Castel Vendon
Along the D45 just after Le Quiesce was the battery Castel Vendon with four bunkers type M 272, naval coastal battery Landemer. The firecontrol for this battery, a M 162a, was never built.
The battery had 4 x 15 cm guns, S.K.C/28. But behind the casemates lies the real topic of this place. Naval coastal battery Gréville. Two shafts for German dubble-barrel naval turrets were taken under construction. The pocket battleship Gneisenau was to be refitted with 38 cm in stead of her original 28 cm guns. But after she was pinned down in Gotenhafen (now Gdynia, Poland), two of her new turrets in store, were assigned to be placed here at Castel Vendon. This order was issued 15-8-1943. Besides the two shafts, ammonition rooms and connecting tunnels, there were also plans for a Leitstand. Due to the lack of workmen and trucks, the work went on very slow. After a meeting in Paris new dates for the delivery were presented. This made the German commanders decide to stop the work in december 1943. The contruction of the Leitstand never started.
But, do not get confused. The German shafts under construction must be at the eastside of the road and have not been found (yet). At the west side you find old French constructionworks on shafts in different states of readiness. This former pre-war French battery was supposed to be fitted with the 34 cm double barrel turrets from the Dreadnouth battleships of the Bretagne class. A special item on re-used warship guns on the Atlantikwall can be found in the menu Armour on top.
This is one of the French shafts.
This picture taken on top of the same shaft, shows that the upper ring was not finished.