THE AMAZING BISMARK GUN AT FORTRESS VARA AND A SPECIAL AA TREAT 

If you think about the buliding time, you get more stunned! The Atlantic Wall was built in only a couple of years from Spain, to the tip of Norway. I study every WW2 bulilding in Norway that i find!

If you like 88's visit the Netherlands, in the Overloon War Museum there are several versions of the 88 on display.

A lot of serious engineering and labor to build this, my hats off to them

brilliant footage, ive never seen a bunker this well preserved. thanks for your work.

It's literally a "Time Capsule". Great to see so much of the fortress has been preserved ....including the guns & equipment in the shed. A credit to the museum staff.

I'm amazed at what the Germans did to build these structures and heavy guns.

The 88 and Pak 37...just wow. I built the Tamiya kits of both 30+ years ago. Seeing them in the flesh must have been amazing. Feeling rather jealous.

It is amazing how brilliant these german scienist/designers are and how fast they built these structures

I'm glad that you posted this. I got to see something I would never get to see in person.

Very in depth video... it's rare to see a battery bunker so intact.

Much of the equipment in that bunker reminded me of the magazines of the USS NORTH CAROLINA that served her 16 inch naval guns. Well done Tino!😊👍

The Gun and its workings are totally amazing , the Flak 88 is a piece of Art on Wheels ..great vid as always Tino..

At the end of 1944 Russian forces were in Norway. And about the 40,6cm, there was 2 batteries operating those guns, Batterie Dietl in Steigen(no guns left), and Trondenes in Harstad with all 4 guns still there. 1 is restored to museum standard.

If you get a chance you must see Fort Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it will blow your mind, a pre 1900 fort with everything intact including disappearing batteries

Another good one Tino .. It was wonderful to see how excited you got when you saw the 88 . Almost like a child that finds an unexpected Christmas present.. .. It's cool to watch you giving us a tour but, it's even better when we can se you get an unexpected GOOD surprise.. Thanks again Tino !

Annother great episode Tino 👍 Loved the 88! Looking forward to the next release 🙌

I have to go see Theese places for myself. I live in Norway and it is tragic I haven't been to see Theese incredible spots of real history.

This one was that good I had to watch it twice.

thats a lot of steel shaved off for 1 fire thats crazy

Amazing and frightening at the same time . Thank you for this amazing video.

Excellent Tino. Heart rate definitely excelled on this one. So glad you detoured for this trip. The massive engineering behind this cannon is unbelievable. That was a great comparison to the USS Alabama. I can't imagine fitting the Vara on her. Maybe I can add this to my bucket list one day?

Barrel liners! Way back in 1985, I got a "guided tour" of the USS "New Jersey" in Pearl Harbour. The guide was the ship's Chief Dental Officer, whose "action-stations" job was "safety officer" in the "B" turret. His major task was to look out through a heavy vision block in the "ears' yo see at the top rear of the turret, and ensure there were no stray crewmen or loos objects on the deck. The other thing he pointed out was that the 16 inch main guns were NEVER fired fore and aft; the shock-wave traveling along the ships hull was enough to knock people off theitr feet and to damage "delicate" instruments. Thus, the big guns are ALWAYS fired "broadside". When this happens in a nine-gun ripple, the whole ship actually lurches sideways. Down-range, each HE projectile leave s a crater about the size of a tennis court (but deeper and smokier). Then there was the story about what happens when you get a call for urgent fire and the ship's helicopter is securely lashed down on the aft deck, right next to the aft turret. The phrase that summed it up was along the lines of: "I guess not may people ever get to shovel a couple of million dollars worth of helicopter parts over the side". In amongst a stream of technical and historical stuff was an interesting snippet. The barrel liners actually "stretch" with each shot. The ships armourers have a special gauge to evaluate this (obviously not whilst in action). if more than a prescribed amount of "stretch" is present, it has to be trimmed back, or there is a distinct risk the barrel liner will crack. If that happened, the barrel would have to be replaced. Given that ALL of the barrels ever made for that class of "naval rifle" were built during WW2, there is a limited stock of spares and there is NOBODY relining "defective" barrels. after nearly eighty years of service. So, they have a very large "rotary shaving tool", that trims the liner back to specification. Has anyone ever found a service manual” for these big German guns?

Looking forward to it. ...I've got the Popcorn ready !

I really enjoy these videos, Stay safe my friend, keep em coming, an by the way I’m still waiting on your book, You last commented to me about, CHEERS

Very cool

Another fantastic piece of world history that the complexity of these guns firing, and the men who operated them daily. To see the insides of them compared to the technology drawings. To see that 88mm Anti Tank gun on a track system, is phenomenal and the pick of the video for me Tino. Thank you for going to these places for all of us who love history, and your carrying us on your back to them 😉

Well Tino, you have done it again. Well done!! :-) ... When I took my photos in 2000 the gun was painted 'battleship grey' with no attempt at camouflage painting of it. Your observations were much better than mine of course and I was not aware of further gun emplacements there and I learned a lot more than I had previously known. Thank you!! :-)

When the germans tried to shoot with the large "Tirpitz type" gun from the similar Hanstholm position, because it was built on sand, it shaked its foundation out of alignment, and it would have been very difficult, if not impossible to do any precision shooting. But from "Vara", built on a stonebase, the gun could shoot with extreme accuracy, even very far out! And during my first visit, it was painted grey.

Hope you have visit Old Adolf in Harstad north Norway. Iv seen it, my father used to climb in the barrel when young. They tested it later as semonial, and blew out every window in town. It had a range pass Narvik in south. And thanks for all info and efford. Filling my gaps. I served as a spes tech at a costal fort in north, one of few "sharp alert" in -89/90s. My respect, bro.

great video Tino.. thanks... Darwin ,Australia has a couple of big ass bunkers at east point.. they wernt finished before the war was over, so never fired a shot in anger... some old air fields and runways next to the highway leaving darwin.. we drove down one once as there was a house being moved on the back of a truck.. went around the truck and house on the runway..lol

You should also visit Austråt north of Trondheim. Here you will see the C tower of the battlecruiser Gneisnau (i think) open for visitors during the tourist season. Much of the same story as Vara.

Tino . This must be the best Huge Gun in placement that you have shown us just Amazing

Reminds me of the gustav cannon

I would be interested to know how these big guns could originate from the Bismarck. We all know that the Bismarck was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by the Royal Navy. But your video was magnificent and most interesting. Thank you.

Brilliant.

Thank you for doing this filming and speaking about IT. Just became member of your channel.

Another great video, theres 2 guns off HMS HOOD on ascension island, not quite as impressive but an unexpected sight down there

i never knew one of these still existed!

These casements look pretty much like Star Wars turbolaser gun batteries :-))))

Great video. thanks for sharing sir.

I`ve just been out to bay Popcorn yesterday. Bring it on Tino Struckmann.

By the way, it was guns like these that sunk the British Cruiser Hood, when being shot at from the Bismarck! It had a wooden deck which didn't protect it from shells from above.

That is amazing. I watched a few videos from the WW2HistoryHunter. I think he has been there before and the bigger one that is a musium. Any time I get the chance to see one up close I will take it. I am planning a trip to Europe and going to one of the museums that are 8n original condition and I want to go to one that isn't restored. I could live there. Just give ma a room and I could spend the rest of my life there. That is if you can own fírearms. I love to shoot long distances. 1,500 yards or longer would be great.

Great this was preserved as well as it is ! Too bad they sold-off the Big Guns and support Armament for scrap money; never able to replace. Real Sweet they kept this 16 incher. I wonder what the price tag was for just this Bunker alone ? Thanks for this Gem.

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Your knowledge ayesnd enthusiasm

This is most definitely a place that I want to visit!! I just hope that this place has not been reactivated because of Vladimir Putin!!

Apart from the video(s) being quite interesting, I have to say your German is very good. Surprisingly so. Not everyone who is not a native speaker would get words like "Sperrzone" or "Gulaschkanone" right. In fact only very few would. Very well done.

that's the best ww2 museum I never knew existed

And I remember that the walls inside had been repainted in the original German version, as during the war.

Just set my reminder:)

As a Redleg, I appreciate this video so much

I agree stop destroying the guns you paranoid people, well done TINO and the crew of that museum, thank you all, love it,kiwi pip 😎👍🇳🇿🌈😉😎

We’re actually lucky to have any war relics mostly intake and able to be refurbished with all the steel and rebar involved in these bunkers and forts. All the wire, copper, brass, and transformers. Think about it, most of these locations have been ravaged by war and starvation and anything of scrap value should have disappeared. Even in remote locations, money is a big motivator. In Camden city here in New Jersey there’s so many homes and buildings abandoned that have been stripped of any scrap of salvageable material. There’s even a bank that they somehow brought in torches and scraped the vault walls and the huge vault door. The old school door that was a circle and about 2 feet thick. And it was not done professionally or on purpose. This was illegally done at night, over weeks and weeks, and the only way in was a small sort of tunnel like hole in the concrete. Sorry that was a long rant... Was just trying to say we are lucky to have anything like this left with all the scrapers and how poor Europe was at end of war.

Tino , I have seen a few Museums on Y Tube ect but your tour and very importantly your explanations are excellent ! Thanks for the effort you put in I really appreciate it ! I have always loved History but I find it so much more fun if you can share with others .Regards 🦘🇦🇺🇺🇸

How would this have compared to the twin 16 inch gun battery at Fort MacArthur that went active in 1944? It was an extremely large facility that looked like the twin battery alone was in excess of 500 meters in size. The Facility in California at Fort MacArthur is so large it had the twin battery (battery 127) plus at a later date it included a Nike Launch site (LA43) with more room to spare.

Hmm gas seals? Wooden doors seem to do the job just as well at other...camps XD

awesome! thank you tino

I can only imagine what it sounded like on d day and the Pacific campaign landing on the beach and those big navy shells flying overhead nonstop.

More please

I'm putting a radar controlled flame thrower on top of my house immediately.

That place would make quite the lair .

Those are big spanner wrenches. Imagine the size of mallot needed to budge a spanner that big if it's corroded. Obviously a large spanner for a large outer radius nut. Were those for the shells or the guns?

The penetrating rod is called a sabot.

For non German speakers heres the "Bunker-Art" translated: 5:54 "Kampfgemeinschaft erfordert Kameradschaft" -> Battle-readiness requires comradeship "Sie bewährt sich besonders in Not und Gefahr" -> It pays off especially in need and danger 6:10 "Die Treue ist das Mark der Ehre" -> The Loyalty is the mark of Honor I hope i could clear up for some people what it meant. Also fun little thing at 3:30 is that "Rechentisch" is 2 words bound together. "Rechen" (Base word: Rechnen, Translation: Calculation) + "Tisch" (Table) He already said its a calculator but here i go saying it again nonetheless: This was a mechanical calculator to put equations into to get a quick result compared to manual computing. These where also used with German AA guns in the war. Edit: Fixed Typos

It looks like would still work and it hasn't been stripped down.

Thanks for all you do....the people are awesome over there...to preserve history is extremely important This bunker is better than any others that you have shown I feel...shame that other countries have not preserved history... Or not as well...the USA is trying to destroy our past...terrible people are involved with this stupid thing... God bless you and take care...from a old cold war vet....

"The era of big gun was over in the 60s." IOWA, NEW JERSEY, MISSOURI, and WISCONSIN in the 90s: hahahaha, are you serious?

There is a big german rangefinder you can see in "Domein Raversijde" museum in Belgium.

I must say, this really amazed me much more than I expected. I just wonder how many Panther/Tiger tanks germans could build with all these materials (steel above all) they used here. Answer: only 1, because Addie would give an order to create Panzer 10, which would basically be a turret like on KMS Bismarck (2x380mm) with huge tracks.

Hi Tino, just wondering if you have a way of contacting you that is not public

First after going live!

☑️👍

Hells Bells Those Shells!! Your a fairly big Chap and they Dwarfed you crikey immagine one of those things hurtling about oooohhh!! As for the 88 that wants to be kept operational as u say they are rare and if a firing mechanism cant be found then one should be made for it so people can see hear and all that what these incredible weapons can do Looking forward to part 2 but having to wait a week!! Haha anyway better u going to Norway its so expensive there but if i ever did i would be going to see this incredible thing once Again thankyou Tino your efforts are well appreciated when you think of the money and resources that the Nazis poured into the Atlantic Wall alone let alone the East and west wall it boggles the Brain and in some ways makes you realise that we were only really likely to win with the industrial capacity of the USA behind us What did Rundstet say about it all 'A Paper Tiger?" Well with cannon like that i for one wouldn't like to park my Battleship within any Range of that Monster! DG

SCOND TEXT ON THE WALL AS FAR as i can tell says loyalty is the mark of honor

The AA gun behind the 88 is a Swedish Bofors

Nice coverage on this subject ,how these can or will be preserved ? I hope so!

Thanks for your hardworking and dedication (even putting up with the spiders). By the way, smoking cigars is just as bad for your health as smoking/chewing any other tobacco product. Hope you are able to "kick the habit ", so you will be able to continue your outstanding work and research.

Oh, they repainted it. Three years ago it was grey.

Was that 88 a flak 18 or 36?

That must be quite a job to broach the rifleing into it’s barrel.

"I slept in a car eating ice cream for breakfast" me yesterday🤣

New subscriber here.

In 11:01, there is a life saver with inscription, WESTFALEN BREMEN. I did some digging, and found out to be two places. Would it be a joke?

I have a question would they really need ear protection while behind the gun as I always was lead to believe all the sound would be sent forward of the gun . ?

so many details here is have to pause

i am impressed with your videos and want to know where ya live in socal, ie,,, L.A. ?

Does anyone know what the rail gauge is of the loading track/trolleys? Looks about 60cm?

"The turret is bigger than my apartment"...yeah, mine is only 27 square meters. By the way we´ve 88´s in Finland.

There were well over 200 Panzer-turrets mounted as closedefence guns in airports, coastal batteries etc in Norway, and those turrets are still quite common here. Also, the 8,8 cm is not very rare - I can count at least 20 guns from the top of my head on display in various museums etc in Norway.

You can still get 88 rounds btw

My nan did say powder room

Ear protection was not as big a thing as it is now, compared to 1930's & 40's...depending on which side you where on.

Imagine a new generation of shells for this gun, an 203mm guided round inside a discarding sabot. The could probable hurl one close to a hundred miles and use F-35's to guide their rounds to the target.

32:29 i really wanna know who drew this on the search light xD

Between 23 and 25 minutes or so, please lower the music.

!

I visited the museum a short time after it had opened, and was allowed to leave for bying a new film for my camera.

use a map!

I dare you to fire it

There was no battle there.