How German Anti-Aircraft Works

During the Second World War thousands of Allied aircraft would take part in missions over Western Europe. German forces would employ anti-aircraft fire to stop these planes from making it to their targets. But have you ever wondered how German Flak works? In today's video, we look at a 1943 training video which shows the workings of German gun batteries as well as evasive manoeuvres Allied aircraft used.

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[PremierHistory]

What are your thoughts on this training film? Did you learn something new?

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[MitchM]

It never occurred to me that FLAK was so sophisticated. You always see them using those giant spotlights like Batman. I assumed they just fired by sight. Amazing video thanks!

[steffandescat]

POV: you’re high at 3 am and now watching how German flak works

[achimschmidt]

Hi from Germany. My Father used to be a gunner at a 8.8 Flak battery. He talked sometimes about operating that gun. As a kid it was hard for me to understand what he was talking about. At my age of 50 I tryed to understand the technology behind it. First of all it was hitech there was the radar called Funkmessgerät that said planes are coming. It measured how high and how fast they fly and whether they are enemy aircraft. To adjust the radar right to the planes they had optical displays screens with the very new television technic . like they told in the video the data was send by wire to the electromechanical computer called Komandogerät 40 ( cost 40000 RM) they got the object more precise with a huge stereo optic tube, that was build in that computing machine. The calculator had something like Parabola stencils, because the way of the projectile would be a Parabola. so the computer sent a signal to every gun. This signal controlled servo motors of the three angle pointers of the gun. The gunner had to align the cannon so that the pointed pointer aligned with the actual pointer. Every air grenade had a clock on board.Then the grante's clock had to be activated and set to the calculated blast time To do this, the grenade was placed in the so-called Zünzeit cup. The computing device also provided the data via cable. then the Granate was pushed in the barrel. the "Computer" flashed a red light at the gun. and then came the order. "Gruppe 1 Feuer" Gruppe 2 Feuer, "Gruppe 3 Feuer" . A Gruppe or Group were three 8.8. Flak. A battery were 3 Groups. The firerate was between 15 to 20 seconds. For being as precise as possible the V0, that means the projectile exit speed of the barrel was measured electronically every day. these datas were given to the "computer". But when the Bombers started to fly very hight they couldn't do anything, they were out of range.

[georgeofhamilton]

Incredible how much brainpower went into World War II—everything from munitions engineering, target acquisition and logistics to espionage, codebreaking and even politics. As they say, you could make a whole World War II movie without firing a single shot.

[JeanLucCaptain]

The more I learn about the sophistication of wwII analog systems the more impressed i am.
This is the stuff that still works no matter what even during an EMP.

[Absaalookemensch]

Flak: Flug (flying) Abwher (defense) Kanone (cannon). Pak: Panzer (tank) Abwher (defense) Kanone (cannon).

[Artyomi]

I know the systems are complex and all.. But i’m also in awe of the extremely clear presentation style of the training video and it’s animation

[alancranford]

A decade ago I gave an hour-long lecture on WW2 airbase defense at the Hill Aerospace Museum. In my audience of about 50 were several WW2 vets including two who had flown in B-17's over Europe. Flak countermeasures were part of my presentation, and that included setting up the flak guns in the anticipated flight path, the bomber detection networks (radio eavesdropping, radar, ground observers, espionage, scout aircraft), fire control systems (radar, mechanical analogue computers, time fuse systems), decoys, smoke screens, and camouflaging the flak batteries. Also part of flak used to defend air bases were light automatic cannon to deal with low-flying photographic aircraft.

The flak batteries had to be positioned away from the defended target. If the guns were emplaced on the target, the bomber could drop bombs when the flak guns began firing and the forward vector imparted on the bombs by the aircraft would carry the bombs to the target. Flak batteries had to establish their barrages miles away from the target and fire in a direction that wouldn't endanger the target with anti-aircraft fallback. The process of developing flak intelligence was another subject--this training film just covered evasive action and why evasive action worked.

About those WW2 vets--they're gone now. They did comment that I had demonstrated encyclopedic knowledge--but I owe that knowledge to lots of books and to videos such as this.

[seamon]

Had no idea the FLAK targeting systems were so advanced in WW2, without modern technology to guide the shells on target.
Fascinating and very educative video. If I had been a bomber pilot back then, I would've taken extensive notes and put it in practice.

[kylejonesUB]

That had to be terrifying, both training and action. The young men on all sides, just 20 years, were and still are astounding.

[jerrymail]

I live near an Air Force Base used as Luftwaffe airfield during the war (actually, they were two airfields, but one of them is now used for civil planes). I know we had Me 109 here and torpedo bombers He-111 H and Ju - 88 A-4 & A17 (KG.26, KG. 100 and KG. 77)
There was all sort of guns: 2cm, 3, 7 cm and 8.8 cm guns. I know a good part of the locations. The 8.8 cm FlaK guns were the guns located the farest from the base.

[rookooful]

The allies used proximity fuses in their flak shells. This eliminated some of the complexity in trying to predict where the plane was. It simplified it to load the shell with maximum powder and try and put the shell near the enemy. The proximity fuse would do the rest.

[joegoldman]

I learn that I will never be able to appreciate the sheer terror of being in one of those plans

[RemyCT]

Keep in mind all those exploding shells and pieces of shrapnel had to fall back to the ground. I was told by a German civilian that they could not come up from the air raid shelter until they heard the all clear siren. The kids would run around and collect all the pieces of shrapnel and also the spent shell casings from the .50 caliber machine-guns.

[tristandaries]

I will never get over how “panzerkampfwagen” literally just means “armour fight car”

[amg]

I had no idea the visible clouds of flak weren't dangerous. I thought they damaged engines

[humanbeing]

Imagine watching the Air Force training film and knowing your ability to understand, absorb and retain the information will be the difference between life and death....

[FairyRat]

First Motion Picture Unit of Army Air Forces goes really hard I gotta say. Fascinating and crucial stuff that literally helped to win the war, all presented brilliantly.

[waltergold]

This is just a ripoff of a film preserved by Periscope, a channel which should be supported in preference to this one.