The Western Wall and the air defense of the Third Reich

The Western Wall and the air defense of the Third Reich

The negative archive of a German soldier who served in the Flak (Flugzeugabwehrkanone) consisted of 42 black and white 6x9 cm negatives in a yellowed Agfa paper envelope. This envelope was issued on September 28, 1941 at Heinz Gufler's photographic studio in Wieden (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) to a customer by the name of Scherll, who was most likely the author of the photographs. The majority of the photographs depict the life and service of the anti-aircraft gunners of the Third Reich, considered the elite of the German armed forces.

The air defense unit of Flak 37, a heavy 88 mm Flak 37 anti-aircraft gun, in which the photographer served, was located on the western defensive line of Germany, the so-called "Westwall". One of the photos shows the anti-aircraft gun being transported to its location by a heavy artillery truck Sd.Kfz. 7, specially designed for towing such guns. The photographer's anti-aircraft battery was on stationary positions in the field, so the photos sometimes show military men milking cows to get some milk, or helping locals pick potatoes. Children and civilians interested in seeing the legendary German gun were frequent guests of the anti-aircraft gunners. On the top of the gun you can see the inscription in white paint "Dora", which was the German woman's nickname for this anti-aircraft gun. The anti-aircraft gun worked with the acoustic guidance system of the anti-aircraft artillery to accurately determine the target, distance, direction and altitude. This system can also be seen in the photographer's images. The highlight of this archive are the shots of anti-aircraft fire on enemy bombers during a night raid. These pictures look very spectacular.

When we talk about the air battles of World War II, we mostly remember the "ace" pilots, the dogfights between enemy fighters, as well as the bombers and their raids on German territory, but we forget to mention the importance of the German air defense and anti-aircraft forces, which were the main weapon against the bombers.

The first stationary German air defense positions were part of the "West Wall", which included the creation of an Air Defense Zone West (LVZ-West) extending from the Eifel region, south through the Saarland along the Moselle River, to the Black Forest and the Swiss border. The "West Wall" positions contained about one-third of all the heavy anti-aircraft batteries the Germans had at the beginning of the war, including the photographer's battery. The first line of defense consisted of 20mm and 37mm guns, followed by a second line of heavy 88mm guns. But the Luftwaffe was well aware that there would never be enough anti-aircraft guns to cover all possible targets. That's why the heavy 88mm anti-aircraft guns were designed to be mobile and could be moved by heavy trucks (as in the photo from the archives).

From 1940 to 1945, Germany was the subject of the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, during which some 2,000,000 tons of bombs were dropped. And the main weapon against the enemy bombers were the anti-aircraft troops.

As a result of the actions of German anti-aircraft gunners, the life expectancy of an Allied bomber in 1943 was only 40 hours. But the destruction of an aircraft was not the only useful result of anti-aircraft guns. Bombers had to maneuver to avoid anti-aircraft fire, which dramatically reduced the accuracy of bomb hits. According to several studies, evasive maneuvers resulted in only 48% of bombs falling within 3 miles (5 km) of the target. Some pilots dropped bombs prematurely to avoid collision with antiaircraft guns. Others suffered severe post-traumatic or psychiatric disorders caused by the fear of flying under anti-aircraft fire. Such pilots were nicknamed "Flak Happy". Overall, flak batteries shot down more aircraft than fighters.

In 1944, nearly 1,000,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Germany from the air, a record for the war (in 1943, just over 200,000 tons). By this time, the Luftwaffe's fighter forces were scattered, and Germany's only defense against the bombers was the anti-aircraft forces. But even they were not in the best shape. Most of the able-bodied men who remained in the anti-aircraft units were transferred to anti-aircraft assault batteries (Flak-sturm-batterien), which became exclusively ground combat units. In 1944, hundreds of anti-aircraft batteries were transferred to the Eastern Front with the remaining Luftwaffe personnel. And if the anti-aircraft gunners had previously survived the daily bombardment of Germany, they now faced the harsh reality of ground combat. Gradually, the German anti-aircraft forces that had been a model for the world were transformed into an army made up of postal workers, factory workers, prisoners, women and children.

On April 25, 1945, the American 8th Air Force made its last heavy raid. B-17 bombers hit the Skoda weapons factory and B-24s hit railroad depots near Berchtesgaden. Although no German fighters took to the skies, but the anti-aircraft fire was quite intense, damaging 200 American bombers. Thus, it is fair to say that German anti-aircraft gunners were the ones who defended the German skies until the last days of the war.