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The Atlantic Wall In Normandy The Atlantic wall was more myth than reality, even though many casemates and bunkers were built during the Germans occupation. To fortify the entire coastline from Norway to the Spanish border, nearly 3,000 miles was just not possible. In the first two years of the occupation the Germans did not really take the threat of an Allied attempt to occupy mainland France seriously, although they believed that the British would try and take back the Channel Islands. In the early days of the occupation the Germans only placed big guns facing across the channel between Calais and Dover. The Germans wanted to dominate the shipping channel at its narrowest point. After 1942 when the British started bombing the gun emplacements close to the sea, the Germans started building casemates to house and protect their guns. After the failed British and Canadian raid on Dieppe in 1942, Hitler's view that if the Allies were to get a foothold in France, they would need to capture a port, was reinforced. He therefore instructed that all the major ports along the coast would be fortified. The notion of an Atlantic Wall was not really even thought of as an entity even by the Germans at this point. After Hitler’s directive “40” in 1942 the idea of a fortified defense of the coast was given credence. When it was first mentioned it was more a dream than reality and was used for propaganda purposes to convince the German high command that Fortress Europe was just that. It served a second purpose, to convince the Allies that mounting an attack on mainland Europe would not be a simple matter. The Allies thought it would be impossible to mount an attack via the shortest route through Calais or Dunkirk, because of the impregnable defenses mounted by the Germans. They chose the western end of France to invade because they thought the Atlantic Wall was at its weakest, and they were right. The wall was never complete and in many places not even started. One of the main problems was the lack of cooperation between the four elements that built and defended the Atlantic Wall
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The Atlantic Wall In Normandy cont.2 The Heer (army) Kriegsmarine (navy) and Luftwaffe (air force) had rivalries that dated back ten years. It was not until 1942 that Hitler demanded that the forces cooperate The fourth element in all this was the Todt. Org. After the death of Fritz Todt in an air crash in February 1942, Albert Speer was appointed armaments minister. In this position he was responsible for the Todt. Org. The day to day running of the Todt, was left to Xaver Dorsch, who was a party man and often served to confuse Speers efforts. After 1942 the Todt responsible for the building of the Atlantic Wall as well as road building, factory and in the later stages clearing bomb damage and rebuilding bombed German towns. The Todt was, as a civilian organisation free from Gestapo or party meddling, although this position changed towards the end of the war when the Gestapo took charge of the German war machine. The Todt in many cases built what they wanted where they wanted and it was often totally inadequate for the needs of the group that were to use them. Often you find a local adaptation on the original site. At the gun site called Petit Thot facing the Channel Islands, no fire control post was built by the Todt. The local commander built his own with what he had available and to no standard plan. The Todt also had offices in most major towns requiting workers to work on the construction sites although most of the workers came from Eastern Europe and were treated little better than slaves. The design of the bunkers, casemates and other concrete works were supposed to be built to a set of standard plans, which was to keep costs and materials to a minimum. Over half of the buildings built did not conform to these plans and in many cases the builders were not given the latest plans. Only in 1942 was the construction of a defense system given any impetus, and emplacements in Normandy had not been started. Most of the gun emplacements in Normandy had not even been started by D-day. Most of the large guns that faced the Allies on D-day dated from the first world war, and in some cases from 1890.
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The Atlantic Wall In Normandy cont.3 They were almost all captured guns and were arranged along the coast because there were no spare parts for them and very little ammunition, and in many cases they had worn barrels. This not only reduced their accuracy, but also their effective range. It was thought that these old guns could successfully defend the Atlantic Wall because the enemy would soon be dissuaded in its efforts. The Atlantic Wall took between two and four years to be built and fell to the liberating forces in many cases after a few hours. Some batteries did cause the Allies problems for longer, in a few cases several days. It may seem strange for a nation that had taken Europe by using tactics that relied on speed and surprise that they should fall into the trap of putting faith in static defenses. Today Normandy is a large open air museum of German bunkers. After nearly sixty years most are in reasonable condition despite the damage done by bombing and the weather. Some remain almost as the Germans left them, some have been adapted by farmers to house animals. Others have been used for industrial purposes and some are retained by the military. Several have been adapted for the French coast guard. In the areas with larger populations the bunkers have not fared as well. Around Calais some have disappeared with the construction of the new port and also the Channel Tunnel has caused several to be buried. At Dunkirk most of the bigger works can no longer be found. In Germany many have been pulled down as towns expand and many closed as they house rare bats. Nearer the Channel Ports many are now being sealed so that illegal immigrants trying to get to England cannot hide in them. In some of the bunkers original German wall paintings and graffiti can be found, but sadly after sixty years they are fading or being sprayed over by modern graffiti artists. Nearly 23,000 concrete buildings were completed in France, from pill boxes to giant casemates designed to house the largest of artillery pieces. In retrospect the valuable steel used in the building of these works consumed 6% of the annual German output, and it could be argued that this steel would have been better used in the manufacture of guns and tanks. The Atlantic Wall was in reality a Glorious Failure.
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Bunker Types The German bunkers used in the construction of the Atlantic Wall had evolved over many years. Both the German and the French had built bunkers along their frontiers since the Franco - Prussian war of the 1860’s As the damage inflicted by bigger and better shells and also due to the fact that bombs could be dropped from aircraft, the bunker evolved. In 1930 a new standard was drawn up by the Germans and given the title 100 series. These bunkers had a protective concrete wall and roof either (A) 2 or (B) 3.5 meters. There were over one hundred bunkers in the new range and for the first time bunkers were designed for a specific purpose. This included bunkers for machine guns, personnel, observation, munitions, toilets, command posts, and gun enclosures. At the end of 1939 a new range of bunkers was added (500 series), thirty-three in total all built to specification (B) When the construction of the Atlantic Wall gathered pace in 1942 a new series of bunkers was introduced (600 series), most of these (108) used the construction specification (B) although specification (A) was used on 13 bunkers. The new range was extensively used in Normandy and most of the casemates housing the guns protecting the Atlantic Wall came from this series. At the beginning of 1944 another new series was introduced, but time was short and very few examples of this series were built by the time of the liberation. To confuse the situation, many bunkers were built that did not conform to these blueprint specification, sometimes because they did not fit the need, but sometimes ignorance by the Todt builders resulted in a bunker being built almost the same as a standard plan bunker.
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Bunker Types cont.2 There was also the VF range of bunkers, these were built to a much lighter specification. At first they were built away from what was thought to be places where an attack was though unlikely. Later when materials were in short supply they became the norm. The Luftwaffe also designed their own bunkers, and these bunkers (400 series) included flak positions as well as bunkers that were often duplicated in the standard Army series. The Kriegsmarine also designed their own series, firstly the FI (1200 & 1300 series) covered all the operations undertaken by the navy. The M series (M100 & M200) were used by the Coastal Artillery. The next series designated (S) were used by the heavy gun sites and included gun emplacements, fire control posts and ammunition bunkers. The V series (V100 & V200) were mostly technical bunkers including radar, communication posts and command posts. Most of these bunkers employed construction technique similar to the 600 series. There was also a range of bunkers called the SK, these were special constructions usually large and unique. They included communication, and command bunkers for regional control. Finally there were bunkers built for local conditions, often the Todt would complete a site and when the site was brought into operation the commander felt that some other element was required. This seemed to happen on the western side of the Cotentin, several home made fire control posts and observation posts can still be found.
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The Atlantic Wall in England Strange but true, there is a portion of Hitler’s Atlantic wall in England, miles away from the sea and hidden in woodland. Before the D-day landings, British raiding parties were sent across the channel to examine the real Atlantic Wall, and bring back samples of the concrete and measurements. In several places in England sections of wall and beach obstacles were created to give the troops a more realistic training. These sections of wall also gave the planners a real wall on which to learn the best way of breaching it. There is still a 100 meter section of wall in Surrey in the centre of Hanky Common near Elstead. In the nearby woods you can still find the remains of German beach obstacles faithfully reproduced. Many Canadian troops were stationed in this area. The area is still in the hands of the military and is now known as the Longmoor military training area. There is another similar section in Scotland near the battlefield of Sheriff Muir used in an earlier conflict in 1715. According to the Tank Museum at Bovington, their were at least four such walls built in remote parts of England, and two are possibly still out there hidden in woodland. The walls were also used to try out some of the weird and wonderful designs of Maj. Percy Hobart, several of which were used on the D-day beach assault. One design called the Onion or Double Onion was known to have been tried on this dummy wall, but was superseded on D-day by the Petard. The Onion was based on the Churchill tank and was capable on putting an explosive charge on the wall or beach defense and then backing away to a safe distance and remotely detonation the charge.
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Captured Guns Used By The Germans
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Captured Guns Used By The Germans cont 2
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Captured Guns Used By The Germans cont 3
Name of the Battery Channel Islands Roon (Jersey) Moltke (Jersey) Ludendorff (Jersey) Hindenburg (Jersey) Mackensen (Jersey) Haesler (Jersey) Schlieffenn (Jersey) St Annes (Aldeney) Blucher (Aldeney) Elsass (Aldeney) Dollmann (Guernsey) Radetzky (Guernsey) Minis (Guernsey) Scharnhorst (Guernsey) Barbara (Guernsey) Rinozeros (Guernsey) Mammut (Guernsey) Elefant (Guernsey) Gneisenau (Guernsey) Steinbruch (Guernsey) Strassburg (Guernsey)
Type Schnieder Puteaux K418 MRS 18 MRS18 MRS18 K18 K18 SK C28 K18 SK l/40 K532(f) K532(f) Russian K18 K418 (f) MRS 18 MRS 18 MRS 18 K18 SK C28 K532 (f)
Guns 4 x 220mm 4 x 155mm 3 x 210mm 3 x 210mm 3 x 210mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 3 x 170mm 4 x 220mm 4 x 220mm 4 x 305mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 155mm 4 x 210mm 4 x 210mm 4 x 210mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 220mm
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy
1917 23kms 1914 19kms Open 18kms 18kms 17kms 24.8kms 10kms Open 10kms Open 23.5kms 25kms 22kms 23kms 23kms 1914 35kms M132 24.5kms 19.5kms 18kms 18kms 18kms 24.8mm 23.5kms 23kms
Year Range Emplacement
Removed 1944
Not allocated Removed 1944
MAA 604 MAA 604 MAA 605 4/HKAR1265 MAA 605
6/HKAR 1265 5/HKAR 1265
Unit
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Guns
1917 1935
35kms Open Turntable 17kms R679 H636 17kms Open 23kms M272 M162A 10kms H669 27kms M271 21kms H679 21kms Open 35kms Open Turntable 17kms H671 M176 M162A Open 10kms 11kms H671
27kms (R688) 13kms H671 H669
1913 13kms Open 1931 H671 M62A 158 1931 3.5kms20kms (R669) 1917 13kms Open
Year Range Emplacement
Kanone C/34 St Chamond Mle K420 1917 St Chamond Mle K420 1917 Skoda C/28 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Schiffs Kanone SKL40 German St Chamond Mle K420 1916 St Chamond Mle K420 1916 St Chamond K558 UToT L/45 German Krupp K18 British Vickers M39 French SKC/32
Schnieder K331 Cannon Belge Mle K370B Russian K390/2 Pushka obr. Schnieder K331 Schnieder K331 Schnieder K331 German Schnieder K331 Canon de Courtmle FR325
Type
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 3
France Haut Fourneau (Granville) 4 x 105mm Pointe du Roc (Granville) 3 x 120mm Carteret 4 x 122mm Baubigny (Siouville) 4 x 105mm Pointe de Rozel 4 x 105mm Houel 4 x 105mm Flamanville 3 x 170mm Bilville (Petit Thot) 4 x 105mm St Croix le Delles(Westmark)4 x 105mm Auderville (Laye) Railway Guns 2 x 203mm Auderville (La Roche) Stahl 3 x 155mm 3 x 155mm Castle Vendon (Landemer) 4 x 150mm La Rue d’Ozouville 4 x 100mm Amfreville (York) 4 x 170mm Les Couplets 4 x 155mm 4 x 155mm Railway Guns 4 x 240mm Bastion 2 (Port) 4 x 105mm Fort des Forches 4 x 170mm Fort Central (Outer Harbour) 4 x 94mm Harbour Station (Cherbourg) 2 x 105mm
Name of the Battery
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 2
4/MAA 260 ?/AR 1709 1/MAA 260 3/MAA 260
3/HKAR 1262 1/HKAR 1262 1/HKAR 1262 6/MAA 260 2/AR 1709 8/MAA 260 8/HKAR 1261 8/HKAR 1261
2/MAA 608 3/MAA 608 5/HKAR 1262 6/HKAR 1262 8/HKAR 1262 7/HKAR 1262 4/HKAR 1262 2/HKAR 1262 8/HKAR 1262
Unit
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Unit 4 x 105mm 4 x 155mm
Guns
Rheinmetal SKC/28 French SKL40 Canon de Courtmle FR325 1935 FK295 FK295 FK295 British Vickers M39 French K420 French (St Chamond) FH414 French K420 Schnieder K331 1914 German K18 French K416 Schnieder K331 1914 Schnieder K331 1914 Schnieder K331 Skoda K39/K41 Skoda K39/K41 French
UToT L/45 FH414
Type
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 4
Les Caplains (Brommy West)4 x 150mm Fermanville (Sea Eagle) 4 x 94mm Fermanville (Hamburg) 4 x 240mm Fermanville (Judee) 4 x 105mm Cosqueville 4 x 76.2mm Val Bourgin (Maupertus) 4 x 76.2mm Varouville 4 x 76.2mm Neville Blankensee 4 x 94mm 4 x 155mm Digosville 4 x 155mm Gatteville 4 x 155mm La Pernelle 1 6 x 105mm La Pernell II (Essen) 3 x 170mm Morsalines 6 x 155mm Crasville 4 x 105mm Mont Coquerel (Quineville) 4 x 105mm Chateau de Frontany 4 x 105mm St Marcouf - Crisbecq 2 x 210mm 2 x 210mm 1 x 150mm
Fort du Roule Les Mesnil Val
Name of the Battery 5/MAA 260 7/AR 1709
1x272 2x176 1x195 7/MAA 260 open emplacement ? SK M178 9/MAA 260 H669 5/AR 1709 11/AR 1709 10/AR 1709 H669 9/AR 1709 10kms 1xM271 2xM158 2/MAA 260 20kms Open 20kms H669 6/AR 1709 20kms H679 H502 7/HKAR 1261 18kms H671 H608 9/HKAR 1261 30kms Open (H688) R637 10/HKAR1261 20kms (H679) 6/HKAR 1261 18kms H671 & H650 5/HKAR 1261 18kms H671 4/HKAR 1261 moved to Lestre June 9th 8/HKAR 1261 33kms H683 & M272 3/HKAR 1261 33kms Open H637FCP 3/HKAR 1261 Open 3/HKAR 1261
22kms 11kms 27kms 20kms
17kms H671 607 622 H669
Year Range Emplacement
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Guns 4 x 105mm
4 x 122mm 4 x 100mm 6 x 155mm 6 x 155mm 3 x 155mm 4 x 152mm 4 x 105mm 4 x 100mm 2 x 122mm 2 x 122mm Mare Fountain (Ver sur Mer) 4 x 100mm Moulineaux (Bréville) 4 x 100mm Colleville (Hermanville) 4 x 100mm Chateau d’eau (Ouistreham) 2 x 155mm 2 x 155mm Riva Bella 3 x 155mm 3 x 155mm Merville 4 x 100mm Houlgate 4 x 155mm Mont Cainsy 4 x 155mm
Name of the Battery Azeville 2/HKAR 1261 St Martin de Varreville Maisy 1 (La Martiniere) Maisy 2 (La Perruque) Pointe Du Hoc Surrain(Grande Waldersee) Longues sur Mer Vaux sur Aure (Beny) Ferme Tringale (Crepon) Montfleury (Ver sur Mer) 1/HKAR 1261 8/AR1716 9/AR1716 2/HKAA 1260 10/AR 1716 4/HKAA 1260 7/AR 1716 5/AR 1716 3/HKAA 1260 3/HKAA 1260 6/AR1716 3/AR1716 2/AR1716 4/AR1716 4/AR1716 1/HKAA 1260 1/HKAA 1260 1/AR 1716 3/HKAA 1255 2/HKAA 1255
Unit
Open (H669) 1x Open 3 x H669 Open 2 H622 1 H655 6 Open (2 x H671) 10.5 kms Open 20kms M272 M262FCP Open (H667) 10 kmsOpen H679 Open (H679) 10kms H669 10kms Open 10 kmsH669 11kms H669 11kms Open (H669) 20kms H669 20kms Open (H679) 10 kmsH661 & H669 21kms 2 x H679 2 Open 21kms 3 x H679 1 Open
20kms 10kms 11kms 21kms
Year Range Emplacement 1913 11kms H650
Russian K390/2 1931 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 French K414 French K418 French K414 Schnieder/ le Creusot Krupp Tbts K.C/36 1928 French Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Russian K390/2 Russian K390/2 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 FH414 FH414 K420 K420 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 French GPF 418 French GPF 418
Type Schnieder K331
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Marine Artillerie Regiment Herres Hunsten Artillerie Abteilung Herres Hunsten Artillerie Regiment Artillerie Regiment
In general 105mm & 155mm Guns are French 150mm & 170mm are of German origin 100mm are usually Czech and 122mm & 152mm are Russian
German Units MAA HKAA HKAR AR
Key Used Blue for Navy (Kriegsmarine) Red for Railway Guns Green for Site with no traces left, in some cases this was not a permanent site Casemate in brackets ie: ( H679) planned but not completed by D-day
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 5
Longues Sur Mer
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Azeville Casemate No 1
The problems encountered by the Germans were many and varied in complexity. Firstly the Todt Org were in total charge of the building program after 1942, and it was they who decided what and where it should be built. The designs of the Casemates were many and no standard design ever came to fruition. Over 20,000 structures were built or planned at the time of D-day and nearly half of these were non standard designs. This stemmed from the three services having their own ideas on what they wanted and also the Todt Org input. There was also a demarcation issue, it was tradition in Germany that the Kriegsmarine (Navy) defended the coastline and the Army (Heir) defended the shoreline. This led to all the navy sites being placed near the water's edge. Once the enemy had landed, the Naval guns were of no use as they in most cases could not fire on the shoreline. All the gun emplacements in Normandy came under the command of the Seventh Army Group, even the Naval batteries which are marked in blue. At the Naval sites usually the big guns came under Naval control, whilst the defense of the site came under Army command. The Guns mounted on railway bogies are marked in red, it is thought that the two railway guns at Auderville (Laye) served at Carteret during the early days of the occupation and also at Calais. Being more mobile the railway guns tended to be moved more often and it is known that 280mm Kurze Bruno (Little Bruno) was stationed at Cherbourg during the early days of the occupation.
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 6
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Neville Blankensee
Standard French gun sizes were 155mm and 105mm and it can be assumed that most of the guns installed in La Manche for which the origin cannot be traced are most likely to be guns made by either Schnieder or St Chamond. The Schnieder guns had been reconditioned in 1935, but in many cases this just ment relacing the wooden wheels with wheels with tyres and changing from horse drawn to vehicle drawn towing equipment.. The only known German guns installed by D-day were those at Longues sur Mer, although most of the railway guns in use were of German manufacture. Many of the guns over 150mm were manufactured by Skoda, although a Krupp gun of 170mm was also manufactured. The 100mm Skoda guns were in fact horse drawn artillary pieces dating from 1895. There were also plans for a 380mm gun to be deployed at Castle Vendon, These guns could have possibly been French guns that were known to be in Cherbourg at the start of the war, or from a German warship. Many of the larger gun emplacements were supposed to have steel shutters fitted to protect the gun and crew in case of attack.
Almost all the guns employed on the Atlantic Wall were captured pieces. In many case dating back to WW1. Many were naval guns but most were artillery guns mounted on old first would war German pedestals, that enabled them to be aimed more easily and with greater precision in the confined space of a Cassette. The problem with mounting guns in Casemates was the limited amount of traverse that could be achieved without weakening the Casemate, often as little 600 and at the most 1200. In many Casemates you can see modifications where the side wall has been cut to enable a larger traverse.
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 7
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Because of the steel shortage very few of these were fitted. In some cases a curtain of chain was hung in front of the Casemate in the hope of exploding incoming shells outside on the working area. The main design difference between Casemates made for the Army and Navy was that the Navy designs sat on a large concrete raft which stopped them from turning over if a shell impacted close by. Later designs of Casemates had rounded corners, this avoided 900 corners which weakened the structure. Examples of both types of the same Casemate can be seen at Azeville The rounded Casemates were covered with earth, and grass grown over them. This was both to disguise them and the earth also helped absorb incoming shells. Most underground emplacements and bunkers were fitted with an escape hatch, so that the crew could get out in case of damage or attack. Most bunkers were also fitted with showers in case of gas attack, showering could reduce the effects of such an attack. Another precaution was having a form of air conditioning which kept the air pressure inside the bunker slightly higher than the outside air pressure. Nearly all the larger gun emplacements had a hood over the gun breech to extract the poisonous fumes from the gun, and these bunkers are part of the standard designs (Regelbauten). Many smaller field bunkers were also constructed and these were known as VF (Field Bunkers) they were of lighter construction and had no air extraction. The third type on construction was the Beauform (BF). These in the main were open gun or semi open platforms. The final type of construction was the SK or special construction, these were one off designs to fulfill a local or one off design.
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 8
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The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula The Germans took the threat of an attack on their western flank very seriously. They thought that the British might at some point try and liberate the Channel Islands, which although British, had been occupied by the Germans since June 1940. Their fortifications were built by the TODT Organisation using STO (French Forced Labour) who were paid and were Prisoners of war from the Eastern Front. They treated the Russians very badly and many died during the construction of the Atlantic Wall, both in the Channel Islands and on the Cotentin Peninsula. The bunkers and Casemates were mainly of a standard design, built with a wooden mould into which concrete was poured. The retaining wall can still be seen today. The guns employed in Normandy were as usual anything but standard. Many were WW1 guns and captured pieces at that. The ammunition needed was of many different calibres and guns spent long periods out of service awaiting spare parts. Most of the spare parts had to be machined especially for the gun. The gun emplacements numbered on the map were equipped with the following guns. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14)
Paimpol in Brittany: 2 new guns of 203mm which could reach a distance of 35kms Mirus Guernsey : 4 guns of 305mm with a range of 35kms Auderville Laye : 2 new guns of 203mm which could reach a distance of 35kms Roon Jersey : 4 guns of 220mm, built in 1917 by Schneider, range 20kms Moltke Jersey: 4 guns of 155mm built in WW1 by Puteaux, range 17kms Mackensen Jersey: 3 guns of 210mm with a range of 17kms Auderville Roche: 4 guns of 155mm built in 1917 by St-Chamond range 17kms Flamanville: 3 guns of 170mm with a range of 27kms Granville: 3 guns of 155mm built in 1917 by Schneider, range 17kms Biville: 4 guns of 105mm built in 1913 by Schneider, range 13kms Siouville: 4 guns of 105mm possibly the same type as 10 and positioned inland. Baubigny: 4 guns of 105mm possibly the same type as 10 and positioned inland Carteret: 4 guns of 122mm not installed by D-day Brauschitz Jersey: 4 guns of 100mm made by Skoda in 1919, range 10kms
These positions used both visual sightings and radar to patrol the coast. There was a large lookout post on Alderney which employed a “Telemeter” to judge the distance of ships at sea. This would then have to be recalculated for each gun position and the co-ordinates would be sent by either radio or telephone to the gun emplacements with a sufficient range to attack the ships.
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The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula cont. The radar stations at Carteret and Diguellville would also follow the same procedure and send their sightings to a central point, where again the co-ordinates for each gun emplacement would have to be calculated by hand very quickly if the information was to be of any use. Most of the batteries were protected against attack from the land by “tobruks” fitted with machine guns or tank turrets taken usually from captured Renault tanks. Also mine fields were employed to protect the big guns. At Carteret two railway mounted guns were installed soon after the occupation, it is thought that they were 24 cm, which would have meant a range of only 10kms and it is difficult to see what use they would have been. It could well be that they were really guns from the “Hipper” class of cruisers built in 1937 with a calibre of 203mm. These guns had the type number 20cmK(E), and this might have led to confusion. These guns had a range of 20kms and may well have given early protection to shipping between Carteret and the Channel Islands before the gun emplacements were built. It is thought that the railway mounted cannons spent some time in Calais during 1943, before returning to Carteret. The guns were fired on July 18th 1942 out to sea, the target if any is not known, but they shattered all the windows at the church, some 100 meters behind the railway. These have been replaced after the war with modern stained glass.
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The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula cont. There is one curiosity at St. George de la Riviere - a Casemate, R669 which is on its own and may have been placed there to protect the sand depot nearer the sea. The Todt Organisation had installed a railway siding nearer the sea to remove sand from the dunes for there many building projects. Unfortunately it was buried some years ago by the farmer, anxious to use the land and nothing remains above ground. Alderney, the most northerly of the Channel Island, is only 15 kms to the west of France. This island is only 6 kms by 4 kms and is heavily fortified. It even boasts a lookout station with four levels, similar to the observation tower at Fermanville, just to the east of Cherbourg. The beach has an anti tank wall as well as many other gun positions. On Jersey the Germans built a huge underground hospital which is now a museum, showing life during the occupation.
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The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula cont The fortification at Carteret were not finished by D-day, they were intended to protect the approaches to Jersey and also to protect the radar stations nearby on the Cap and at Sortosville en Beaumont. Below is a plan of the Atlantic wall on the western side of the Cotentin.
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Gun Sizes Gun Size in MM 5 mm 50 mm 75 mm 88 mm 105 mm 122 mm 152 mm 155 mm 170 mm 203 mm 210 mm 240 mm 305 mm 365 mm 415 mm
Continental Gun Size 57 mm 76 mm 87 mm
Gun Size In Inches 1.50 ins 3.00 ins 3.30 ins 3.50 ins 4.00 ins 5.00 ins 5.50 ins 5.75 ins 6.60 ins 7.75 ins 8.10 ins 9.50 ins 11.70 ins 14.00 ins 16.00 ins
British Gun Size 6 LB 17 LB 3.45 ins
Hand Maid Tours 220 mm Schnieder Gun Specifications
Canon de 220 L Mle 1917 Schneider Manufacturer:
Schneider et Cie., Le Creusot, France
Calibre
220mm
Length of barrel
L/35 (L34.87): 7,672.5mm
Length of rifling
(L/26.80): 6,113.5mm
Twist of rifling
92 grooves, 7 degrees (to right)
Barrel construction
Jacketed
Weights
Barrel – 9,280kg (with breech block)
Weight travelling
(1 load): 25,880kg; (2 loads): 30,120kg
Weight in action
23,000kg
Traverse
360 degrees
Elevation
0 to +37 degrees
Ammunition 1
22cm Gr. 534 (f) weight:
104.05kg
M/velocity:
754m/sec
Range : Ammunition 2
21,600m 22cm Gr. 535 (f)
weight:
104.75kg
M/velocity:
766m/sec
Range :
22,800m
Charge weight
20kg
Rate of fire
1 round/minute
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The Eighty Eight Just as every German tank was a Tiger, for many Allied servicemen every anti tank gun was an Eighty Eight, although many reported Eighty Eights were in fact 75 mm guns. If you were facing either of these guns the outcome would invariably be the same. Although dedicated antitank versions existed, the Flak version was used against tanks up to the end of the War. During the fighting in Spain, early Eighty Eights were pressed into service in the ground role. The Flak 18 proved devastatingly effective against the light armoured vehicles of the period. As a result, armour-piercing ammunition became a standard item in the inventory of all German Flak batteries. This was to prove useful in the early years of World War II, since the 88 mm anti-aircraft gun was the only weapon that could easily stop heavily armoured tanks like the British Matilda, the French Char B and the Soviet Ky1. The Flak 18 was followed into service by the improved Flak 36, 37 and 41, the latter was largely a new design. Useful though the antiaircraft guns were, they were far from perfect in the antitank role since they were bulky, were difficult to camouflage, and were very slow to get into action. The Eighty Eight could be fired from its wheeled transport carriage in an emergency, but for maximum accuracy it had to be lowered onto a firing platform, which was a time-consuming process. The first purely antitank version entered service late in 1943. The PaK 43/41 used the barrel and breech of the FlaK 41, much modified for antitank work, and it fired an entirely new range of ammunition. These antitank Eighty-Eights were mounted on the carriage of a 10.5 cm light field howitzer with the wheels from a 15 cm medium/heavy howitzer. At nearly five tons it was a brute to handle. Its crews called it the Scheunentor, or ‘Barn door’, but it had a much lower profile than the Flak versions and it kept all of the power of the earlier guns. It was used on both the Eastern and Western fronts. The 8.8 cm PaK 43 which entered service at about the same time was less mobile than the PaK 43/41, being mounted on a modified version of the Flak carriage, and it still needed to be dismounted from its wheels for maximum accuracy. However, once this had been done, the gun presented a very low profile and when dug in it was only 1.5 meters high. In combat it proved to be one of the best anti-armour weapons of the war, capable of destroying any Allied tank at ranges of at least 2 kilometres.
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Railway Guns The Germans had tried railway guns during the first world war, with some success. They had shelled Paris from their positions some seventy two miles away. After the treaty of Versailles, the Germans were not allowed to develop such weapons, but in 1933 the research program was well under way. Several large and expensive guns were produced, including one monster that required a crew of 1,500 to assemble the gun and 500 to operate it. To transport it to its position required 25 trainloads of material, and crew. It was only used against the Russians, hurling seven ton rounds at Fort Molotov, using only seven rounds to destroy it. It was so large that it needed parallel railway tracks to operate on with, the gun sitting on twin railway trucks bolted together. The railway guns used on the Cotentin Peninsula were more modest affairs. They were first used at Carteret to guard the channel between Carteret and the Channel islands before more permanent defences could be organised. Later the two guns were transferred to Cherbourg to protect the port. The type of gun used in Normandy was the Kanone 5, which had a 22 meter long barrel firing a 255 mm shell almost 40 miles. Over twenty five of these guns were produced and were used all over Europe. They were often housed in railway tunnels being brought into the open only when required to fire. In some cases (Calais) specially built bunkers were made to house the guns, not only to protect them from bombardment, but also to protect them from being spotted by RAF Reconnaissance flights.
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155mm French Field Cannon Type 418 in Open Ring Bed
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The Schneider 105 mm The 105 mm field cannon was produced by the Schneider firm in 1913 and introduced into the French Army in the same year. In 1935 it was refurbished, but essentially it was still a first world war cannon. It too saw action on all fronts in World War I, and remained in service after the end of the war. The life story of this field cannon is much like that of its 75 mm counterpart. In 1940 the field cannon was also taken over by the Germans and designated 105 mm Feldkanone 331 (f) France. Because of its age and the usually very worn condition of its barrels, the gun was soon assigned to coastal defences. Here they were put to use by the Army and Navy, at first in field positions, later the standard bunkers 649, 650, 651,652, 669 and 670. In the bunkers the wheeled mounts, hard to aim, were often removed and the barrel mounted on a German naval gun pillar made around the turn of the century. The range of traverse of the 105 mm Field Cannon 331 (f) in the bunker was reduced to 120 degrees, and the shield, which turned along with the gun, guaranteed protection to the gun crew. Despite their age, the 105 mm field cannons were used in goodly numbers along the Atlantic Wall and proved themselves well during the invasion and the subsequent combat. This cannon can still be found in the museums and bunkers of the Atlantic Wall. The weight of the cannon with its wheeled mount, in firing position, was 3300 kilograms, of which the barrel, with a length of 3820 mm, weighed 1105 kg. The geared aiming machinery allowed a barrel elevation from -10 to +18 degrees. With a shot weight of 15.74 kg, the shot, with a muzzle velocity of 550 m/sec, attained a maximum range of 12,000 meters. In practice, though, the used barrels often allowed only a range of 9000 meters.
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Tobruk The defence of most of the German Gun Batteries depended on a ring of machine gun and anti aircraft guns around the perimeter. The Tobruk named after the town in Africa where it was first used were deployed in their thousands in Normandy. They weighed around five tons and were constructed In the normal German fashion of casting concrete. Made initially in Berlin and later in Paris and other sites in Northern France they were transported normally by rail and then on to the site by lorry or even horse drawn transports. The Tobruk could house a variety of weapons from machine guns, mortars, anti aircraft. The most bizarre use was to house a captured French tank turret. After the fall of France the Germans captured many Renault and Somua tanks. The French tanks were light and fast, their weakness was that the only used one man in the turret. This man had to command the tank as well as load and fire the main gun. The Germans seeing the strengths and weakness of these tanks removed the turret and mounted heavy machine guns in their place. Tobruks were modified to take these turrets and used them for beach defense as well as for defending larger works. Many of the Tobruks still in place in Normandy bear the traces of being fitted with French tank turrets, the bolts that secured them in place still being visible.
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Types of Gun Emplacements in Normandy There were seven main type of bunker built in Normandy to house and protect the various guns used to defend the Atlantic Wall. They fell into two categories, the first was where the ammunition was stored at the rear of the bunker. The second type had no ammunition storage the ammunition being kept in underground stored some distance away. The one real anomaly was at Azeville where underground storage was supplied when the Casemate was a type 650 which included ammunition storage. One possibility was that the two underground bunkers where never intended or used for ammunition, but was used as a command bunker, one certainly had the main telephone cable coming into it. The other variation was whether the calculations for finding the range of the target was worked out either in the fire control post or in a room within the Casemate. In Normandy the second method was only used at Azeville. This was because Azeville was a “blind” Batterie in as much as it had no view of the sea or its targets. AOK 7 was the name given by the Germans to the area from the Seine bay to the Brittany coast. Type Where Found
No Built in AOK 7
158 Neville 11 These Casemates were exclusively used for captured British Vickers 94 mm guns captured when the Germans overran the Channel Islands.
176 & 195 Les Caplains Cherbourg 4 -- 1 These were the only examples built in Normandy of these two types on Casemates, both of which are extremely rare.
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Types of Gun Emplacements in Normandy cont.2 Type Where Found
No Built in AOK 7
272
Longues sur Mer, Castle Vendon, Les Caplains, Crisbecq
27
650
Azeville, Crasville,
12
One of the earliest designs of bunkers, initially it was built with square corners, but later these were rounded. Examples of both type can be found at Azeville.
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Types of Gun Emplacements in Normandy cont.3 Type Where Found No Built in AOK 7 669 Merville, St. Martin de Varreville, Carteret, Ver sur Mer, Ste Croix Colleville, Riva Bella, Mer la Fontaine 281
671
Neville, Pointe du Hoc, Crasville, Biville Mont Coquerel, La Pernell Cherbourg Port
66
Types of Gun Emplacements in
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Normandy cont.4 679 Gatteville, Morsalines, Mont Fleury, Houlgate, Mont Cainsy, Auderville, Les Couplets
683
Crisbecq
19
2
Only two examples built in Normandy and only six built on the Atlantic Wall. The two at Crisbecq survived the battle but were late blown up by American Army Engineers.
Over 20,000 fortified building were constructed on the Atlantic Wall. Of these nearly half were non standard. The specifications for many of the structures, although built to do the same task varied greatly. Many of the designs were the same, but duplicated by different design teams. No one group of Todt engineers had the same plans, often the newer plan had simply not been forwarded to each construction site. L. Indicates a Luftwaffe Design H. Indicates a Heer Design K. Indicates a Kriegsmarine Design, they sometimes used two letters.
German Casemate Plans and Specifications
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Name of the Battery Channel Islands Roon (Jersey) Moltke (Jersey) Ludendorff (Jersey) Hindenburg (Jersey) Mackensen (Jersey) Haesler (Jersey) Schlieffenn (Jersey) St Annes (Aldeney) Blucher (Aldeney) Elsass (Aldeney) Dollmann (Guernsey) Radetzky (Guernsey) Minis (Guernsey) Scharnhorst (Guernsey) Barbara (Guernsey) Rinozeros (Guernsey) Mammut (Guernsey) Elefant (Guernsey) Gneisenau (Guernsey) Steinbruch (Guernsey) Strassburg (Guernsey)
Type Schnieder Puteaux K418 MRS 18 MRS18 MRS18 K18 K18 SK C28 K18 SK l/40 K532(f) K532(f) Russian K18 K418 (f) MRS 18 MRS 18 MRS 18 K18 SK C28 K532 (f)
Guns 4 x 220mm 4 x 155mm 3 x 210mm 3 x 210mm 3 x 210mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 3 x 170mm 4 x 220mm 4 x 220mm 4 x 305mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 155mm 4 x 210mm 4 x 210mm 4 x 210mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 150mm 4 x 220mm
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy
1917 23kms 1914 19kms Open 18kms 18kms 17kms 24.8kms 10kms Open 10kms Open 23.5kms 25kms 22kms 23kms 23kms 1914 35kms M132 24.5kms 19.5kms 18kms 18kms 18kms 24.8mm 23.5kms 23kms
Year Range Emplacement
Removed 1944
Not allocated Removed 1944
MAA 604 MAA 604 MAA 605 4/HKAR1265 MAA 605
6/HKAR 1265 5/HKAR 1265
Unit
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Guns
France Haut Fourneau (Granville) 4 x 105mm Pointe du Roc (Granville) 3 x 120mm Carteret 4 x 122mm Baubigny (Siouville) 4 x 105mm Pointe de Rozel 4 x 105mm Houel 4 x 105mm Flamanville 3 x 170mm Bilville (Petit Thot) 4 x 105mm St Croix le Delles(Westmark)4 x 105mm Auderville (Laye) Railway Guns 2 x 203mm Auderville (La Roche) Stahl 3 x 155mm 3 x 155mm Castle Vendon (Landemer) 4 x 150mm La Rue d’Ozouville 4 x 100mm Amfreville (York) 4 x 170mm Les Couplets 4 x 155mm 4 x 155mm Railway Guns 4 x 240mm Bastion 2 (Port) 4 x 105mm Fort des Forches 4 x 170mm Fort Central (Outer Harbour) 4 x 94mm Harbour Station (Cherbourg) 2 x 105mm
Name of the Battery
35kms Open Turntable 17kms R679 H636 17kms Open 23kms M272 M162A 10kms H669 27kms M271 21kms H679 21kms Open 35kms Open Turntable 17kms H671 M176 M162A Open 10kms 11kms H671
27kms (R688) 1917 13kms H671 1935 H669
1913 13kms Open 1931 H671 M62A 158 1931 3.5kms20kms (R669) 1917 13kms Open
Year Range Emplacement
Kanone C/34 St Chamond Mle K420 1917 St Chamond Mle K420 1917 Skoda C/28 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Schiffs Kanone SKL40 German St Chamond Mle K420 1916 St Chamond Mle K420 1916 St Chamond K558 UToT L/45 German Krupp K18 British Vickers M39 French SKC/32
Schnieder K331 Cannon Belge Mle K370B Russian K390/2 Pushka obr. Schnieder K331 Schnieder K331 Schnieder K331 German Schnieder K331 Canon de Courtmle FR325
Type
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 2
4/MAA 260 ?/AR 1709 1/MAA 260 3/MAA 260
3/HKAR 1262 1/HKAR 1262 1/HKAR 1262 6/MAA 260 2/AR 1709 8/MAA 260 8/HKAR 1261 8/HKAR 1261
2/MAA 608 3/MAA 608 5/HKAR 1262 6/HKAR 1262 8/HKAR 1262 7/HKAR 1262 4/HKAR 1262 2/HKAR 1262 8/HKAR 1262
Unit
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4 x 105mm 4 x 155mm
Fort du Roule Les Mesnil Val
Les Caplains (Brommy West)4 x 150mm Fermanville (Sea Eagle) 4 x 94mm Fermanville (Hamburg) 4 x 240mm Fermanville (Judee) 4 x 105mm Cosqueville 4 x 76.2mm Val Bourgin (Maupertus) 4 x 76.2mm Varouville 4 x 76.2mm Neville Blankensee 4 x 94mm 4 x 155mm Digosville 4 x 155mm Gatteville 4 x 155mm La Pernelle 1 6 x 105mm La Pernell II (Essen) 3 x 170mm Morsalines 6 x 155mm Crasville 4 x 105mm Mont Coquerel (Quineville) 4 x 105mm Chateau de Frontany 4 x 105mm St Marcouf - Crisbecq 2 x 210mm 2 x 210mm 1 x 150mm
Guns
Name of the Battery
Rheinmetal SKC/28 French SKL40 Canon de Courtmle FR325 1935 FK295 FK295 FK295 British Vickers M39 French K420 French (St Chamond) FH414 French K420 Schnieder K331 1914 German K18 French K416 Schnieder K331 1914 Schnieder K331 1914 Schnieder K331 Skoda K39/K41 Skoda K39/K41 French
UToT L/45 FH414
Type
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 3
5/MAA 260 7/AR 1709
Unit
1x272 2x176 1x195 7/MAA 260 open emplacement ? SK M178 9/MAA 260 H669 5/AR 1709 11/AR 1709 10/AR 1709 H669 9/AR 1709 10kms 1xM271 2xM158 2/MAA 260 20kms Open 20kms H669 6/AR 1709 20kms H679 H502 7/HKAR 1261 18kms H671 H608 9/HKAR 1261 30kms Open (H688) R637 10/HKAR1261 20kms (H679) 6/HKAR 1261 18kms H671 & H650 5/HKAR 1261 18kms H671 4/HKAR 1261 moved to Lestre June 9th 8/HKAR 1261 33kms H683 & M272 3/HKAR 1261 33kms Open H637FCP 3/HKAR 1261 Open 3/HKAR 1261
22kms 11kms 27kms 20kms
17kms H671 607 622 H669
Year Range Emplacement
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Guns 4 x 105mm 4 x 122mm 4 x 100mm 6 x 155mm 6 x 155mm 3 x 155mm 4 x 152mm 4 x 105mm 4 x 100mm 2 x 122mm 2 x 122mm Mare Fountain (Ver sur Mer) 4 x 100mm Moulineaux (Bréville) 4 x 100mm Colleville (Hermanville) 4 x 100mm Chateau d’eau (Ouistreham) 2 x 155mm 2 x 155mm Riva Bella 3 x 155mm 3 x 155mm Merville 4 x 100mm Houlgate 4 x 155mm Mont Cainsy 4 x 155mm
Name of the Battery Azeville St Martin de Varreville Maisy 1 (La Martiniere) Maisy 2 (La Perruque) Pointe Du Hoc Surrain(Grande Waldersee) Longues sur Mer Vaux sur Aure (Beny) Ferme Tringale (Crepon) Montfleury (Ver sur Mer)
Type Year Schnieder K331 1913 Russian K390/2 1931 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 French K414 French K418 French K414 Schnieder/ le Creusot Krupp Tbts K.C/36 1928 French Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Russian K390/2 Russian K390/2 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 FH414 FH414 K420 K420 Skoda FH 14/19 1916 French GPF 418 French GPF 418
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 4
Range Emplacement Unit 11kms H650 2/HKAR 1261 20kms Open (H669) 1/HKAR 1261 10kms 1x Open 3 x H669 8/AR1716 11kms Open 2 H622 1 H655 9/AR1716 21kms 6 Open (2 x H671) 2/HKAA 1260 10.5 kms Open 10/AR 1716 20kms M272 M262FCP 4/HKAA 1260 Open (H667) 7/AR 1716 10 kmsOpen 5/AR 1716 H679 3/HKAA 1260 Open (H679) 3/HKAA 1260 10kms H669 6/AR1716 10kms Open 3/AR1716 10 kmsH669 2/AR1716 11kms H669 4/AR1716 11kms Open (H669) 4/AR1716 20kms H669 1/HKAA 1260 20kms Open (H679) 1/HKAA 1260 10 kmsH661 & H669 1/AR 1716 21kms 2 x H679 2 Open 3/HKAA 1255 21kms 3 x H679 1 Open 2/HKAA 1255
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Marine Artillerie Regiment Herres Hunsten Artillerie Abteilung Herres Hunsten Artillerie Regiment Artillerie Regiment
In general 105mm & 155mm Guns are French 150mm & 170mm are of German origin 100mm are usually Czech and 122mm & 152mm are Russian
German Units MAA HKAA HKAR AR
Key Used Blue for Navy (Kriegsmarine) Red for Railway Guns Green for Site with no traces left, in some cases this was not a permanent site Casemate in brackets ie: ( H679) planned but not completed by D-day
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 5
Longues Sur Mer
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Azeville Casemate No 1
The problems encountered by the Germans were many and varied in complexity. Firstly the Todt Org were in total charge of the building program after 1942, and it was they who decided what and where it should be built. The designs of the Casemates were many and no standard design ever came to fruition. Over 20,000 structures were built or planned at the time of D-day and nearly half of these were non standard designs. This stemmed from the three services having their own ideas on what they wanted and also the Todt Org input. There was also a demarcation issue, it was tradition in Germany that the Kriegsmarine (Navy) defended the coastline and the Army (Heir) defended the shoreline. This led to all the navy sites being placed near the water's edge. Once the enemy had landed, the Naval guns were of no use as they in most cases could not fire on the shoreline. All the gun emplacements in Normandy came under the command of the Seventh Army Group, even the Naval batteries which are marked in blue. At the Naval sites usually the big guns came under Naval control, whilst the defense of the site came under Army command. The Guns mounted on railway bogies are marked in red, it is thought that the two railway guns at Auderville (Laye) served at Carteret during the early days of the occupation and also at Calais. Being more mobile the railway guns tended to be moved more often and it is known that 280mm Kurze Bruno (Little Bruno) was stationed at Cherbourg during the early days of the occupation.
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 6
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Neville Blankensee
Standard French gun sizes were 155mm and 105mm and it can be assumed that most of the guns installed in La Manche for which the origin cannot be traced are most likely to be guns made by either Schnieder or St Chamond. The Schnieder guns had been reconditioned in 1935, but in many cases this just ment relacing the wooden wheels with wheels with tyres and changing from horse drawn to vehicle drawn towing equipment.. The only known German guns installed by D-day were those at Longues sur Mer, although most of the railway guns in use were of German manufacture. Many of the guns over 150mm were manufactured by Skoda, although a Krupp gun of 170mm was also manufactured. The 100mm Skoda guns were in fact horse drawn artillary pieces dating from 1895. There were also plans for a 380mm gun to be deployed at Castle Vendon, These guns could have possibly been French guns that were known to be in Cherbourg at the start of the war, or from a German warship. Many of the larger gun emplacements were supposed to have steel shutters fitted to protect the gun and crew in case of attack.
Almost all the guns employed on the Atlantic Wall were captured pieces. In many case dating back to WW1. Many were naval guns but most were artillery guns mounted on old first would war German pedestals, that enabled them to be aimed more easily and with greater precision in the confined space of a Cassette. The problem with mounting guns in Casemates was the limited amount of traverse that could be achieved without weakening the Casemate, often as little 600 and at the most 1200. In many Casemates you can see modifications where the side wall has been cut to enable a larger traverse.
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 7
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Because of the steel shortage very few of these were fitted. In some cases a curtain of chain was hung in front of the Casemate in the hope of exploding incoming shells outside on the working area. The main design difference between Casemates made for the Army and Navy was that the Navy designs sat on a large concrete raft which stopped them from turning over if a shell impacted close by. Later designs of Casemates had rounded corners, this avoided 900 corners which weakened the structure. Examples of both types of the same Casemate can be seen at Azeville The rounded Casemates were covered with earth, and grass grown over them. This was both to disguise them and the earth also helped absorb incoming shells. Most underground emplacements and bunkers were fitted with an escape hatch, so that the crew could get out in case of damage or attack. Most bunkers were also fitted with showers in case of gas attack, showering could reduce the effects of such an attack. Another precaution was having a form of air conditioning which kept the air pressure inside the bunker slightly higher than the outside air pressure. Nearly all the larger gun emplacements had a hood over the gun breech to extract the poisonous fumes from the gun, and these bunkers are part of the standard designs (Regelbauten). Many smaller field bunkers were also constructed and these were known as VF (Field Bunkers) they were of lighter construction and had no air extraction. The third type on construction was the Beauform (BF). These in the main were open gun or semi open platforms. The final type of construction was the SK or special construction, these were one off designs to fulfill a local or one off design.
German Gun Emplacements In Basse Normandy cont 8
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