Wn229 Castel Vendon M.K.B. 'Landemer'

MKB · K.V.U.Gruppe Cherbourg See · AOK 7 Normandy · France

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

M.K.B. (Marine-Küsten-Batterie) Landemer, M.A.A. 260 Castel-Vendon. (Marine Artillerie Abteilung).

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Here, we are covering M.K.B. Landemer the German batterie of four 15 cm S.K.C/28 guns in M272 casemates. Landemer does not show on the German plan of June 1944?.There was an Officer at the HQ in Cherbourg who would go have to out on a daily basis to check what had been finished and come back to his office to keep the maps up to date.

June 1944 plan

Huts used by a local batterie just down the road.

The type of accommodation that may have been used here.

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

The main entrance to the batterie position, two concrete posts that may have had a chin across it to close the entrance or one or two Belgian gates. These were used a lot in Normandy to close off roadways.

26 June 2002

Two Belgian gates closing off a road way. Each gate fits into the next and a steel pin passed through. A horse can be attached and then pulled out of the way. The gate has three steel rollers to roll on.

The rollers can be seen at the bottom of this gate.

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

The entrance (red arrow) with a set of wooden barracks, the original French Maginot construction site to place two 38cm guns in ships turrets. This completely stopped when France capitulated. The German staff wanted a batterie of two battleships turrets to be fitted into the French tubes. But the sizes were all different. So it was decided to dig out two new tubes. This got to a stage where it became obvious the ground was not right for a large set of ships heavy guns. So this job was cancelled. So in late 1943, they decided on placing four 15cm guns under casemates. Work started in early 1943 and was completed (almost) before June 1944. A large S446 Fire Control Post, was to be built out in front on the cliff edge, this was started but a smaller M162a was also muted as to be built instead? The men lived in four wooden huts behind the batterie that may have been used by the French, when they were building their heavy guns here.

1944

A pair of Bismark turrets. Two 38 cm double turrets S.K.C/34.

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

The French post war plan of the batterie 238 M.K.B. Landemer, M.A.A 260 Castel-Vendon. Oberleutnant MA Gerhard Kubis.

4 x M272 casemates.

1 x M162a (or S446) fire control posts.

1 x Geschützstellung open emplacement.

4 x 15cm S.K.C./28 guns.

1 x 12cm K.370(b) gun (for firing illumination flairs).

3 x 2cm Flak28.

4 x 7.5cm Flak M33(f).

SHM plan

12cm K.370(b) gun (for firing illumination flairs).

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Fire direction of the batterie. There was no fire control post at the batterie, this was to be built out in front of the gun line. As this batterie was such a late construction, there was no time to complete it. The FCP was to be an S446 or an M162a?

SHM

S446 plan.
M162a plan. — S446 plan. M162a plan.

S446 elevation.
M162a elevation. — S446 elevation. M162a elevation.

L415 Wasser bunker planned to be built by the S446.

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

The hole in the ground where the Org. Todt started to excavate.

21 November 2003

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

To the left is Turm 4, on the right Turm 3. And the sea out in front. Re named M.K.B. Landemer, work began on February 15, 1944 with the design of four M272 Navy style casemates for 15 cm S.K.C/28. On May 31, the four casemates are completed and the guns were fitted with armoured shields.

30 December 2000

A gun room Wn 48 Longues-sur-Mer [M.K.B.].

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 4 On the top of this bunker was an L2 open emplacement with a 2cm Flak 28 anti-aircraft gun. This casemate had all the ammunition and probably a lot of the mines that were in Mine field 15 and then the lot was blown up. Typical with engineers, they all love a good explosion.

00-00-00

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 4 with Flak emplacement on the top. When the Allies took photos of captured defences, they always placed a serviceman in the front. Not to take a selfie as too many do today, but to show the scale. Another way would be to use a red and white meter stick. But they never carried them.

1944 US Army Signals Corps

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 4 showing the damage to the Flak position.

01 May 2006 JF

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 3 Coming around the corner with the sea in front.

17 March 2006

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 3 M272 casemates.

26 June 2002

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 3

26 June 2002

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 3 After its capture with the gun still looking menacing.

1944 US Army Signals Corps 26 June 2002

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 2 When the batterie knew they were going to come under attack, they placed sand bags to close off a little bit more of the embrasure. It looks as if a lot of bags have fallen out.

1944 my archive

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 1

25 February 2003

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 1

23 August 2002

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Inside a bunker on the left side with the with a (toilet seat) no its not. This is where, when the gun is fired, the shell case is removed from the breach and sent down the hole to a large basement under the bunker. Its only use is to hold the spent cases until after the battle and then they would be recovered and re used. In most of these casemates, they only had one battle, the battle to take the batterie that usually came in from the rear. I the Merville Batterie, the only account I have ever seen about the gunners actually hiding in the case room under the gun, when the paratroopers rushed through. From behind.

26 June 2002

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Case shoot, in the middle of the floor is a steel man hole cover (69P9 Niedergangsklappe) where you can go down into the used case store.

Site of the 69P9 companionway flap.(translation).

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

The two round holes are for passing ammunition from the two ammunition niche behind.

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Turm 1 Ammunition storage each side with case one side and shell the other. A seaman in each store would pass ammunition through the holes in the wall. Then fused and the shell placed in the gun and the case following. A big bang and the case flies out of the breach. The case is picked up and placed down one of the case shoots into the case store.

23 August 2002

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Rear entrance peppered in bullet scars.

23 August 2002

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Another rear entrance showing battle damage. Four vents on the rear wall to allow smoke from the gun room to be removed.

19 May 2001

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

Out in the front was to be a large S446 fire control bunker with a huge range finder dome on its roof. The excavated hole can be seen in the yellow circle. This would have found the targets, arranged the fire sequence and range and order the guns to fire. It would also, with other FCP watch for the fall of shot from batteries along the coast and direct them on their targets. The S446 had a huge computing room and was on two levels. An observation room, wireless room, computing room, telephone exchange, plus many more. There was also to be a 5cm KwK gun in an open emplacement to cover the front. A 5cm mortar, four 2cm Flak guns, about 16 machine guns laid out around the site and a batterie of four 7.5cm Flak M17/34(f) guns. This bunker was never really started, just the foundations dug out. There was also to be an L415 water bunker placed here as well.

19 May 2001

Wn229 Castel Vendon Landemer

On the morning of June 30, the batterie was strafed by a squadron of P-47s Thunderbolts. But little damage was done. Then the 3rd Battalion of the 47th US Infantry Regiment after several small battles cleared the batterie area. Thus a part of the Atlantikwall was taken after only being in existence for less than two months.

19 May 2001