The largest ever made air defence combat complexes were the so called Flakturms of Germany. Berlin had three such Flakturms. Most were destroyed and nowadays only one remains: the Flakturm III Humbholdthain. After the war it was partially blown up and only halve of it remains - the other halve (the rubble) is covered by trees and the complex nowadays is situated in some sort of parc.

Needless to say is the fact that these towers were quite impressive: each corner had a double 128mm FlaK canon, and each of these canons were covered by three more smalle calibre AA-guns one level below - these could be 4x20mm Vierlingflaks, 30mm FlaK or 37mm FlaK.

The entire structure was one massive bunker - imprenetrable by bombs or artillery. Many soldiers as well as civilians, refugees and/ or wounded, took shelter in these towers during air raids and the Battle for Berlin.

On the left are three diferent types of small calibre AA-guns visible on concrete emplacements. In the middle a 4x20mm Vierlingflak and on the right the 2x128mm FlaK 40 canons.

The Flakturm III being demolished - on the far right the remaining large pile of rubble of one side, a so called 'Trummerberg'.

The remaining other halve of Flakturm III can still bee visited. Two upper level 2x128mm FlaK 40 emplacements are still there - one of them is paved by bricks, the other one has still the lower centre emplacement. Two stairs run down towards eachother to the lower small calibre AA guns level. Round concrete emplacements for these AA guns are still present.

Ofcourse when visiting Berlin the Russian memorial site in Tiergarten can not be overlooked. The monument itself is flanked by two ML20 152mm howitzers and two T34 tanks.