24th Flak Division

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The result of renaming the former 16th Flak Brigade , the 24th Flak Division was established in December 1943 under the command of the later Major General Colonel Fritz Grieshammer in the area of ​​Luftgau XVII in Vienna with a command post on Mount Cobenzl . Grieshammer remained in command of the division until the end of the war. The division headquarters itself was responsible for managing all of the anti-aircraft forces deployed in this area for air defense in the greater Vienna area. As of February 1, 1944, it was organized as follows:

• Flak regiment 28 Vienna-West area,
• Flak Regiment 76 Bruck an der Mur
• Flak Regiment 98, Vienna-North area,
• Flak regiment, e.g. V Wien-Süd ,
• Flak Regiment 184 Bohemia and that
• Flak searchlight regiment 6 also in Vienna.

Overall, the strength of the 24th Flak Division amounted to 166 heavy, 62 medium and light batteries as well as two barrage and 48 headlight batteries. In addition, there was an air barrier department and three fog companies. The combat strength of the 24th Flak Division was almost twice as strong as the airspace defense of the 1st Flak Division in Berlin at the same time. The mammoth share of 61 heavy batteries was in Vienna itself, Wiener Neustadt had another 21 heavy batteries. Thus, 82 heavy batteries were distributed in the greater Vienna area. The remaining batteries were distributed as follows:

• Linz : 27 heavy, 6 medium / light and 10 headlight batteries,
• Steyr : 14 heavy, 3 medium / light and 1 fog company,
• Pilsen 12 heavy, 4 medium / light and 8 headlight batteries,
• Graz 7 heavy and 3 medium / light batteries and
• Moravian Ostrau another 3 heavy and 3 medium / light batteries.

The 24th Flak Division was subject to the worsening war, as with all Flak Divisions, a constant fluctuation of its regiments, so that by September 1, 1944, the structure of its structure changed as follows. On this day the following associations were subordinate to the division staff:

• Flak regiment 28 Vienna-West area,
• Flak Regiment 98, Vienna-North area,
• Flak Regiment 102, Vienna-South area
• Flak searchlight regiment 6

as well as two home flaka divisions, the 10 / XVII and the 12 / XVII. Their firepower had dropped from 166 heavy to just 82 batteries, although there were still 52 heavy batteries in Vienna itself. On March 31, 1945, the 24th Flak Division was then subordinated to the V Flak Corps to support them in ground combat. The division had previously been subordinate to the General of the Flak Artillery at Luftgaukommando XVII . On April 3, the Soviet attacks on Vienna began in the course of which the batteries of the 24th Flak Division, which were supposed to take over the defense of Vienna, were pushed forward. They were relocated to the area around Lake Neusiedl and there were smashed by the Soviet forces. Two days earlier, on April 1, 1945, the guns stationed in Wiener Neustadt were blown up. By April 14, 1945, almost all regiments of the 24th Flak Division had been broken up or had to be abandoned. The remnants that had escaped from enclosed Vienna, re-equipped with anti-aircraft guns, fought in the last days of the war as part of the 8th Army north of the Danube and were taken prisoner by the Soviets at the end of the war. The following is known about the fate of their subordinate regiments:

• Flak Regiment 28: smashed,
• Flak regiment 98: smashed,
• Flak floodlight regiment 6: as fixed in Vienna, presumably got into Soviet captivity.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Karl-Heinz Hummel: The German flak cartillery 1935-1945. Your major formations and regiments . VDM, Zweibrücken 2010, ISBN 978-3-86619-048-1 , p. 102-104 .
2. ^ Karl-Heinz Hummel: The German flak cartillery 1935-1945. Your major formations and regiments . VDM, Zweibrücken 2010, ISBN 978-3-86619-048-1 , p. 234, 310, 413 .