,

Regelbau 502 opened to public in Pisz (Poland)

Earlier than planned, the Regelbau 502 of Stp Johannisburg (nowadays Pisz), is opened to the public. It’s the first bunker out of several which will be included in a bicycle tour in the future.

In the beginning of this year the bunker was still covered with earth and litter but the historical group ‘Piska Pozycja Ryglowa’ and scouts cleaned it since. The drains are working again so the bunker is dry now.

Plans are to renovate one room to its original state while the second room will have some audio visual information.

A smaller bunker (Garage with MG position attached) in the woods nearby was cleaned too and will be opened to the public soon.

According to one of the group’s members, Piotr Banach, there were a lot of visitors, which shows that there is a great interest in this part of Polish history.

History

The bunker was built in 1939 and was part of the Galindestellung which defended the border of Ost-Preussen. The bunker is one of the few remaining 502s with a small observation cupola (type 90P9). It also has low entrances to the gaslock which can be found more in the area. It was a temporary solution before the final steel doors were placed. More information about the Galindestellung can be found on http://bunkersite.com -> Other Locations -> Poland -> Galindestellung and http://kaczorek.easyisp.pl/pisz/.

The 502 in 2007

The 502 in 2007 (Photo: Arthur van Beveren)

 

The bunker after the excavation (Photo: Piszanin)

The bunker after the excavation (Photo: Piszanin)

/by
, ,

Bunker partly destroyed in St Nazaire

Last november, a bunker for machine gun (type 634) was demolished in the French city and former Festung St Nazaire. After the war the Sechsschartenturm was scrapped but the bunker of Stützpunkt Nz 313 was left in place. Due to new housing developments the bunker had to be broken down. The works took 2 weeks and a small part of the bunker was spared.

Instructions inside

Instructions on ammunition usage inside the bunker. (Photo: kreuz44)

/by
,

Green light for Festung Guernsey’s 633

The guys of Festung Guernsey keep restoring bunkers on the Channel Island of Guernsey. After the Batterie Dollmann, Batterie Scharnhorst and Wn Königsmühlen they now have “conditional approval from the Planning Department” to open up the 633 of Stützpunkt Rotenstein (at Fort Hommet). Plans are to start digging in the new year, clean it up and open it to the public in restored condition.
Like all other bunkers on the island it has lost its armoured turret for the M19 automatic mortar but there should be some remaining objects inside. Damage to the turret shaft is severe “but I’m sure we will overcome this with a bit of thought and hard work”, according to Grant Steer of Festung Guernsey.
Good luck with this interesting bunker!

The 633 at Stp Rotenstein, still hidden under the parking place near Fort Hommet

The 633 at Stp Rotenstein, still hidden under the parking place near Fort Hommet, will be opened to the public in the future. (Photo: Arthur van Beveren)

/by
, ,

A famous 4.7cm Festungspak 36 (t) gone..

Through the French Atlantikwall Forum I read the sad news that the very special 4.7cm Festungspak 36 (t) in a 612 at Kerbascuirl near Plouhinec (south of Bretagne) has disappeared.
Although it was a miracle the gun was still there after so many years it’s still very disappointing. At the moment there’s no info on who removed the gun.

The gun from Czech origin was brought from Czech fortifications in large quantities after the German annexation of Sudetenland in 1938. The ‘4cm kanon Škoda vz.36’ was renamed to the german 4.7cm Festungspak 36 (t) and special Regelbauten were built for it (139, 506). In the Atlantikwall the gun was widely used and new Regelbauten (642, 631/631B) replaced the older ones, although the old Regelbauten were still built too. Besides the St bunkers, a large amount of Vf bunkers were built for the gun. These structures differed in shape and layout from region to region.
The example in Kerbascuirl was unique in that the gun was placed in a 612 casemate which is a regular bunker for a field gun. The Festungspak was strangely mounted and still had its protective shield and ‘Kugelkopf’.

Addition 24 May 2021

Twelve years later, by a funny coincedence, I found out through the Wikipedia page about the weapon, that this example is now located in the Czech fort MO S-5 „Na trati” near Bohumin in the Czech Republic. So it’s back to its ‘original owner’, although I don’t know if this specific cannon was among the first batch in 1937 which was actually built in.

Festungspak, Plouhinec.

The gun on its mount in 2005 (Photo: Arthur van Beveren)

/by

Restoring Batterie Scharnhost (Guernsey)

The volunteers of Festung Guernsey are doing a great job restoring one of the 15cm K18 emplacements of Batterie Scharnhorst. Work has begun on a second emplacement and interconnecting trenches and shelters.

See the Axis forum for more information.

Festung Guernsey’s website

Restored emplacement 'Schwabenland' of Batterie Scharnhorst on Guernsey. (Photo: Paul Bourgaize)

Restored emplacement 'Schwabenland' of Batterie Scharnhorst on Guernsey. (Photo: Paul Bourgaize)

/by
,

German casino Den Helder burned down

Wednesday June 10, the former German casino in the Dutch naval port of Den Helder burned down. The building, which is located near the old Marine Werft, stood empty for many years. Plans were ready to restore the building but its future is unknown now, only the walls and pillars are still standing. The building was most probably set on fire.

De Pers video

Echo

Noord Hollands Dagblad

/by
,

Tunnels at Fort du Roule open in june

The restauration project at Cherbourg’s Fort du Roule are coming to an end. The tunnels will be opened on June 6 (65 years since D-Day) but due to some extra work the official opening will be on the June 26, the day Cherbourg was liberated.
Fort du Roule was a French fort overlooking the city of Cherbourg. During the war the Germans built a 10.5cm battery into the rocks, with tunnels cut out in the rocks, interconnecting each 671 gun casemate. About a year ago works started on cleaning the tunnels and renovating the bunkers. The total project costed around one million euros of which more than 600.000 was funded by private companies. 180 companies from the Cherbourg region participated in the works, for example by doing the electricity and ventilation in the underground tunnels. Students of a technical college did most of the steel work such as tubes and ventilation equipment to original standards.

On the french Atlantikwall forum you can fine more on the progressions.

Official poster of 'Les Galeries' as the new museum will be called.

Official poster of 'Les Galeries' as the new museum will be called.

Photo: J. Baptise

View of Fort du Roule. (Photo: J. Baptise)

/by

Bunkersite.com starts BunkerBlog

Every day I watch several forums from all over Europe to see what’s happening in the bunker community. It’s a time consuming business but well worth the time because without it I wouldn’t have known about restauration projects in Poland, demolitions in Norway, dug up bunkers in Holland or any other activity in Europe on the subject. Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, if the most interesting happenings or findings were collected on one website. That’s why I’ve started BunkerBlog, a weblog about German bunkers from 1933-1945. To collect information from forums and contacts all over Europe, to show photos and to break through language barriers. Know what other persons or associations are working on and exchange information! If you want to contribute yourself please send me an email.

A Leitstand type 636 sinking away near Quend Plage

A Leitstand type 636 sinking away near Quend Plage. (Photo: Arthur van Beveren)

/by