The Flak 37 models of the 88 gun seen here show the automatic fuse setter on the left side of the gun mount. A crewman sat in front of the mechanism and dialed in the correct setting for the fuses, based on the range and height of the target bomber formations, while another crewman placed the high explosive rounds with time fuses, nose-first, into one of two receptacle cups on the side of the mechanism (right-hand photo), which automatically set the fuses to the proper time delay.

8.8cm Flak 18 model guns in the Schweinfurt flak batteries.  (author's collection)

On the left, guns of the Schweinfurt flak batteries engage targets at night. On the right is a view of a gun position during the winter of 1944-45 - not a pleasant assignment.  (author's collection)

The city defense flak guns were normally mounted in permanent positions, surrounded by quadrangular earthen berms, which provided some protection against shrapnel from nearby bomb bursts. The 8.8cm guns were usually grouped in batteries of six guns, often in a hexagonal arrangement. The drawing on the left above shows a plan for an 8.8cm gun emplacement. On the right above is an Eighty-Eight firing from its emplacement at night. 

The October 1943 aerial photo on the right below shows the area near the Panzer Kaserne (buildings at the bottom), with bomb damage showing from the previous attack in August. The hexagonal features outlined in red are two batteries of 8.8cm flak guns (six guns in each battery), part of the Großbatterie Panzerkaserne, which would eventually number 20 guns and several searchlights, rangefinders, and radar antennas. One of the earthen berm gun emplacements for the Schweinfurt batteries still exists (seen on the left below), near the former U.S. Army Ledward Barracks (1936 Panzer Kaserne). The arrow highlights the gun emplacement that still exists.  (above - Bundesarchiv; below - U.S. National Archives, RG 343FH-22426 (detail)

This photo taken during the bombing attack on 14 October 1943 shows two of the Schweinfurt flak batteries. Outlined in red at the top is a six-gun position near Geldersheim; at the bottom are two six-gun positions at Grafenrheinfeld (seen enlarged on the right).  (U.S. National Archives, RG 343FH-3A22431)

Left - Luftwaffe "old hands" (at left) with three Flak Helpers at their gun in one of the Grafenrheinfeld batteries. The gun barrel of this 8.8 cannon has 15 kill rings. Center/right - Young RAD flak crewmen pose with their flak guns of the Grafenrheinfeld batteries.  (left - Museum Stammheim am Main; center/right - author's collection)

Part of the Spitalholz Battery after one of the bombing attacks - the guns in their earthworks still point skyward, while the target areas burn in the distance. An Autobahn highway was built through here in the 1960s, with an interchange in this area, and growth of the Hafen industrial and business area has obliterated any resemblance to the period photo.  (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt)

Light flak guns protecting the Fichtel & Sachs factory. These 2.0cm guns were emplaced in several locations around the factory areas, including some mounted on the building roofs. Below, Luftwaffe personnel train young Flak Helpers on a 2.0cm gun.  (author's collection; above right - courtesy Mike Haines)

2.0cm Flakvierling 38 four-barrel light flak guns of the Fichtel & Sachs factory defenses.  (author's collection)

Flak rounds burst among the bomber formations - the photo on the left was taken during one of the Schweinfurt missions, but the photo on the right does not show Schweinfurt. One of the goals of the flak barrages, in addition to damaging and shooting down planes, was to disrupt the bomber formations and ruin their aim.  (U.S. National Archives)

One of the Allied casualties - a B-17 crash-landed near Elfershausen (northwest of Schweinfurt). This is B-17F #42-30191 of the 379th Bomb Group, "The Bolevich," piloted by Lt. Donald W. Merchant. This plane suffered hits from fighters and flak during the 17 August 1943 attack and crashed-landed shortly after the bomb run, killing T/Sgt. Gene Hecht, whose parachute failed to open.  According to period German reports, the plane came down in this location south of Elfershausen, and was a victim of the Schweinfurt flak batteries (not fighters). German reports gave credit to the batteries at Geldersheim, Oberndorf, Deutschhof, and the Großbatterie Panzerkaserne.  (private collection) (MapQuest Map Link)

Further B-17s shot down in the Schweinfurt area. The bomber above, B-17G #42-46103, was shot down by the combined fire of the Schweinfurt flak batteries at Deutschhof, Kaltenhof, and Sennfeld on 21 July 1944 and crashed on the Maibacher Höhe northwest of the city center, killing two crewmen in the process. The tail fell in the area near Air Raid Shelter #4, seen at the left edge of the modern photo. Below - B-17G #42-23550, commanded by 2nd Lt. Alden Kincaid of the 305th Bomb Group, was shot down near Waigolshausen on 14 October 1943, losing three crewmen killed.  (above - Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt; below - Historisches Verein Waigolshausen)

In addition to the flak guns themselves, the flak battery positions included various support equipment such as range finders, searchlights, acoustic trackers, and command and control centers. Above is a Kdo. Gr. 36 four-meter base range finder. Below is a 150cm searchlight. Both original pieces are on display in the Museum Stammheim am Main.  (above - U.S. War Dept. TM E9-369A, "German 88-MM Antiaircraft Gun Materiel," 29 June 1943; below - Bundesarchiv)

Crewmen of one of the control positions associated with the Schweinfurt batteries operate a range finder and communications equipment. On the right, RAD flak crewmen of the Großbatterie Panzerkaserne dig out a dud 500-pound bomb after one of the bombing attacks.  (left - author's collection; right - courtesy Alan and Edmund Scheckenbach)

Located near the two 6-gun flak batteries south of Euerbach was a part of the German early warning and fighter control radar net. This radar station was code-named "Wildschwein," and consisted of a "Freya" long-range radar antenna and two "Würzburg-Riese" radar dishes, along with associated barracks and administrative buildings. The hexagonal concrete bases for the two "Würzburg-Riese" radar sets remain today, and one has recently been incorporated into a local Peace Memorial (the light coloring on the concrete is not paint, but is where the lower part of the base was covered by the slope, and only recently excavated). Below is a 1945 photo of a "Würzburg-Riese" dish in place on its concrete base. (Click here to see ruins of a similar radar site in northern Bavaria.)  (Google Maps© Link)  (author's collection)

The concrete base for the other "Würzburg-Riese" radar dish is in a nearby field. An opening on one side of the base allowed access to the mount and wiring inside, and also for passage of the buried electrical cables.  (U.S. National Archives, RG342-FH)  (Google Maps© Link)

During the latter part of the war, the searchlights and other support equipment, along with the radar stations, were generally operated by female Luftwaffe auxiliaries, the Flakhelferinnen and Nachrichtenhelferinnen. These "flak helpers" and "Blitz Mädels" (signals girls) were youths in their teens or early 20s, who also helped coordinate the battery communications and, on rare occasions, crew the flak guns.  (private collection)

These photos show a building on Ludwigstraße in the suburb of Niederwerrn, which served as a command and control bunker for the Schweinfurt area air defenses, under the command of Flak-Regiment 179. After the war, windows were cut through the concrete walls, and the building has served as an auto repair shop.  (My thanks to Mike Haines for alerting me to this "bunker" in Niederwerrn, and to Lt. Col. Juan Hernandez (Ret.) for info on its wartime purpose.)

This memorial stands at the site of the large collection of flak guns near Ettleben, southwest of Schweinfurt. These guns were directly beneath the usual bomber route to the bearing factory targets, plus they were in the path of the advancing American forces in early April 1945. On the night of 8 April, after delaying the U.S. advance for three days, and recognizing the futility of further fighting, the battery commander ordered all the remaining ammunition to be expended, then the guns were disabled and the crews (mostly teenage flak helpers) fell back into the city.