Zoo Flak-tower

[G Van Horne]

One of the books I picked up the other day (With Our Backs To Berlin) mentioned that the Zoo tower had 4 X twin 128mm guns at the top.(one on each corner) In the final days, 15 yr old Harry Schweizer, who was a schoolboy Flak Auxillary, reported that the weapon was fired at zero degrees at clusters of tanks as far as Tegal. He said the shock waves were enough to break the cement parapet of the gallery 5 meters below and expose the metal rebar.

Does anyone know if these flak guns were employed any were else during the war years ?
Are there any SPWAW maps of Berlin that include the flak towers ?

[Galka]

Originally posted by G Van Horne:
One of the books I picked up the other day (With Our Backs To Berlin) mentioned that the Zoo tower had 4 X twin 128mm guns at the top....Does anyone know if these flak guns were employed any were else during the war years ?
Are there any SPWAW maps of Berlin that include the flak towers ?

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1. Probably. The US Handbook of German Military Forces 1945 states that the 12.8cm Flak may be statically emplaced, transported on a mobile mount, or mounted on a railway car. the twin barreled version is produced only for a static role.

2. Tony Le Tessier's Book 'Berlin then and Now' has Photos and diagrams of Berlin's three Flakturm. Zoo also called Flakturm 1 was located in the tiergarten.
If you were to incorporate one into a SP map you'd have to make it indestructible.

[ November 04, 2001: Message edited by: Galka ]</p>

[Grenadier]

As soon as I finish Lost Victories my next project is to finish the Road to berlin campaign and Berlin has the Flak Towers in it.

[Jeff_Ewing]

Originally posted by G Van Horne:
One of the books I picked up the other day (With Our Backs To Berlin) mentioned that the Zoo tower had 4 X twin 128mm guns at the top.
Does anyone know if these flak guns were employed any were else during the war years ?

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I just finished MacDonald's _Company Commander_ and he runs into a battery of them outside Leipzig. Fortunately for his men, he pastes them with artillery, forcing the crews to retreat. It's a gripping episode in a fantastic book.

Jeff

[AmmoSgt]

Fixed fortifications always sound so impressive ..but they are fixed targets, anything as big, as exposed and as Obviously spotted as a Flak Tower would probably be addressed by other means, before ground troops had to go in .. maybe some guns and troops would be operating maybe not, odds would have to be against the tower and it certainly wouldn't be at top efficency at any rate ..Artillery loves Castles , it has for hundreds of years

[G Van Horne]

you're right, they do make excellent targets. I was just thinking what those schoolboys were going thru. They admitted that they didn't want to fire it at all.
I can remember firing the Carl G and after about the third round the nose bleeds started. and it was only 84mm.
Looking forward to the Berlin campaign !!

[Grumble]

Does anyone know if these flak guns were employed any were else during the war years ?

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Yes, Vienna. IIRC there were two with 128mm twin mounts and two more with smaller weapons. At least one of the 128mm Flak Turms is there to this day (too damn big to demolish).

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: Grumble ]</p>