Hitler’s Flak Towers Were Anti-Aircraft Castles

Re:Hitler’s Flak Towers Were Anti-Aircraft Castles by jrbancel on Tuesday June 30, 2015 @01:04AM (#9803048)

Bordeaux faced a similar problem with a submarine base. It is much bigger though: 450,000 sq ft. It is now a cultural center. According to my dad, who was involved in the conversion, working with 22 feet thick walls was very challenging.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BETASOM

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Re:Hitler’s Flak Towers Were Anti-Aircraft Castles by batou on Tuesday June 30, 2015 @02:10AM (#9803254)

There's a bunker in the UK [1] that I went to. Before they could allow visitors they had to add a fire escape. Apparently it took a couple of days to cut a hole in the wall for this due to how strong it is and that was state of the art diamond cutting equipment.

Good day out though.

[1] http://www.secretnuclearbunker.com/

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Re:Hitler’s Flak Towers Were Anti-Aircraft Castles by cafard on Tuesday June 30, 2015 @09:08AM (#9804884)

The USAAF had its best shot with 500 lb bombs, which must have chipped a certain amount of concrete. Apparently it was not a good idea for a GI to walk into French port towns with a bomb group patch on his arm in 1944 and 1945.

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Re:Hitler’s Flak Towers Were Anti-Aircraft Castles by noinsight on Tuesday June 30, 2015 @01:30AM (#9803120)

I had no idea the Italians had submarines let alone in a base in France. Makes sense though, obviously.

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