Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
L 410 around the Füherhauptquartier Wolfsschlucht 2
The Füherhauptquartier Wolfsschlucht 2 is known for its enormous variety of bunker designs. There are local designs for machine gun turrets and plates and one can discover Luftwaffe Regelbauten never built anywhere else. A not so rare Luftwaffe design is the L 410, a command bunker for small Flak batteries. However near Margival this type […]
In: Articles, Bunkersite update · Tagged with: blockhaus, bunker, command, Flak, führerbunker, innenbereich, l 410, laffaux, leichte, luftwaffe, margival, neuville-sur-margival, regelbau, vauxaillon, zug
Battleship Islands, a DVD about Alderney fortifications
Alberto Tabone contacted me about a project he has been working on and is now released to the public. A DVD series about fortifications, starting with the fortified island of Alderney. I asked Alberto a couple of questions about his project and his love for Alderney. You’re an Italian, how did you end up in […]
In: Articles, Channel Islands · Tagged with: alberto tabone, alderney, battleship islands, documentary, dvd, fortifications
Research documents of the Belfra bunker group
The Belgian/French bunker research group Belfra has released some PDFs on their finds about the different Tobruk types. I host the English translations as a mirror to the forum http://lemurdelatlantique.lebonforum.com/. Have fun with these docs and thanks to the Belfra group. Also take a look at http://forum.axishistory.com/viewforum.php?f=70 for discussions on the findings. This page will be […]
In: Articles · Tagged with: 58a, 58c, airfield, archief, archive, atlantikwall, belfra, coquelles, determinatie, determination, dirk peeters, documents, feldflugplatz, group, informatie, l479, nachtjagd, research, tobruk, type, vf8
Bunkersite.com update: The story of a Marineflak veteran
Some weeks ago we came into contact with a Marineflak veteran which was stationed at Trégastel, south of Brest in Bretagne, France. Wolfgang Weber came in from the Flakschule at Misdroy at the Baltic Coast at the age of 19. His story combined with our fieldwork can be found here. I must say, you do know […]
In: Articles, Bunkersite update, France, News · Tagged with: 1944, 811, atlantikwall, bofors, brest, duits, german, marineflak, mflak, Trégastel, veteraan, veteran
Propaganda Painter Ernst Vollbehr
Besides the Propagandakompanien which reported in word, photo, film and sound there was another medium used by the Reich to inform the homefront about the massive building activities around Europe: paintings. One of the most prominent painters of this genre was Ernst Vollbehr. Born in Kiel in 1876, Vollbehr studied art in Berlin, Dresden, Paris […]
In: Art, Articles · Tagged with: art, bio, biography, blockhaus, bunkers, ernst, kriegsmahler, line, linie, nsdap, paintings, photos, siegfried, vollbehr
A bunker acoustic ecology by Nick Sowers
The San Fransisco based Nick Sowers records the sounds in and outside the Atlantikwall’s bunkers. Nick isn’t really interested in the strategic past or bunker archaeology but he researches the re-use of bunkers and their presence in the everyday landscape. Île de Ré, France Bunker Type 669 – Double Casemate (the official type number used […]
In: Articles, News · Tagged with: acoustic ecology, Nick Sowers, san fransisco, soundscapes, taconomy
Visual decline
Unfortunately for our field of interest, I often have to write about demolition and decay. The process is unstoppable and we have to live with it. However, raising concerns can never be bad. Last week I made a visit to Stützpunktgruppe Voorne, in Holland. It was like seeing old friends. It was six years ago […]
In: Articles, Demolition/Disappearing, News · Tagged with: 409a, 410, 622, atlantikwall, bunkers, destroyed, frescos, heritage, regelbau, voorne, warning, wassermann
Cyprien Gaillard’s Dunepark
A short film by Alfonso Nogueroles about the art project Dunepark by the French artist Cyprien Gaillard. In 2009 a type 600 bunker for 5cm KwK in Scheveningen was excavated as a ready made art work. It got huge attention from the media and people. After a month it was all covered as if nothing […]
In: Articles, Holland · Tagged with: art, artist, bunker, cyprien, den, dunepark, gaillard, haag, hague, made, ready, scheveningen, the
Fortress flamethrower in the Atlantikwall
The Festungsflammenwerfer or Festungsnahkampf Gerät was a ferocious weapon which was built only two times in the Atlantikwall. Ba 70 Alex posted a report on the French Atlantikwall forum. The Germans built an extensive tunnel system with bunkers (120, M 152) on the Plateau de l’Atalaye in Biarritz. The positions, designated Ba 39 and 40, also housed […]
In: Articles, France, News · Tagged with: 420P9, atalaye, atlantikwall, biarritz, festungsflammenwerfer, festungsnahkampf, flamethrower, fn gerät, fortress, Sk
The soldiers who manned Stp. Corbiere
Malcolm Amy, volunteer for the Channel Islands Occupation Society (CIOS) on Jersey, began publishing the accounts of three German soldiers who were assigned to Stp Corbiere on the island. It gives a highly interesting inside look into the daily life in and around the bunkers during the occupation. You can follow the story on The […]