During World War II, the Nazis built a series of anti-aircraft turrets against the Allies' air strikes.
According to the Warhistoryonline in 1940, the RAF British Air Force conducted a raid on Berlin which caused much damage to the Nazis.
Hitler asked to build anti-aircraft turrets to protect Berlin from Allied air strikes.
A total of 8 such anti-aircraft turrets were built during World War II years, during which Berlin had 3 towers, Hamburg 2 towers and Vienna 3 towers.
They are really gigantic buildings like mighty fortresses. There are three types of antiaircraft turrets: Bauart 1, Bauart 2 and Bauart 3 .This image is a Bauart-style turret 3.
The Bauart-1 tower is impressive, 75 meters wide, 75 meters long, 39 meters high.Each tower is equipped with 4 pairs of Flak 40 128 mm anti-aircraft guns and many 37 and 20 mm caliber guns.
These turrets are very powerful.They can maintain a fire density of 8,000 bullets per minute, a range of up to 14km with a 360-degree coverage.
Only 128 mm anti-aircraft guns had a range far enough to threaten the RAF heavy bombers.
3 turrets around Berlin create a formidable fire triangle for Allied air strikes.
Reinforced concrete turrets were built to turn them into solid blocks.
In addition to being an anti-air defense for cities, these turrets are also an ideal refuge for civilians before air strikes.
It was large enough to provide shelter for 10,000 civilians, and there was a hospital inside.During the Allied attack on Berlin, the turret was a refuge for 30,000 civilians during the war.
These anti-aircraft turrets were so solid that the largest Soviet guns at that time with a caliber of 203 mm could not harm them.The Zoo Tower in Berlin turned into a defensive blockhouse of the Germans until the end of the war.
After the war ended, some towers were destroyed by the Allies, others survived to this day as proof of the bloodiest war years in human history.
Some turrets have been repaired into cafes for people to see the city from above.
