreddan 7 жыл бұрын

They are rough. There is an explosive crate you can get right before you go down there and gammon grenades work pretty well.

@davidlyon1899 7 жыл бұрын

great game!

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 5 жыл бұрын

For a video on German Anti-Aircraft Missiles in WW2 see this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eJ2BbJWHms6vXZc.html

@frauleinhohenzollern8442 3 ай бұрын

The fact Germany was able to keep their war effort going despite the allied bombing and embargoes amazes me

@janbogdanov4673 7 жыл бұрын

Nice Star Wars reference with the double "Stay on Target".

@ianbirge8269 7 жыл бұрын

Casualties for allied bomber forces did get horrendous at times, but the amount of resources dedicated to fighting the bombers can not be undervalued.

@X3h0n 7 жыл бұрын

Yet the resources used for mounting the bombing attacks were not insignificant either. There are historians who believe that strategic bombing in WWII was not cost-effective and cost the attacker about as much as the defender, mostly just accomplishing only in killing civilians.

@ThZuao 7 жыл бұрын

I'd say it was well worth it, given that bombers came home more often than not. But it might as well have been the only option, as allies didn't have a beach head to deploy troops on the ground of mainland europe. Still, by 1944 bomber raids were carried out every day by the allies. And as the luftwaffe was in no condition to fight properly at that time, the early focus on AAA gave them an edge. Imagine if they had developed and deployed the proximity fuse. Reports point out it made for a sevenfold increase in hit probability for the US guns.

@hedgehog3180 7 жыл бұрын

Bombing late in the war managed to completely cripple the German oil supply which was incredibly important and it seriously restricted the use of German armor and trucks.

@BlitzNor 7 жыл бұрын

Bombing of infrastructure, industry, research sites, airfields and especially oil supply was very effective and well worth it . Terror bombing of civilians was entirely inefficient (it was supposed to diminish morale and will to fight, it often did the opposite) and a complete waste of resources. It was a huge mistake even before considering the morality of it and that it was a war crime.

@Edax_Royeaux 7 жыл бұрын

I think extra credits mentioned that all air bombing campaigns cost the attacking nation more resources to construct the planes and bombs then the defender losing resources as a result of the bombing. Strategic bombing only works when you have more resources to begin with that you can afford the bigger drain.

@JustProto00 7 жыл бұрын

I chose not to hit skip ad on this video. I feel I have done my good deed for the day.

@easadventures1349 5 ай бұрын

The type 3 looks so cool, I remember running through it in Medal of Honor Airborne back on the xbox360

@Kissenkaempfer 7 жыл бұрын

War Thunder airfield-flak: one shot, one kill

@sevenproxies4255 7 жыл бұрын

Original Tower Defense! B-)

@giveussomevodka 7 жыл бұрын

So many bullets per kill, wow. I knew accuracy was bad, but didn't realize how bad.

@shocktrooper2622 7 жыл бұрын

giveussomevodka That tends to happen when you don't have Proximity Fuses like the US/UK

@BillMcD 7 жыл бұрын

basically at that point, you're not even aiming for a direct hit. The goal is to flood the sky with shrapnel so that planes tear themselves apart while flying through them. proximity fuses make this easier because you can actually aim and score a hit with a near miss instead of mass of fire or trying to score a direct hit on a long distance fast moving target. Still while it was more dangerous, the surest way to down bombers was to send fighters after them that can actually score the direct hits needed to disable and down aircraft. Nowadays, we use a combination of fighters, long distance radars, and anti-aircraft missiles, although still using some form of autocannon for close range backup (20mm rotary cannons and such etc) While missiles are expensive, they don't take up as much space as large cannon batteries and have a much better kill ratio per missile fired than any high caliber AAA. Right now i think the only reason that any ships have backup cannons larger than fast firing rotaries and quad autocannon arrangements is for small surface vessels that are too cheap to be worth targeting with a missile, IE, civilian vessels with RPGs and the like. Take this all with a dose of salt because this is pure conjecture and i am no military specialist.

@Lt_Voss 7 жыл бұрын

When you consider the Germans had to manually plot direction, speed, and altitude to aim their guns (which they were quite good at, in reality, despite the numbers) the high shots/kill makes sense. Also military combat vessels like destroyers and frigates and the like have "main battery" guns (as opposed to AA, Point Defence, etc) to fight small boats and other small warships. You may find this interesting, but anti-missile defence systems technology and weaponry are outpacing missile development. Don't be surprised if you see a resurgence in gunnery focus, albeit probably with something like railguns, but hey.

@BraindeadCRY 7 жыл бұрын

Calculations like that tend to also calculate rounds fired in training though. Not just those fired during actual combat. But since training ammunition costs money too this doesn't make the number less impressive.

@ThZuao 7 жыл бұрын

I heard it takes about 250,000 rounds of small arms fire per enemy soldier killed, as of the US-Iraqi conflict. That really puts how costly war is in perspective. Also, Why the US army didn't want to adopt the Winchester rifles and why many rifles up to and beyond WWI had a magazine cut off.

@charlesmccain 5 жыл бұрын

outstanding vid and explanation. Having research these towers in depth for my first novel before youtube was available I was fascinated once again with the towers and the correct historical information.

@bretnielsen9056 6 жыл бұрын

The BEST on the net!!! Thanks for posting. I wish you could gain access for an internal view.

@charlesablett 3 жыл бұрын

There is a 1944 German binocular ranging aparatus for anti aircraft flak battery with the electromechanical range calculator for the associated guns on display at the Military Museum in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. An amazingly big beast.

@SNP-1999 4 жыл бұрын

There is still one standing in the St.Pauli - Heiligengeistfeld area in Hamburg. There used to be two of them but one was demolished, with great problems, decades ago. The remaining one is quite impressive and awe inspiring, and it was of course also a most effective air raid bunker for thousands of people, not just a flak tower, so it saved many lives as well as aiding in the anti aircraft defence of the city during the war.

@shadow-Sun 6 жыл бұрын

A very informative upload , I have seen documentarys on Discovery Channel for these Flak Towers but you covered stats and information that was not covered by them thankyou for a great upload ...

@mazack00 4 ай бұрын

the superb subtitles are hugely appreciated. Thumbs up!

@AdamFitton 7 жыл бұрын

I was in Vienna a few weeks ago and stumbled into that type 3 tower. It is one of the most imposing military structures I have ever seen!

@billpugh58 5 ай бұрын

Very good documentary. Filled with tech details and no music!

@andrewrobertson3894 7 жыл бұрын

Another great video. I was always intrigued by stories of the indestructible Zoo tower. Thanks for the upload!

@jameshenderson4876 6 жыл бұрын

Fascinating and informative as ever. Excellent episode. Thank you.

@kunchenyu413 7 жыл бұрын

My class often goes to "Augarten" to take PE-classes. See those Flaktowers every time! Impressive builds!

@efreitorsroul9332 2 жыл бұрын

I have seen one in Vienna many years ago, it was somewhere near the center, in a builtup area. At first did not even notice it. Surely an impressive structure-

@luisalegria8634 7 жыл бұрын

Great video! Sucks that you weren't allowed into the towers for some of the shots. If that was even possible. Keep up the great work!

@thethirdman225 7 жыл бұрын

+Military History Visualized Thanks for this. I've always been interested in the Flak towers, particularly in Berlin and Vienna. I used to go to Vienna quite often but never got around to actually seeing the towers there.

@ronmelys2854 7 жыл бұрын

i had never heard of flak towers till this video. well done, well presented. make more!

@ahcomcody6409 7 жыл бұрын

I love your videos! They are suck high quality and I enjoy watching them and learning very interesting topics!

@rumac16 7 жыл бұрын

suck

@osedebame3522 7 жыл бұрын

When she give you the succ and you can't even spell afterwards.

@hedgehog3180 7 жыл бұрын

Rumac Aznable Are you three times faster?

@UnityAgainstJewishEvil 5 ай бұрын

“We fought the wrong enemy.” -General Patton

@thomaswikstrand8397 4 ай бұрын

Terrifying quote, that.

@Marvel66666 4 ай бұрын

Operation Unthinkable: "Churchill's plan, was based on an attack on the Soviet Union for July 1, 1945. The use of British and US troops was planned, also with the rearm of the German Wehrmacht "

@granitesevan6243 3 ай бұрын

This dickhead comment always surfaces in videos like these

@Goorood 3 ай бұрын

Loving Nazis much eh ? 🤢

@jaspergerz01 2 ай бұрын

Patton was a troglodyte

@stsk7 7 жыл бұрын

i love your videos. they answer specific questions that have specific answers. thank you.

@pestilenceplague4765 7 жыл бұрын

Keep up the great videos. All of us enjoy them!!!

@DerKurfuerst 7 жыл бұрын

Amazing that the 8.8cm Flak 41 was able to cut the amount needed in half

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 7 жыл бұрын

yeah, I have to look into that.

@6272355463637 7 жыл бұрын

Well, the FlaK 41 was a good deal better than the FlaK 18/36/37. Not just the longer barrel and higher muzzle velocity (roughly 1000 m/s vs 800 m/s for the older version; giving bombers much less time to dodge, also a longer range/higher ceiling), it also fired faster and the ammunition was better. Due to high cost and low production, I would also assume that the operators were on average a lot better than those operating the older acht-acht (especially since many home front AA units were only partially staffed by "real" soldiers, relying on civilian volunteers and Hitlerjugend to operate guns).

@munkeenevahrong239 5 ай бұрын

What are the spikes and comb looking things for?

@ZZugZZ 7 жыл бұрын

What a great video! Military history personalized.

@klio2013 6 жыл бұрын

Here you see the inside of the flaktowers and the objects that have been found: Marcello La Speranza: Flakturm-Archälogie kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pJuppseVvJjMqWg.html

@konradheumann8342 3 жыл бұрын

Vielen Dank fürs informative Video! Ich wünschte, es gäbe mehr Bilder und Videos von den Flaktürmen aus der Kriegszeit. Diese sind sehr schwer zu finden.

@Brodym2433 7 жыл бұрын

Excellent video, thx ;)

@klatuk4u1 4 жыл бұрын

Really neat video! Will have to watch more!

@chrisdudman4305 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for creating this. I've always wanted to know more about these towers since seeing the big round one in the skyline of Vienna. Little did I know at the time that I was seeing that one whilst unknowingly standing upon another one which is the Vienna aquarium!

@rushthezeppelin 7 жыл бұрын

Dear god, those B-17 pilots must have had some massive balls to fly through the hail storm created by these guns.

@fbiles3164 7 жыл бұрын

rushthezeppelin they were more scared of German fighters I think, but flak is bad too

@rushthezeppelin 7 жыл бұрын

No doubt, alot of stuff to soil your drawers over if you are an Allied pilot flying sorties over Axis controlled Europe. At least you could actually down fighters though with all your gun placements on the B-17. Unless you bombed it, you would be at the mercy of the AA towers like these though.

@supa3ek 7 жыл бұрын

rushthezeppelin r u kidding ? Those things shot 12000 times before they hit u lol. Your odds of winning lotto is prob better than getting hit by one of them : )

@Phoneyjoker 7 жыл бұрын

Well when you are told you have to do something or face a court marital (prison, possibly death) you tend to endure what you must.

@bog.9632 7 жыл бұрын

supa3ek it didn't say they shot 12k shots before a kill you dumbass, it said they COUNTED 12k shots for it to count a kill, since they wouldn't know they destroyed a bomber on the spot

@kurwaskadmamwiedziec 7 жыл бұрын

You uploaded the video just as my brother and I were planing to see Flaktowers in Vienna :)

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 7 жыл бұрын

the one shown most is at Haltestelle "Friedensbrücke", also there is a butcher who has horse meat at the end of the bridge, so you get the "full Wehrmacht experience" ;)

@kurwaskadmamwiedziec 7 жыл бұрын

hahah, thanks for the tip :D

@mysss29 6 жыл бұрын

@davidsutton6863 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent description, learned a lot, thank you

@dougbrowne9890 5 ай бұрын

Terrific video! Thanks for sharing.

@davidaitchison8791 5 жыл бұрын

As I've mentioned elsewhere in this discussion, it should be remembered that the Luftwaffe was a 'tactical' air force. Any redeployment of aircraft and personnel away from that role directly impacted on the overall effectiveness of the field army.

@dr.paulwilliam7447 7 жыл бұрын

also in Stuttgart and Frankfurt (Ost), albeit a little smaller. Demolishing the one in Frankfurt Ost took over two years as explosives could not be used due to the vicinity of citylife... en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak_tower

@Onicle 7 жыл бұрын

I used to live next to the Flakturm in Wilhemsburg, Hamburg. Really cool place and how they renovated it to a "Energy Bunker" couple years back. Good videos by the way!

@aryan4264 7 жыл бұрын

I think Case Yellow and Case Red certainly deserves your in depth,class explanation

@afterglow5285 4 ай бұрын

Show us inside.

@DontStealMyNoEffortName 5 ай бұрын

imagine how effective these would be if the germans figured out how to make proximity shells, the Allies in ww2 had proximity shells

@mirroredvoid8394 5 ай бұрын

It took almost 100 US companies to produce proxy shells in usable quantities. The british who invented it couldn't even produce it domestically.

@bigdarshan 6 жыл бұрын

Love it, thanks for posting !!

@Budietoyka 7 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this very informative video!

@mini_mozzer 5 ай бұрын

looks like something id build in minecraft

@NicerDicerSmart 7 жыл бұрын

1:20 nice Star Wars reference there :D

@mysss29 6 жыл бұрын

what o_O edit: ohhhhh xD

@JeanLucCaptain 6 жыл бұрын

Right, the death star run.

@sistahmels8228 6 жыл бұрын

Fascinating! Enjoyed the video very much.

@mrichar9 6 жыл бұрын

wow great explanation. i really like your presentations.

@ToneCrushers 5 ай бұрын

what were the spiky shelf things sticking out of the sides?

@destinytroll1374 2 жыл бұрын

The low kill ratio is, in my opinion, a poor way to measure the effectiveness of these sorts of defenses. Flak was primarily a way to deny area, keeping enemy bombers and fighters AWAY from you. In this role they seem to have been very effective. Excellent video over all though! Well done m8

@jacobgoerz1953 5 ай бұрын

Low hit rate on both sides as the flak towers forced bombing from higher altitudes. It would be interesting to know the net balance for each side.

@CombatMotors 7 жыл бұрын

this is why I subscribed. awesome

@Schmidt54 7 жыл бұрын

"If Germans would have tower rushed in 1939 they would have won by 1941"

@mysss29 6 жыл бұрын

_facepalm_ xD

@eddyharris2372 5 жыл бұрын

@@mysss29 I think it's a joke. (I hope so, anyway) on the people that say "if Germany had X tech earlier, they would have won."

@cratoss.4772 5 жыл бұрын

@@eddyharris2372 It's an age of empires reference silly.

@johannsebastianbach9003 5 жыл бұрын

Correct xd!!

@abmo32 5 жыл бұрын

is this a starcraft analogy? :D

@Jamie-kg8ig 7 жыл бұрын

Hey MHV maybe you could talk about specific German infiltration tactics in the Battle of the Bulge. Thanks!

@wiemike3194 5 ай бұрын

In hamburg theres one that git converted to a nightclub, a climbing hall, a dance studio and a youth-assembly

@blockboygames5956 7 жыл бұрын

Amazing and interesting video. Thank you. :)

@andre-7423 5 ай бұрын

What were the steel-beams(?) sticking out beneath the tower used ?

@rare_kumiko 7 жыл бұрын

"Stay on target, stay on target". Nice reference, heh.

@barrykevin7658 2 жыл бұрын

Another Exceptional detailed WW2 video, Thanks

@neil03152 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for all your most informative videos on subjects not always covered by other Military Historians. I have been interested in Flak Towers for a long time but could find such little real information on the subject, so this video is pure heaven to me so thank you a million. We visited the Vienna Autgarten (spelling sorry) ones a couple of years ago, and even my Partner found them so fascinating. The lady in our Mercure Hotel not far away didn't even know what they were or that they even existed! If you ever have time please please please expand on this flak tower topic - there is so much more for you to say you would agree. One fact a lot of people won't be aware of is that they fortunately still only physically exist because they were so damned hard and too difficult to blow up without causing considerable secondary damage to nearby areas. Oh and can we see more photos of them in use and in action which seem so rare.

@benediktgeierhofer4146 7 жыл бұрын

Can you talk a bit about "Flakhügel"...never heard of emplacements like these. Also maybe a talk about effectiveness, tactics and general use of flak anti air fire.

@falanglao01 7 жыл бұрын

Benedikt Geierhofer Remnants of Flakhügel can be found next to airfields, they were useful for placing light AA guns to provide for a better field of fire, depending on local topography

@fireops 7 жыл бұрын

A Flakhügel is literally what it sounds like: Simply a mount of dirt (natural or artificial) with one or more AA's placed on top of them.

@benediktgeierhofer4146 7 жыл бұрын

Just making sure that there is no guidebook or manual around. For the proper setup or something like that. How goes the saying "A german doesn't take a piss without a plan" Didn't we have an episode about antitank gun setup on this channel before...makes me think that something similar for air defense emplacements also exists.

@egoshOOter14 7 жыл бұрын

For better understanding, my hometown, Paderborn has a hill (not a big one but still one of the highest ones in this area) ''Monte Scherbelino'' (weird name btw) which was used during the second world war as the biggest AA emplacement in all of the city. So a Flak-Hill is really just that, a good spot to shoot at incoming allied planes. Unfortunately, the hill was either not manned or it could not act, Paderborn got destroyed by the 27 of May from RAF bomber divisions. After the war the population of Paderborn even thought about ''moving'' the city to another place, the actual Paderborn was destroyed by that time up to 96%. But that did not happen, we live still on the same spot. EDIT: I have to say, after i've asked, there was an Airport for the Luftwaffe in Paderborn South-West, what is now known as Monte Scherbelino. Scherbelino comes from the word ,,Scherbe'' what means shard, all of the debris after the war, and what not, was moved there. That is why the Monte is now way higher then 70 years ago.

@falanglao01 7 жыл бұрын

Benedikt Geierhofer isn't that a russian quote? it appears in a Movie, I think Red Scorpion

@Sabaton62 7 жыл бұрын

Great 👍

@NotThatKindOfVegan 6 жыл бұрын

Wonderful history and exploring these places in person, just great. Im sorry youtube is demonetizing anything where you can learn something.

@FranklinBurns42 5 жыл бұрын

Very interesting, thank you for the history lesson

@anttilaakkonen4390 7 жыл бұрын

Do a video on the Landkreuzer

@osedebame3522 7 жыл бұрын

@Cplblue 7 жыл бұрын

That'd be a 20 second video stating it was a stupid idea and it was never built.

@BlackHearthguard 6 жыл бұрын

And also that the originator of the idea ended his life in a secure ward in a mental hospital.

@yarus5889 6 жыл бұрын

Cplblue nah d00d big tanks r cool as hell am I rite

@Fjasjdnwsussj 6 жыл бұрын

Antto Lookkanon how it’s nonexistent?

@Raguleader 7 жыл бұрын

1:14 Star Wars reference. Nice.

@louisbeerreviews8964 5 жыл бұрын

Raguleader nope

@Fester_ 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for that completely new info, for me. Groovy.

@studinthemaking 7 жыл бұрын

What are the metal things sticking out in groups towards the top of the tower?

@M-a-k-o 11 ай бұрын

The strong German accent of the narrator sends shivers down my spine. It make the horrors of the past more authentic. Good job🏆

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 11 ай бұрын

Thanks 😊

@M-a-k-o 11 ай бұрын

@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized Gerne🤓

@weltvonalex 7 жыл бұрын

When i was a soldier i worked in the Flaktower in the Stiftkaserne :) freaky to be inside and to be cut off totaly of the rest of the world

@magnuslauglo5356 5 ай бұрын

I tend to think of the Flak Towers as the last military use of what were in many respects castles. Interesting to see that they functioned not only as gun platforms but also, critically, as air raid shelters.

@countblue 3 жыл бұрын

I live in the neighbourhood next to the round one in Vienna (Augarten) In summer I usually sit at a bench right next to it and play guitar and sing. It gives a nice wall echo.

@demos113 7 жыл бұрын

The original Tower Defence. :-)

@bloodsnake2092 7 жыл бұрын

Always interesting with what solutions poeple come up in a war. Also funny how ineffective we germans can be because we try to hard xD And good vid. Nice to see some pics from the towers only saw one in berlin once.

@Jan-rq8mo 7 жыл бұрын

Well the towers in Berlin were quite effective because the soviets couldnt destroy them that means the berlin flak towers flanked the soviets the whole time duing the battle of berlin leading to massive causulties on the Russian side

@TheNinjaDC 7 жыл бұрын

Yeah, the Flak Towers were inefficient AA, but were effective modern fortresses.

@bloodsnake2092 7 жыл бұрын

Thats true i was more reffering to flak itself. But i guess that was not a german problem in that case but a case of WW2 AA in general...

@thethirdman225 7 жыл бұрын

+Jan _"Well the towers in Berlin were quite effective because the soviets couldnt destroy them_ _that means the berlin flak towers flanked the soviets the whole time duing the battle of berlin_ _leading to massive causulties on the Russian side"_ Do you have any evidence of this? I have seen their contribution described by the likes of Ian Kershaw as something like "spirited resistance", probably in the vein of the grain silo in Stalingrad but I have yet to read anything that says these things "flanked" them the entire time and caused "massive casualties".

@TheNinjaDC 7 жыл бұрын

bloodsnake Well Germany didn't have radio shells like US and UK, which limited how good flak guns could be.