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Re: eBay: German intrest
Hi Snautzer -
What you says about standardized construction plans is true and there almost certainly were some for the airfield Flak towers, although I've never found them. But the low-level gun camera film from strafers and diagrams and sketches worked up from these by Air Ministry A.I.2.(b) show a lot of variety, leading us to conclude that the Fliegerhorst Bauamt had a lot of latitude on the design of these depending on the availability of construction material and other factors.
But yes, the strafers did not like to attack the Flak towers! Very high risk. So tactics were developed on how to do it by minimizing the danger to the attackers, usually by several aircraft hitting the tower at the same time from different directions and altitudes. Many of the 8th and 9th AAF fighter groups had Flak suppression teams who specialized in this work. When one of these towers was hit at close range by all 8 x .50 cal. guns of a P-47 it was like putting it through a wood chipper - there was little left, including gunners.
The two books below address this subject in some detail:
Miller, Kent D. Fighter Units & Pilots of the 8th Air Force – September 1942 – May 1945; Volume 1: Day-to-Day Operations, Fighter Group Histories. Atglen (PA): Schiffer Publishing, 2001. ISBN: 0-7643-1241-3. Oversize Hb. 486p. A few photos. A statistical compilation.
Wolf, William. American Fighter-Bombers in World War II: USAF Jabos in the MTO and ETO. Atglen (PA): Schiffer Publishing, 2003. ISBN: 0-7643-1878-0. Oversize Hb. Laminated cover. 391p. Well illustrated. Color profiles. Appendices. Names index.
L.
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