German Air Defenses: Fliegerabwehrkanone (Flak)--Personnel


Figure 1.--Here we see a German Flak crew. The primary German Flak gun was the 88 mm which the Germans discovered early in the war was a superb anti-tank gun. This is a smaller gun. A reader tells us, "The gun is a 37mm Flak 36 or Flak 37 (the two differ only in that the latter had a new sight). The gun is most easily identifiable by the large 6-round clips that it uses - which the boy on the right is carrying. Also note the large 'pan' for the said clip - which the boy in the middle is working on. Furthermore, just behind the two right-most boys is the sight assembly, which, along with the dimunitive recoil cylinder under the barrel, precludes this weapon from being the much more powerful 88." [Khong] Much larger single shells were loaded into the 88. Flak 36 and 37 guns were set up to defend against low-flying planes. American P-51 escorts after escorting bomber raids would on the way home come down to low alditudes to hit targets like Luftwaffe bases, trains, barges and other trgets of opportunity. The boys seem to be wearing Wehrmacht uniforms. I am not sure if they are HJ boys are actually in the Wehrmacht. Perhaps they were inducted into the Volkssturm. Note that they are not wearing helmets. The photograph is undated, but was probably taken in late-1944 or early-45 in part because of the season which can be ovserved in the background.

German anti-aircraft Fliegerabwehrkanone (Flak) defenses were manned by the diverse personnel. This varied somewhat over the course of the War. The total effort was massive. Early in the War, the Luftwaffe Flak units had about 1 million men. This was nearly two-thirds of the total Luftwaffe strength. Eventually the Flak personel in 1944 approached 1.3 people, including men women, and youth. Actual Luftwaffe prsonnel were gradually replaced, often deployed in mobile units. The more static batteries were replaced by older men in the Home Guard, Reich Labor Service (RAD) boys, and Hitler Youth (HJ) boys and girls. There were a variety of other personnel involved, including Italian, Hungarian, and Russian POWs. (Italy and Hungary were NAZI allies, but Germany occupied Italy (1943) and Hungary (1944) ehen those countries attempted to leave the War. Women auxiliaries were also involved. I'm not sure at this time as to the relative importance of these various groups. We know that the HJ was very important. Some like the Hitler Youth boys would have only been employed within the Reich close to their homes. We are not entirely sure who was manning the guns in many available images. Some show youths in both civilian clothes and Wehrmacht uniforms (figure 1). The boys here wear Whermacht uniforms, but you can see a HJ pin on one boy's cap. The strategic bombing campaign has been question by some authors. Often these assessments leave out important factors. For example, all over Germany guns like this were pointed up up at Allied aircraft rather than at advancing Allied and Soviet men and tanks. They also used a huge quantity of ordinance.

Massive Effort

German anti-aircraft Fliegerabwehrkanone (Flak) defenses were manned by the diverse personnel. This varied somewhat over the course of the War. The total effort was massive. Eventually the Flak personel in 1944 approached 1.3 people, including men women, and youth. And it had to cover the entire country. The air defense fighters could be easily moved across the country. The Flak defenses were a different matter. These had to be built around each city and high-priority targets like the synthetic-oil plants.

Regular Luftwaffe Personnel

The Luftwaffe Flak units were a very substantial part of the Luftwaffe's total force. We have seen a variery of estimates. One source suggests that at the beginning of the War the Luftwaffe had a total strength of about 1.5 million men. Of that total about 0.9-1.0 million men were in FLAK units, maning about two-thirds of the service. [Stedman, p. 9.] Other sourse report a smaller force. The different numbers, probably representing varying time points. One reports suggests a Lugtwaffe force of only 0.5 million in 1939. This may have been early in 1939, before the War. Another source reports a Luftwaffe force of about 1.7 million men in 1941 with nearly 0.6 million men in FLAK units. This would be about a third of the force, still a very important part of the total force. The Luftwaffe never planned for a 6-year war against Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The FLAK units as originally conceived were regular Luftwaffe troops. As Hitler's military campsigns expanded, regular Luftwaffe troops had to be used to fill the expanding role of the Luftwaffe. Regular Luftwaffe prsonnel were gradually replaced. The replacements, however, were considered to be part of the Luftwaffe even they may have been Hitler Youth boys or even foreigners. The Luftwaffe peaked at 2.5 million men (autumn 1944). About half of that total were in FLAK units.

Organization

German Flak units were a part of the Luftwaffe. Luftwaffe field divisions had a mixed flak Battalion (Abteilung). Mixed means artillery of different calibers. It was composed of a heavy Battery (three 20 mm cannons and four 88 mm guns along with twenty-seven 20 mm Anti-Aircraft guns. There was a headquarters staff and signals support troops. The basic operational formation of the Luftwaffe was a Luftflotte. Each Luftflotte had a Flak Korps which consisted of two or more Flakbrigaden or Flakdivionen depending on where the Luftflotte was deployed. Luftflotte 5 based in Oslo had only limited needs for air defense. Luftflotte 7 Zentral (remaned Reich in 1944) responsible for home air defense was assigned the bulk of the FLAK divisions. The first FLAK Division was formed in Berlin (July 1, 1938). It was first named the Air Defense Command (Luftverteidigungskommando), but susequently named the 1st. FLAK Division. The Luftwaffe deployed 29 Flak divisions (Flak-Divisionen) grouped in to 7 Korps at peak strength. Each division normally was constututed with five FLAK Regiments (Flak-Regimenter). The regiments were composed of battalions which were designated "light" (leichte), "mixed" (gemischte) or "heavy" (schwere) depending on the size of guns with which they were equipped. A FLAK division also consisted of , one searchlight regiment, three motorized flak transport battalions (Flak-Abteilungen), one Air Signals battalion (Flak-Abteilungen), and supply troops. The number of transport battalions varied depending on the location and need for transport of the divisions. Division deployed around cities needed less transport than those in remote areas. FLAK gunners were at first Luftwaffe ground personnel. Thhis was the situation whn the War began. As the War progressed, the demand for manpower outstripped the available miliitary age choharts of the Reich. The Luftwaffe answer was to assign Hitler Youth boys to man the FLAK batteries. The boys were not just used as helpers and runners.HJ biys cinstituted whole gun crews. At first this was just done in Luffflotte 7 Zentral because this was where HJ boys were available. The HJ boy crews were not deployed in combat areas outseid the Erich. For the most part these were boys still living at home at were often teenagers below millitary age. Of course by 1944, advancing Soviet and Allied armies had brought the War to the borders of the Reich. as the Initially the boys only supplements the FLAK gunners. Eventually vurtually all the regular Luftwaffe gunners were replaced by the HJ boys. We notice both uniformd and non-uniformd boys. The uniformed boys wore their HJ uniforms.

Non-Regular Luftwaffe Personnel: Static Units

As the War began to go against Germany, more and greater demands were masde on the Luftwaffe. Thus the Germans began to replace active duty Luftwaffe personnel in the static batteries around the major cities targetted by the Allied strtegic bombing campaign. The FLAK batteries continued to be operated by the Luftwaffe, but Luftwaffe personnel were replaced by older men in the Home Guard, youth in the Reich Labor Service (RAD), and Hitler Youth (HJ) boys and girls. There were a variety of other personnel involved, including Italian, Hungarian, and Russian POWs. (Italy and Hungary were NAZI allies, but Germany occupied Italy (1943) and Hungary (1944) ehen those countries attempted to leave the War. Women auxiliaries were also involved. We are not sure at this time as to the relative importance of these various groups. We know that the HJ was very important. Some like the Hitler Youth boys would have only been employed within the Reich close to their homes. We are not entirely sure who was manning the guns in many available images. Some show youths in both civilian clothes and Wehrmacht uniforms (figure 1). The boys here wear Whermacht uniforms, but you can see a HJ pin on one boy's cap.

Strategic Bombing Campaign

Assessments of the impact of the strategic bombing campaign should factor in the resources in men and material that the Germans committed to the Flak and other air defenses. Without the air campaign, these respurces could have been freed for other operations. The strategic bombing campaign has been question by some authors. Often these assessments leave out important factors. For example, all over Germany guns like this were pointed up up at Allied aircraft rather than at advancing Allied and Soviet men and tanks. They also used a huge quantity of ordinance.

Sources

Khong, Dennis. E-mail message, June 17, 2008.

Stedman, Robert. Luftwaffe Air & Ground Crew, 1939-45.







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Created: 7:37 PM 11/6/2007
Last updated: 12:29 AM 1/26/2017