Gun bunkers demolished at Locqueltas

Sad news from Lorient, France, this week. At least two gun bunkers type M 170 of battery Locqueltas, near Larmor Plage, are being demolished. A casino will be built on the spot. Photos via http://atlantikwall.superforum.fr/t15717-c-est-la-fin-de-locqueltas

Posted on October 28, 2014 at 8:41 am by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: Demolition/Disappearing, France, News · Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Allen Gewalten zum Trotz sich erhalten

Two years ago I’ve posted about the Fl 250 anti-aircraft headquarters in Saint-Marc near Saint-Nazaire. Back then more than 400 letters from all over Europe ended up at the office of the Service Territorial d’Architecture et du Patrimoine. However, there was no reaction to any of these letters, although they were surprised by the big […]

Posted on September 4, 2013 at 8:36 am by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · Leave a comment
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New book: Die Marinegeschütze des Westwalls am Oberrhein

Early November a new book about the Westwall was published. It’s not about the defence line as a whole, but about a particular part of it, the naval gun batteries in the Upper Rhine valley. I talked to one of the authors of the book, Sascha Kuhnert, to find out how the Kriegsmarine guns ended […]

Posted on January 29, 2013 at 12:55 pm by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · One Comment
In: Books & Magazines, Germany · Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

The sound of a bunker

What does a bunker sound like when it’s being demolished? At Péristyle near Lorient Kriegsmarine shelters are being demolished to make place for a new residential area.

Posted on February 25, 2012 at 2:41 pm by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · Leave a comment
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Save the tower of Saint-Marc, send this letter

The city of Saint-Nazaire is known for its ignorance towards World War 2 heritage, destroying many unique bunkers and truncate the U-Boot bunker. But all of this would be peanuts compared to the plans to destroy the Marineflak headquarters at Saint-Marc. The bunker, a huge and very rare Fl 250, consists of a big bunker […]

Stop the looting of Bt Karola

Looting bunkers of the Atlantikwall by so-called collectors has been the case since the eighties of the last century. However since less and less complete bunkers are present the rate of looting speeds up. This is especially the case with the heavy Marine Batterie Karola on Île de Ré. Alain Durrieu, writer of several books about the Atlantikwall, now […]

Achtung.. Feuer!

We received this great ‘shot’ from Steve Powell. Firing the 22cm K532 (f) gun in coastal artillery battery ‘Generaloberst Dollmann’ on Guernsey.

Posted on July 4, 2011 at 11:57 pm by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: Photography · Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Bunkers for sale

Lately some bunkers in France came on the property market. A big V 142 radio bunker in Royan and small cable bunkers in Normandy. The V 142 designated Gi 23 M 02 and built in 1943 is for sale for €117.000. You’ll get 90m2 of bomb proof wine cellar and it’s a super rare bunker. If you find that too […]

Posted on January 17, 2011 at 9:58 pm by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: France, News · Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Batterie Vara endangered

One of the most important bunker sites in Norway, Batterie Vara (Møvik fort, Kroodden), is in danger. There are plans to build a new neighborhood on a part of the battery’s terrain. Besides the historical value of the site it is also a beautiful recreational place. Looking at the plans, two 38cm gun emplacements will be […]

Posted on January 27, 2010 at 6:39 pm by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · 5 Comments
In: Demolition/Disappearing, News, Norway · Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hunting gets priority in France

Thanks to my correspondent in the Calais area Olejniczak Hervé The well known naval Batterie Oldenburg near Calais is going to loose some of its bunkers to a new hunting terrain! Anywhere else this sounds crazy but apparently hunting is still big in France. Since the first week of december, bird hunting lakes and observation cabins […]

Posted on December 14, 2009 at 11:23 pm by Arthur van Beveren · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: Demolition/Disappearing, France, News · Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,