FLAK BATTALIONS

German Luftwaffe 1935-1945.
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WAKEN
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FLAK BATTALIONS

Post by WAKEN »

The Luftwaffe had 4 types of Flak Battalion:

Heavy
Light
Mixed
Searchlight

How many batteries did each of these battalions have and how many guns were there in each battery?
I know that the Light Battalion had 2 batteries of 20mm and 1 battery of 37mm.

Thanks,

Neil
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donwhite
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Flak Batallions

Post by donwhite »

Hello Waken,
I asked this question some months ago. If you use the search facility on the forum you might bring up the original thread as some of the replies were more detailed than my recollection. The general repsonse I received was that the number on batteries and number of weapons per batterie could vary. I found that an 'average' mixed battalion could have 1-2 heavy batteries & 2-3 light/medium batteries. That is some mixed battalions could have 5 or more batteries. As an example of the number of weapons the constituent battalions of the 'HG' Flak Regiment had heavy batteries with 8x 88mm Flak pieces as well as some light & medium batteries thrown in as well. 'The Luftwaffe Homepage' has some fairly detailed unit histories of Flak Battalions which in many cases describe the amount of batteries per specific battalion.

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WAKEN
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Post by WAKEN »

Thanks for that. I have subsequently found out that a Mixed Battalion had 2 20mm batteries and 3 88mm batteries. A 'Front' 20mm battery had 12 guns and a 'Heimat' battery had 16 guns.
I'm still looking for the authorised strength of 37mm and 88mm batteries...
Darrell3559
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Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 3:45 pm

Re: FLAK BATTALIONS

Post by Darrell3559 »

Mixed Battalion- This is the more common type of standard battalion organization incorporating heavy AA guns. There are 2 separate establishments for these mixed battalions, one with four 88mm guns per battery, the other 6. The most recent indications suggest that preference is being shown for the 6 gun unit as equipment became available. In some cases, primarily in the rear areas 105mm AA guns may be substituted for the 88mm guns.
The organization of this mixed battalion is as follows:
Headquarters;
3 heavy batteries, each consisting of four (possibly 6) 88mm guns, and 2 20mm guns for close protection.
2 light batteries each consisting of 12 20mm guns and 4 60cm searchlights.
( A medium battery of 9 37mm guns and 4 60cm searchlights is sometimes substituded for one of the light batteries.)
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