In recent years, hybrid towers have become the standard solution for onshore wind turbines in Germany. The upper part of these towers consists of steel tubes, while the lower part is assembled from precast concrete segments. These elements are stacked on top of each other and clamped together by external tendons. The horizontal joints between the segments are designed to be dry and smooth. For transport purposes, the rings are divided into even smaller components by additional vertical joints. However, the load transfer in the dry joints of wind turbine towers with half-shell segments is not yet fully understood. To address this, theoretical calculation methods were first presented. This was followed by experimental investigations on a 1:10 scale model consisting of three stacked concrete segments subjected to prestressing and torsion loads. The test results revealed that vertical joints in the structure significantly affect the normal stress distribution in horizontal joints. Pronounced stress concentrations were detected in the area of the vertical joints, which contradicts the assumption of a uniform stress distribution in segment joints according to current regulations and design approaches. Therefore, it can be indicated that current approaches are insufficient for describing the actual load transfer in dry concrete joints under combined loading.