The Second World War in the middle of the last century shook the whole planet. Millions of people were destroyed by the will of one ambitious and unbalanced person - Adolf Hitler, who wanted to implement a cardinal redistribution of the world order that prevailed after the end of the First World War. Nevertheless, the war years went down in history not only with the horrors of human tragedies, but also with great achievements in the field of science, technology and construction technologies. One example is the anti-aircraft towers of the Luftwaffe, which, despite the inability to repel enemy attacks, are an example of building technology in the field of defenses. This article will focus on these designs.
Appearance story
Since the time of ancient civilizations, people have erected fortresses, defensive walls and other structures that helped repel enemy attacks. The advent of firearms and powerful military equipment made the old special fortifications ineffective. Such buildings were simply unable to withstand the army of many thousands, armed with tanks and powerful guns that could destroy almost any wall. During the First World War, which is also commonly called trench, long-term lines of defense were erected, which significantly complicated the offensive of enemy forces.
After signing the Treaty of Versailles, the French began the construction of the Maginot defensive line. It would seem that this project was to become a point in the existence of monolithic fortifications, since the Germans simply went around the powerful defensive walls. Nevertheless, the concrete bunkers of the Third Reich were a continuation of the history of the development of military architecture.
The famous Nazi German Goering at the beginning of the war declared that not a single bomb could fall on German territory. However, experienced aviators knew that Luftwaffe aircraft could not completely repel enemy attacks. The leadership of the Third Reich decided to expel the British from German airspace. For this, the anti-aircraft towers of the Luftwaffe were built, which were supposed to shoot down enemy aircraft. Despite the considerable efforts of German soldiers, the cities of Nazi Germany were regularly bombarded by Allied armies throughout the war.
Destination
The Luftwaffe is the general name of the German air forces, which carried out the reflection of enemy air attacks, as well as the bombing of army positions, military and infrastructure facilities of the Allied countries. The best pilots who ideally suited Hitler's description of a purebred Aryan were selected for this combat formation. Luftwaffe anti-aircraft towers were built for the following purposes:
- protection of German cities and occupied territories from allied raids;
- protection of military industry facilities from enemy bombing;
- repulsing attacks from the sea along the entire length of the Atlantic Wall;
- detection of enemy air forces;
- coordination of sector anti-aircraft batteries;
- protection of civilians during the bombing.
Massive defensive structures did not help the Germans win the war. Nevertheless, the fortifications of the Third Reich, even in our time, amaze architects with their power and innovative building technologies for their time.
Design features
Massive fortifications were built of reinforced concrete. The wall thickness ranged from one and a half to seven meters. The structure perfectly withstood the direct hit of enemy bombs. Even the most powerful explosions, which were capable of providing tools of the time, only slightly destroyed the outer part of the walls. Each construction was carried out in the form of an autonomous complex, the work of which was provided by up to 3 dozen soldiers. In the upper part of the building there were rooms for anti-aircraft guns. It was a powerful weapon, driving projectiles up to 128 mm. The barrel of the unit was rotated 360 degrees, which allowed to shoot down enemy aircraft flying from any direction. In each building there were from 4 to 8 guns of different calibres. The room where the guns were located was called the battle tower. Here, soldiers carried out reloading of shells after each shot. The procedure was carried out in semi-automatic mode. Also, the battle towers were equipped with light anti-aircraft guns to repel direct attacks of low-flying aircraft. When the infantry attack of the forces of the allied forces, the Wehrmacht soldiers also defended their positions from these fortifications.
Radar systems
Most of the towers were equipped with radar systems, which were used by the German military since 1939. Such systems could detect enemy air forces at a distance of up to 300 km. Anti-aircraft gunners received the coordinates of the movement of enemy forces, after which guns were guided, for which a separate control tower was used.
Staff rooms
Since each anti-aircraft complex was autonomous, its service was carried out by separate military units. In the lower part was a compartment with barracks, a dining room and a lounge for soldiers. The commander’s tower was used to house the leading army personnel.
Opportunities
Depending on the caliber of the guns, there was the possibility of hitting targets at an altitude of up to 30 kilometers. The determination of the coordinates of the targets could be carried out at a distance of up to 300 kilometers. Anti-aircraft gunners had enough time to identify enemy aircraft in the sector, as well as to determine the trajectory of aircraft and gun guidance. During World War II, thousands of aircraft of the Allied countries were shot down by anti-aircraft gunners of the Third Reich. However, the Germans were not able to drive the Allied planes from their airspace. Tens of thousands of bombs were dropped on German territory during the war. Almost all the major cities of the country were completely or partially destroyed. Now the Luftwaffe is only part of military history, but the German command had great hopes for the pilots and anti-aircraft gunners of the Third Reich.
Location
Large-scale complexes were built throughout Germany. The leadership of the Wehrmacht planned to provide protection for each locality and infrastructure facility. At a distance of 13-20 kilometers from each other, powerful complexes were located to counter enemy attacks, the actions of which were coordinated from one central tower. This approach made it possible to intercept the forces of enemy aircraft throughout the entire Third Reich.
The high anti-aircraft towers of the Luftwaffe were originally designed to protect cities. In most settlements, the height of buildings ranged from 3 to 8 floors. They interfered with the guidance of the guns and the operation of radar stations, which at that time could recognize objects in the air only in the absence of any obstacles to the passage of the signal. As a solution to this problem, the Nazis decided to erect high defensive structures, which were in almost all settlements of the Wehrmacht. Each tower carried out attacks on enemy air forces on its own, and also coordinated the work of smaller complexes for deploying anti-aircraft guns.
Atlantic shaft
The Nazis planned to turn occupied Europe into a real fortress capable of withstanding any attacks of enemy forces. The leadership of the Third Reich knew in advance about the plans of the Allies for the offensive from the western direction. However, the exact landing site of the combined forces of Great Britain, France and the United States was unknown, because of which the German generals, led by Adolf Hitler, decided to strengthen the entire coast of the Atlantic Ocean with powerful fortifications.
To do this, reinforced concrete bunkers were built along the entire length of the coast, each of which housed up to ten soldiers. The distance between the buildings was observed in such a way that there was the possibility of shelling enemy forces anywhere in the coast, regardless of the landing site. The radius of destruction of the guns of each bunker intersected with neighboring ones. The German command believed that the Allies simply could not go ashore under heavy fire from artillery and anti-aircraft mounts. Massive concrete bunkers were only part of the fortifications. Enormous anti-aircraft towers were also built at the alleged landing sites for the Allied forces, which were supposed to fire at enemy ships and aircraft. Millions of tons of concrete and steel were spent on the construction of the entire Atlantic defensive rampart. Nevertheless, the leadership of the Wehrmacht erroneously determined the alleged location of the landing of the allied forces. The coast of Normandy was poorly protected. The soldiers did not expect a spontaneous attack, because of which their resistance was quickly defeated, and the construction of fortifications along the entire Atlantic coast became an expensive, but completely meaningless undertaking.
How was the construction
The construction of the defense structures of Nazi Germany was carried out through the use of slave labor of prisoners of war and prisoners of concentration camps. Also, the construction of military facilities involved the population from the occupied countries, exported to Germany for forced labor. Workers worked in unbearable conditions with virtually no rest. Forced labor immigrants received a meager pay for their work, which often was not enough even for the simplest food. Prisoners of concentration camps and prisoners of war did not receive any payment at all, and were also kept in terrible conditions. During the construction of the Third Reich defenses, hundreds of thousands of civilians from occupied countries and prisoners of war were killed. The development of military equipment was carried out at the advanced factories of the Wehrmacht, where both civilians from Germany and residents of Eastern European states brought to forced labor were involved.
The use of labor of prisoners of war, prisoners of concentration camps and labor from the occupied countries significantly reduced construction costs. However, the quality of work was often quite low. Most of the people involved in the construction were not interested in the victory of the Third Reich. Quite often, the Nazis were faced with direct sabotage of military projects.
German military installations nowadays
Since the end of World War II, most of the defenses of Nazi Germany have been destroyed. Nevertheless, in many cities in Europe you can still find huge monolithic concrete buildings from the time of Adolf Hitler. Most of them are abandoned and gradually destroyed. Some fortifications are popular tourist destinations where entire museums are equipped. An example is the famous anti-aircraft towers of the Luftwaffe in Vienna. There are four such sites throughout the city. The most famous is the tower in the park of Esterhazy. The awesome military building became the location of one of the most beautiful oceanariums in the world called the House of the Sea. The walls of the structure are specially equipped for climbing climbers.
Some of the Nazi military buildings in large German cities are now used as monuments of World War II. Many of them are preserved and closed to tourists, access to their territory is possible only for historians and specialists in the field of architecture. Other facilities are open and popular among travelers.
Historical heritage
Despite the ambitious plans of the leadership of the Third Reich, the massive fortifications of the new era did not live up to their expectations. They were simply ineffective in front of a powerful military technician and the determined infantry of the allied forces. Germany lost the war, and the huge and terrifying concrete buildings became a kind of monument to the fanatical ambitions of Adolf Hitler. However, the anti-aircraft gunners of the Luftwaffe managed to cause serious damage to enemy aircraft, which makes anti-aircraft towers one of the most effective defensive structures of war times.
After the end of World War II, the construction of massive fortifications was a thing of the past. Nowadays, war requires maximum mobility, and such structures are simply not effective against the destructive power of modern weapons. Despite the fact that the anti-aircraft towers could not help Hitler's soldiers turn the tide of the war in their direction, they are a significant architectural heritage of wartime.