Flak (1943)

FlaK the german short term for Flugabwehrkanone (Antiaircraft gun)
This once-classified U.S. Air Force training film depicts evasive maneuvers used by bomber pilots to avoid being hit by enemy antiaircraft fire.
The film includes animated illustrations by Disney studios and captured footage of enemy antiaircraft batteries in action

[@Lxcx333]

Better Than 99% of Power Point presantations in my class

[@treeinafield5022]

Well obviously, this is a high production presentation.

[@Lxcx333]

@@treeinafield5022 but its 77 years old!!!

[@gunchbandit4422]

Wartime production doesn't fuck around.

[@discordmemes5471]

Would love to see the 1%

[@AC13O]

They made it ebttet quality thats why

[@LiveFastRaceHard]

My great grandfather was a first lieutenant flying a b24 named Ole Blister Butt in WWII. They hit flak and was shot down. I still remember him telling me in detail what it was like. He said the engine got hit and ripped a hole in the fuselage, black smoke and fire started pouring in, they couldn't see anything in the plane and he was blinded by the smoke and fire. He still made sure all his men were out of the plane before they and he bailed over Italy. They were reported MIA for weeks before the Canadian expeditionary force found them. He never fully regained his sight from this.

[@torosdepamplona]

May God bless and keep his soul! I’m literally crying here. Thank God for THE Greatest Generation!

[@pbhurley19]

Thanks for sharing this. I bet he was one hell of a man.

[@emankcin1334]

My great grandfather also served on a b24, I wish I could’ve met him

[@MessyKrieg]

What do you do?

[@num3willie]

My dad was a bombardier in a B-24 shot down in the Battle of Anzio. Got hit with shrapnel in his right side while parachuting down (the metal was never removed). Luckly he was found by some nuns who dressed him in a habit to sneak him across the enemy line back to the Allies.

[@chad7917]

I was skydiving in Germany, thank god I watched this 16 minute video about flak evasion otherwise I'd be toast! My grandma didn't stand a chance

[@thecamocampaindude5167]

Lmao

[@anXiaryMusic]

My buddy did, too. A week ago.

[@Ulyssestnt]

Your skydiving with your grandma? ..badass.

[@denniscrane9753]

Rip Grandma! 😢

[@Ulyssestnt]

@@denniscrane9753Ripcord Grandma ;)

[@dilloncookson9641]

He protec, He attac, But most importantly, He take flak.

[@charles9571]

What is the origin of this?

[@ethanboyd7843]

Also that duck with a parachute was pretty awesome

[@user-rp5vx2pb9i]

The duck made me wonder the horror of having to bail out in a flak field.

[@mebeasensei]

Graphics like this are easy to understand. They don't distract me.

[@spreadeagled5654]

I had a late friend, (now deceased - R.I.P.) who was an officer in the Luftwaffe Anti-aircraft Division, that’s right! the Luftwaffe! (Luft Flak Division, the “Flak Korps”) who commanded the 88mm and 105mm AA guns against the B-17s and B-24s. He said the whole irony of the flak is the falling shrapnel, that the Germans call, “Stahl Regen” (“Steel Rain”), would fall back down to earth and caused more casualties than the bombs did ! 😧

[@JA-rk9cg]

Wayland Lee that’s very interesting. I couldn’t imagine strolling along and shrapnel starts raining from the sky.

[@vajeye-nar6172]

@@JA-rk9cg you wouldn't be strolling along while there's bombers in the air LOL

[@JA-rk9cg]

Vaj Eye-Nar just realised that 😂

[@spreadeagled5654]

JackA D123 - Yeah, not during an air raid!

[@hint0122]

@@davidschlieber2543 you put anything in the air that high, it's going to come down with force. That's why they don't want people dropping pencils and pens off tall buildings

[@jaihadgeppo150]

Why did i watch a video on flak evading?

[@marcisjaunpaulis8645]

Maybe you just play World of tanks? :D

[@jaihadgeppo150]

marcis jaunpaulis Maybe...

[@roadsigncheems1566]

Because you like seeing the intense pops of smoke around a plane while it flies

[@ryanjones9498]

Because the government wants you to be a mindless vegetable laying in bed watching you tube videos

[@skedichlavender2]

@Rick O'Shay I am going to show this the my grandpa

[@kunaak]

that was actually pretty interesting.

[@shem44]

At around 80 years old, this video is pure gold. Simple and easy to understand.

[@CLSGL]

I’ll never understand how some of these planes flew hundreds of miles after literally losing 20% to 50% of the aircraft

[@Jan_372]

That's a lot of luck. Mostly the struts and control surfaces were still intact. Also trained pilots. But damn, I wouldn't want to be in any WW2 bomber.

[@varun009]

The frame in tact and most of the Hull in critical areas prone to flexure as well as some very gentle flying and very insulative sheepskin suits.

[@crawdadlando4053]

Couldn’t now.

[@DugiDevetCarabolium]

No electronics like today ;)

[@lt.spears1889]

Cause the B17 was a badass plane

[@Polpiv4tifish]

Our granddads had balls much, much bigger than ours

[@llVIU]

no, they were stupid and reckless. Giving their lives to a bunch of idiot rich people who were greedy and wanted more land to themselves.

[@kruppcorp2359]

@@llVIU so the lives that were taken to defeat the Nazi Germany force that could've taken the world by themselves, burning innocents alive/gassing them including you, were idiots? life and War ain't no shitty fortnite game, kid. Realise for once that there are NO fucking respawns.. none.

[@TheMarrrk]

@xc5647321 xc5647321 That was a conventional war with wide spread support completely different

[@TheMarrrk]

@xc5647321 xc5647321 What are you talking about being shamed into service you are completely changing the subject here buddy and women did their part in the factories and if they were allowed service in the armed forces I'd imagine many would do so

[@CC-xh3eo]

And most obviously they had a very, very small brain, just like you! So in the end, you have more in common with them than you might think. They were idiots with big balls and you are an idiot with hot air in your pants.

[@mistertoy3658]

For how old this is, I actually learned something.

[@RalphCQ]

I talked to this old guy that fought in WWII as a fighter pilot, he had some awesome stories.

[@Sulkanator]

I would love to have done that. Not many WWII heroes left with us. Mad respect for them and our other military personnel.

[@tmo2798]

I'da flacked the sh)(*&&^)(*&t out of him.

[@olpaiva]

I’m watching Masters of the Air on Apple TV+ and they are making a great job recreating the air battles of the WWII.

[@rafaelromeromedina1135]

Me too!!

[@carlj.6983]

My grandfather was a german flak gunner. I never got to meet him because he died of other causes before i was born. All info i had was from my mother, but he didnt tell her too much. I wish i could have met him.

[@Ealdorman_of_Mercia]

So your grandfather fought for Hitler?

[@eramosat]

Just watched the first part Catch-22, and memories are flooding back.

[@Tarwarz]

That is the exact reason im here

[@denniscarterjr3960]

Damn i actually learned a few things. Thanks for putting this out there

[@germany456]

So crazy, I wish I could see a FLAK being used by real soldiers. Every man back then was tough as nails. These presentations are so great, I wanna see more of these!!

[@myblacklab7]

Every man? Huh - seems unlikely.

[@dikon0172]

These Flak Gunners were boys, 15 to 16 years old.

[@chrism8996]

@@dikon0172 Not entirely

[@michaelbauers5896]

This makes sense to me. The gunners have to lead the airplanes, so if they change course and speed they should be less predictable. Very cool to see this old training film

[@KC-bg1th]

Michael Bauers This rarely worked since the entire sky was blanketed in flak bursts, restricting movement; in reality, it wasn’t just one flak gun shooting at you like shown in this video, but instead was dozens, if not hundreds. All it allowed you to do was fly straight and hope you survived; this was propaganda similar to how you could duck and cover to avoid being killed by a nuclear blast. Cool in theory, but like everything in war, is chaos in reality.

[@veyolaski4324]

Kevin C it's sort of like expectation vs reality

[@hakimber837]

Are you alive?

[@Waitukubuli]

"The gunners have to lead the airplanes." In more ways than one. :(

[@JohnyG29]

​@@KC-bg1th Did you even listen to what the guy in the video was saying. He covers all your points, and evasive action was indeed very helpful.

[@doverbeachcomber]

And all the animation we just watched was done by hand! No CGI back then, just paint on cels.

[@everythingduude7386]

During ww2 the us developed the proximity fuse. Instead of a timer, radar in the warhead would explode when the radar in the shell picked up the plane

[@jamesdrake2058]

Actually a British invention that required the yanks to perfect it (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximity_fuze)

[@Theiliteritesbian]

I watched a video how this was one of the most important technologies that aided the allies winning the war. Makes sense to me. I think they used it for other projectiles too.

[@oscillatingturtle2487]

why the fuck did I watch this? It was interesting though

[@6tuf85dyfu]

The shell knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the shell from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't.

[@SuperCrazyflyer]

and the flak does 43 damage to a ground enemy in battlefield 1 at 22 feet

[@IndoLiberation]

Theres no flak at bf 1 , it was 37mm pom pom gun (QF 1 pounder) , the 37mm round is basically a cannon fired frag grenade , i dont see any problem a sharpnel can reach 22 feet

[@coonscrib]

the flak almost looks harmless with the little stationary puffs of black smoke in the air...but anything but harmless. i can only imagine flying into the stuff in a slow moving Lancaster or B26 or something like that. Those guys while obviously terryfied had balls of steel flying multiple missions over Germany or France. Sometimes flying those planes to the absolute limits of their range with barely enough fuel to return home. What would they rather deal with i imagine, Nazi fighters or crazy amounts of flak over cities. Probably neither.

[@CC-xh3eo]

Ever thought about the people who were sitting in their basements, waiting for the bomb that would hit and kill them all? Old men, women and children? My mother was eight years old when the war ended and she told me about her nights sitting down there and waiting to die. Now don't tell that shit about "balls of steel" or anything, war is simply shit and everybody involved should be felt sorry for, not be admired as a "hero"! Americans seem to need a war in their own country to be cured of this ignorant shit!

[@dg1006]

Paul Popel ...Do you also feel that way about the German pilots bombing British cities with English women and children sitting in their basements ready to die? Plus this all happened BEFORE the situation you described.

[@Jan_372]

@@dg1006 actually britain did a small bomb raid on Berlin first, but whatever. Point is: a (world) war is bad.

[@bocahdongo7769]

It doesn't look that deadly because on top of everything video describe, the timed fuse used were innacurated. Once Allies change their flak from timed fuse to VT fuse (using motion detector, in this case enemy plane) instead, everything went instantly shred like nothing tomorrow because the calculation processing was streamlined and shell always explode right near the enemy plane.

[@javiermartinezjr8849]

American military has always put a big emphasis on the class room, these guys probably sit in classrooms and presentations like this more then they shoot hot rounds I'd think Or atleast until there a certified(idk correct term) soldier,airman,marine and recieved specialist training, these videos are actually super informational.not boring at all

[@KuzcoC618]

This 16 minute video would end and the instructors hit the lights like “alright boys go get ‘em”

[@TheCarin12]

I did not know you could avoid flak. This was very interesting.

[@hakimber837]

Are you alive?

[@johannsebastianbach9003]

@@hakimber837 I don't he is

[@gyrospinup]

If the enemy had enough guns in the batteries to expand fire, this wouldn't work so well.

[@Debbiebabe69]

Just remember the reason we lost so many men on D-Day - the assumption that the enemy did not have competent generals and planners when in fact theirs was even better than ours. Despite all this knowledge on how to avoid flak, we still lost thousands of ships and tens of thousands of men to flak - we forgot that the enemy thinks as well. Most of the losses were due to the so called 'weakest' of the flack laying methods - barrage fire. What they did was concentrate the flak in smaller and smaller areas, giving fighters more and more space to hunt. Directly laid flack was mainly used to evaporate night bombers.

[@chrism8996]

Yep! The allies at normandy thought they were going to be met with second rate troops. Instead they were met with fanatical SS troops and alot of seasoned wehrmacht divisions. Allthough there were also alot of inexpereinced and foreign troops protecting the beaches of normandy.

[@Brad-pv8uc]

My son is watching this , and going to use this in a maths project, very informative thanks for sharing

[@shanefrance5071]

This footage is priceless

[@iwantdog]

So damn captivating and illustrative.

[@tamar5261]

Why am I watching and enjoying this

[@kenowens9021]

One crewman who survived and went home, went to a movie theater. Before the movie started, there was a newsreel which showed bombers going into flak. The crewman stood up, yelled "flak" at the top of his voice, and ran out of the theater.

[@WhiskerWhippers]

I just wanted to learn about flak guns. Watched the whole thing. Quite informative

[@Ramirez83786]

My grandfather flew in one of those. His planes name was “the sneaky jew”

[@neverwinta7702]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Lecruque]

That was incredibly advanced for those days! Never knew this, thanks!

[@JohnyG29]

It wasn't the dark ages 😂

[@Lecruque]

@@JohnyG29 some ethnic groups would disagree with you ;)

[@phunkeehone]

It's basically math/calculations, which have been around for a while.

[@Warren8675309]

See now why didn't they teach us practical every day living skills like this in school? I'm literally 35 years old and never had anyone tell me how to evade flak batteries until now smh

[@neverwinta7702]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@KrolKaz]

A very interesting system albeit rudimentary given our modern equivalent. The way it works is actually very simple, basically The flak shell knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the shell from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't. In the event that the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn't, the system has acquired a variation, the variation being the difference between where the shell is, and where it wasn't. If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too may be corrected by the GEA. However, the flak shell must also know where it was. The flak guns guidance computer scenario works as follows; Because a variation has modified some of the information the computer has obtained, it is not sure just where it is. However, it is sure where it isn't, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subtracts where it should be from where it wasn't, or vice-versa, and by differentiating this from the algebraic sum of where it shouldn't be, and where it was, it is able to obtain the deviation and its variation, which is called error. It's really quite elementary when you think about it but technologically impressive nonetheless.

[@big-bonkin-head1034]

I was looking up a lot of aircraft information and different generation air craft and got here from Safari to KZbin hehe

[@mode1charlie170]

Well I didn’t know the formations performed evasive flying like this on their way to the target. Very cool!

[@TheCerberusInferno]

Thanks for this great video !

[@chiayang5889]

This video is interesting and educational. Never knew science technically were used to plan the flight of attack by the military. Wow me.

[@WASDhero]

This is very interesting, thx for sharing!

[@filthyarmageddon7723]

this is very clever... the army is not just shooting one at another but planning and evading

[@exe.wifinowhere3942]

Thanks I really need this for Friday ;)

[@BB-vq2zv]

IN MEMORIAN ! Erich Hartmann Hans-Joachim Marseille. (Jagdgeschwader 52)

[@IosifStalinsendsyoutoGulag]

Nice, pretty informative.

[@TOMVUTHEPIMP]

Iron Maiden brought me here! There goes the siren that warns of the air raid Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne Got to get up for the coming attack Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines Remove all the wheel-blocks there's no time to waste Gathering speed as we head down the runway Gotta get airborne before it's too late Running, scrambling, flying Rolling, turning, diving, going in again Running, scrambling, flying Rolling, turning, diving, Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die Run, live to fly, fly to live Aces high

[@sjavelin]

good thing renting this is free

[@manasgaikwad3644]

In germany instead of quack quack ducks do flak flak!

[@marcoAKAjoe]

GREAT video!

[@noisyapples2772]

The artillery shell knows where it is by knowing where it isn't

[@gabrieliligan1416]

That animation is 10,000x better than Microsoft PowerPoint

[@wez492]

This ad was brought to from your friends at Vault-Tech !!

[@user-ps4mw5om4j]

Germans got the best toys...

[@World_Premier]

All the bad guys do

[@Florianpimpf]

Old glory but now we are not bad boys anymore

[@World_Premier]

Florianpimpf :(

[@thegoat5334]

F.u.c.k Allah in deed, fuck allah....

[@Dan-pf1jf]

@14miki Rubbish

[@NikosWings]

These guys were heroes!!! Can’t imagine flying my airplane thru this hell and trying to survive…

[@calebschmidt2742]

That was really cool.

[@stokiestewpotter7956]

Very interesting indeed,very brave young men .

[@gerrycollins2335]

After the USA joined WW2 and started bombing specific military targets in Germany and France, a report on bomb accuracy concluded that under 10% landed within a half mile of their target. Pilots were ordered at one point not to take evasive action as they neared their bomb runs. In the end, despite initial moral.misgivings, a policy of area bombing was adopted leading to mass civilian casualties.

[@kenrose1154]

I can see the sign on the classroom door saying; To Save Your Ass, No Sleeping in Class

[@leszas872]

Watching this is as a War Thunder player. This is a helpful video!

[@germany456]

These gunners are crazy lethal asf, I can see why we are so great at leading, I be leading a lot in hunting and in games

[@snoopybrandon5286]

Dude, its a training/educational video for new pilots who haven't flown yet It's not fake or gay considering these men later put their lives on the line for the sake of freedom. If they failed, you might not be here today. Stop spamming the comments with you hate messages. It ruins it for everbody else. Get over yourself.

[@Odin355]

Freedom.... said the american.

[@ryanjones9498]

And they knew there’s no bailing out

[@GomerfromIsaan]

Now they have heat seeking missiles.

[@rutabagasteu]

Which may or may not work. Look up air combat from Vietnam.

[@dixztube]

This is super interesting

[@jamessoltis5407]

I thought this was going to be about the lady who sang such hits as ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ and ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’.

[@superhet7281]

lol!

[@Creed12able1]

5:33 the one who film that has huge balls...

[@forestlathers4052]

This was pretty interesting tbh

[@npi57]

Germans had real creativity, their weapons and strategies of defense and attack were some genius shit.

[@JohnyG29]

All major nations in WW2 had this technology, not just the Nazis.

[@npi57]

@@JohnyG29 The german strategy of invading, was some crazy stuff not seen before this war. The arrow strategy. Not also that but they liked the strategy of drugging their soldeirs. So yeah, wars are not like everyone in it has equality of strategies or weapons. It aint a fair game, its war. Dude i could just google the inmense arsenal and strategy books each nation used. I assure you nothing is similar between nations and strategic movement. Dont you remember all those spying ops. Its ridiculous to affirm that

[@Just.A.T-Rex]

Yet so many failed.

[@myblacklab7]

"Shoot guns at planes" = genius-level creativity?

[@mggailitis7231]

I wonder how many friendly fire casualties occurred when fragments of spent shells hit the ground.

[@BR-it2qe]

I would totally be outside walking around while being bombed

[@432h93z]

did they had hit markers or how did they know they shot a plane down?

[@billylukito5522]

well, the plane will descend in altitude, or if they hit the plane fuel tank or engine, the plane will be burning and losing altitude? i mean, as long as the plane is crashing down to earth is all that matter to AA crew, right?

[@samwu1836]

Why don't I get to see more of this at Disneyland!!!

[@Jester123ish]

Here because of Catch 22.

[@guardianoftheledge4966]

I wish I could ask grandpa if he remembers watching this.

[@luisito6314]

I cant believe the shell keeps traveling up for over 30 seconds

[@thewatcher4552]

Being a bomber crew was a death sentence in WW2!

[@o.k.2968]

It was really smart.

[@dkkempion8744]

Considering 7 of 10 crews didn't return...

[@wattage2007]

They make no mention of the Luftwaffe though, like flak was all they had to worry about.

[@TheMarrrk]

@@wattage2007 Pretty much was Luftwaffe were practically out of action

[@s20ttv]

By this point the Luftwaffe were almost totally destroyed. Brave men knowing they were going into a game of poker and cashing out wasn’t an option.

[@zulioner7880]

or simply... DO A BARREL ROLL!

[@carldsouza9436]

Zulioner u mad bro?

[@CC-xh3eo]

And this would help you to survive flak because....?

[@Noah-mf3uq]

its 2:53 AM

[@IYHIGJ]

Now 3:28 Am

[@amadocarillo423]

I'm just curious whether the flak cannon in red alert 2 is exist or not. That's why I come here

[@albertopajuelomontes2066]

something learned for IL2!!!

[@jokerpokerwinner]

People are awesome.

[@normannokes9513]

Fortunately proximity fuse shell never used. When used in England against V1 success rate 80%.

[@Nightsd01]

This evasive action actually made the Norden bombsight a lot less accurate

[@manuel.camelo]

Some crazy tech they had 👁️👃👁️🙏

[@giovanni18041973]

in theory it is the same tactic that is used with depth bombs to hit a submarine relying on sonar

[@Biljoona]

At the same time, the allies would get shells that would always automatically explode uncannily close to the enemy aircraft...

[@alex124241]

Were these loaded with proximity fuses?

[@greenfingernaildirt356]

Alex C. timed fuses

[@rutabagasteu]

Proximity fuses were not used by the Axis.

[@Paul-hj1vt]

Interesting

[@LucasWeber048]

Eu sou o cara que você tava procurando.

[@user-vv2yz2ht4l]

8:52 3D animation in 1943

[@ethanboyd7843]

I love ballistics, I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around a non-self propelled projectile with 27 seconds of ascending hang time! Anybody wanna help me out?

[@rutabagasteu]

Not at the speed of light movement so it takes an amount of time to reach the altitude. Guns have a muzzle velocity. Knowing that velocity, taking air drag in to account, the time it takes to reach the aircraft can be calculated.

[@Jan_372]

Is easy, they test it before using the guns. And then make little lists with time for altitude.

[@ethanboyd7843]

@David Vance You comment got me reading a bit more, I have a few of the flak projectiles and the charge cavity is so small but I think I totally misunderstood, thanks for putting that into pers[ectove! Come help me build an overengineered Enfield Jungle Carbine? lol

[@ethanboyd7843]

@David Vance I collect all of the long guns from both world wars and in and around all the conflicts of the time, I want this Jungle Carbine to hunt deer with here on the farm in pa and even target shoot at the club. Hardest build I ever did, but I need a king bold for my stock and a barrel band for the forearm top cover and I'm set. So incredibly over-engineered! Fantastic but the recessing and sliding threads in the safeties and some of the bolt and locking assembly and catches are crazy precise in that BSA kinda way. I'd stay away from a Brot 303! [e-mail] if u ever see a table of Mk. IV parts at a show. I'll pay u for the time and trouble on the spot. I can't let this one be a cobble together deal, I have Nagants for that. I also have one of the last BRENs I was ever able to find when CAI got them in while I was in high school.

[@Elshanali1]

I am here because of Catch-22

[@danzmitrovich6250]

Flack so thick that you could walk on it at times

[@pwgearedturbofan2348]

Ah, I didn't know "flak" came from a WW2 German contraction. Cool. It's also pretty chilling to imagine yourself as a soldier watching this in preparation for combat. It's propaganda, sure, but it's meant to be informative and help you do better in combat.

[@ATLAS-tp3pm]

Glad I know this in case I am ever a pilot in an allied bomber formation going over nazi occupied Europe in 1943

[@yankees29]

Never know right?

[@PaleoVirus]

Also known as "ACK ACK" I believe.