Used with commission by Berliner Unterwelten e.V.
Most people have learned a fair amount about World War II in school, however there is a hidden feature from WWII that most people have never heard of, the Flak Towers. Flak Towers are anti-aircraft defense towers. The Germans built Flak Towers in Berlin, Hamburg, and Vienna. The Flak Towers of WWII were considered virtually indestructible. The reason they were so durable was their huge size and unique construction. The main towers had a wall thickness of 2.6 meters and a roof 3.80 meters thick, both of which were made of steel reinforced concrete. They poured all the concrete in one process so there were no vulnerable joints. However, the primary reason they were never destroyed were the huge anti-aircraft guns on the top of the towers defending the towers.
The guns used on the Flak Towers were 128 mm FLAK 40 twin guns. In addition, 37 mm and 20 mm cannons were used for low-altitude defense. They used an unique technique for their guns where they did not try to get a direct shot of the planes. Instead, they would create a “Flak window” in which they would shoot debris over a 250 by 250 square meter area and use the shrapnel to hit the planes.
The Flak Towers had many other unique features. Most of the towers had their “own freshwater well, their own power station with underground supplies of fuel, huge storage of ammunition, food and other necessities, their own kitchen, cargo elevators, dormitories and amenities right down to a fully equipped 95-bed hospital with eight doctors, twenty nurses and thirty aides” (“The Mighty Flak Towers.”). They were built to hold up to 15,000 people, but it is reported that 45,000 Berliners were sheltered in one flak tower during The Battle of Berlin. Today one can go to Berlin, Hamburg, or Vienna to visit or take a tour of one of the Flak Towers used in World War II. If you are interested in touring a Flak Tower, the following link will give you more information: Humboldthain Flak Tower Tour
Used with commission by Berliner Unterwelten e.V.