Just how good was German Flak

[Jim Oxley]

The details below don't necessarily provide a guide to how effective German Flak was, but it certainly does give a guide to how thick it was.

In June 1944 the Flak regiments located within the borders of Germany deployed 8,876 guns of dreaded 88mm gun; 25,000 pieces of 20mm and 30mm cannon and were manned by 900,000 men.

That was a result of the bombing campaign by the RAF Bomber Command and 2nd Tactical Air Force, and the 8th and 9th USAAF.

To put those figures into perspective Rommel only had 35 x 88mm guns when he attacked the British in the Desert in 1941. The German Army in France only numbered 500,000 men at the time of the Normandy invasion.