M2 Wn Hafen

WN · Gruppe Alderney · Kanalinseln (Channel Islands) · France

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Alderney a small island off the coast of the Cherbourg Peninsular one of the Channel Islands and a Crown dependency. 3miles x 1.5miles. In June 1940 its entire population were removed and sent to either the other Channel islands or to Britain (most ended up in Glasgow). Then the German occupation forces arrived on the 2nd July. Hitler thinking that the British would attempt at recapturing, ordered it to become a Festung and later combined into the Atlantikwall.

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Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

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Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Ausboustand-karte Alderney the German military map of the island.

Ausboustand-karte Alderney

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

1 x Jetty.
1 x Machine gun position.
4 x FT tank turret Tobruks with either a heavy machine gun or 3.7cm KwK 38 PAK.
1 x Radio/machine gun/observation bunker.
1 x Tobruk.
1 x Tunnel.
1 x R680 casemate for a 7.5cm Pak 40.
1 x Barrier.
1 x Electricity generator building.

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Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Braye Harbour.

2006-05-07

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Braye looking at the very distinctive houses either side of Braye Street. To the left is a machine gun bunker (not on the plan). Hidden on the beach in front of the houses is a 4.7cm Pak K36(t) Skoda bunker and on the harbour wall a tank turret Tobruk and below the crane, an R680 casemate for a 7.5cm Pak 40.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

A machine gun position on the beach.

google

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

A machine gun position on the beach.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

The back of Braye Street on the seaward side with a trench running off to the right leading down to a 4.7cm Skoda casemate.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

The trench continuing on.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Looking along the trench line at the rear entrance of the Skoda casemate.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Just to the right and behind the Skoda casemate is a machine gun bunker.

05 October 2016

Plan.
Behind - Anti-tank obstacles. Front ---- Wire defence.
Above -- Skoda casemate.
Below -- MG bunker. — Plan. Behind - Anti-tank obstacles. Front ---- Wire defence. Above -- Skoda casemate. Below -- MG bunker.

Plan of the Skoda and MG bunkers.

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Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Skoda bunker a rectangular box for a fortress gun.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Skoda bunker with the fortress mounting still in place after the scrap men had taken their fill of most war metals.

05 October 2016

How the Skoda 4.7cm gun fitted into the casemate.

Gunner sat next to the gun and the gun commander stood looking through his viewing slit

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

4.7cm Skoda Pak K (t) (t) = Czechoslovakia.

Bundesarchiv

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Skoda bunker fortress fitting a 770P4 steel plate..

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Skoda bunker to the right and above the gun mounting is the gun commanders viewing slot.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Skoda bunker the area covered by the Skoda gun and the machine gun to its right of the bay.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Skoda bunker, the viewing slit and Skoda gun fitting in the front and the commanders viewing slit to the left.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Skoda bunker, this is a post war photo of the Skoda casemate in an allied document. Note the camouflaged paintwork and the destruction of the houses due to neglect and the wood stolen for building materials and fire wood. DEFE/2/1296

DEFE/2/1296

Alderney M2 Wn Hafen

The beach would have been mined, anti-tank obstacles and wire.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tank turret Tobruk. This short pier was used by the German navy to tie up their harbour guard boats and a tank turret Tobruk sitting half way along it.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tank turret Tobruk. Allied photograph taken in 1945. DEFE/2/1296

DEFE/2/1296

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tank turret Tobruk.

05 October 2016

FT17 turret with a heavy machine gun is probably the type of turret that was used here.

Another picture of how it may have looked.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tank turret Tobruk. Allied photograph taken in 1945. DEFE/2/1296

DEFE/2/1296

Alderney M2 Wn Hafen

Tank turret Tobruk. Crew compartment one end and ammunition in the other.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tank turret Tobruk. I think a chimney pipe outlet from the bunker.

05 October 2016

Bunker heater, coal or wood could be used.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tank turret Tobruk. The ring where the turret fitted.

05 October 2016

Alderney M2 Wn Hafen

Most of these houses were derelict and the wood stolen for fire wood or building materials, there is no indigenous timber on the island.

05 October 2016

Alderney M2 Wn Hafen

The bottom end of Braye St.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

The front of the R680 a casemate for a 7.5cm Pak 40 gun. A flanking wall now removed to help traffic using the road to pass. Two ammunition niches each side of the rear door and a centre gun room. DEFE/2/1296

05 October 2016

Plan of where the R680 is situated.

google

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

A contemporary picture of how the bunker which was camouflaged as a house. It says “Possibly an 88mm” well an easy mistake as the R680 was designed for a 7.5cm Pak 40. The two guns look very alike. DEFE/2/1296

DEFE/2/1296

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

R680 interesting concrete camouflage.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

R680 the flanking wall now removed.

05 October 2016

Alderney M2 Wn Hafen

R680 more camouflage down the side. DEFE/2/1296

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tobruk.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Tobruk.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Attached to the end of the harbour was an extension built by the Germans from parts of a bridge to be used in Operation 'Seelöw' the attack on Britain in 1940.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Out on the harbour was an air raid shelter, two Tobruks with tank turrets, two R656 15man bunkers and a small bunker.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

How they may have looked, two Tobruks with a tank turret, two R656 15man bunker and a small bunker. Also see Axishistory.com

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Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. I would like to thank Nigel for allowing us to visit the Wireless bunker and also later taking us to the Hospital bunker.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. The entrance under the Harbour Masters Office.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Inside the passageway.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Passage.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Concrete cupola.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. The three viewing slits.

05 October 2016

90P9 steel cupola this concrete cupola is a copy. Presumably they did not have a steel cupola so made a concrete one.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. The concrete crossing the tunnel is the new Harbour Masters Office.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Gun room for a heavy machine gun.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Gun room showing the targeting details painted on the wall.

05 October 2016

But it may have been a heavy Maxim a WW1 machine gun here.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Gun room showing the targeting details painted on the other wall.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Another aperture in the rear wall for another machine gun and also more targeting information on the wall.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. A view of the bunker but here we have a steel plate for an embrasure being used as a roof.

05 October 2016

Metal plates stacked up ready for shipment to the Atlantikwall.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. I believe its a 7P7 metal plate used as a roof section. I suppose by opening the right hand aperture a machine gun could be used either in an AA or ground role and observation through the large shuttered hole.

05 October 2016

A 7P7 steel plate for a machine gun emplacement.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker. Within the passages there are a few odd bits and pieces and this is more of an air raid shelter.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker.
Unter schlupf aus Schurzblechrahmen, Siegfried
für 3 Mann leigend oder 6 mann sitzen.
[Enclosure of frame, Siegfried
For 3 men or 6 man sitting].
Interesting that all the bunkers I have seen in France, this type I have never seen. Its an early design for the Siegfried line probably designed in the1930's to shelter soldiers at defences on the German border. There would have been two wooden planks down each side to sit on.

05 October 2016

Shelter of apron frame, Siegfried
For 3 men or 6 man sitting. — Shelter of apron frame, Siegfried For 3 men or 6 man sitting.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker [497]. A very round bunker, another I have never ever seen

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker.
Naval wireless bunker [497].
What do you do with a square table??
This radio room bunker.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker [497].On the top of the flat roof was a 2cm Flak.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

2cm Flak 30 this is the sort of gun and mounting that may have been on top of the bunker.

Bundesarciv

Or a Flak 28/29 Oerlikon.

Bundesarciv

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Harbour Masters Office. Naval wireless bunker.
Under the earth is a concrete version of a steel cupola. Presumably a steel cupola was not available and somebody crafted this one out of concrete. I have also found parts of a steel close combat defence embrasure made of wood on another bunker on the island. It may show that certain parts were not available and the builders on the island had to improvised and fabricated.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Just to show the English were here first. WD = War Department. The broad arrow is the government sign or Pheon. Most government military fortifications and here on Alderney there are many. Usually stone 1 is the key stone and then they run right around the site. WD - War Department. RN -- Royal Navy. AM -- Air Ministry.Just to show the English were here first. WD = War Department. The broad arrow is the government sign or Pheon. Most government military fortifications and here on Alderney there are many. Usually stone 1 is the key stone and then they run right around the site.

WD - War Department.
RN -- Royal Navy.
AM -- Air Ministry.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

On the end of the short quay is a tank turret Tobruk.

05 October 2016

German naval trawler converted to gunboat and would be heavily armed.

Alderney M2 Wn Hafen

The tank turret Tobruk with two doors which is very unusual. An FT French tank turret was on the top. Many French WW1 and post WW1 tank turrets were used in the Atlantikwall, a light weight small turret firing either a heavy machine gun or a 3.7cm cannon.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

This model bunker the same design as the one on the other quay but this one has mountings for sliding doors of a type I have seen in bunker and in fact there is one in the medical bunker on the island.

05 October 2016

Tobruk ammunition room in a bunker higher up the hill.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Vent pipe still with its grill to stop a hand grenade to be thrown in. Note the second door runner.

05 October 2016

A heater like this one may have been fitted into the crew side of the bunker.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

The turret ring still in place, they were either geared so turned by rotating a handle or they had a free running turret ring whereby you would use your shoulders to move the turret around.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Set into the stone walls Eisenpfahel would be spaced out and barbed wire entanglement placed around them.. There were also Teller mines and heavy old French shells wired up as mines all along the quays. Eisenpfahel is a stylised German support for a barbed wire entanglement.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

A barrier was built somewhere across the slipway to stop easy access to the breakwater and entry onto the island.

05 October 2016

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

Protected generator house.

05 October 2016

109C heavy generator. I do not know what type was used here.

Alderney, M2 Wn 'Hafen'

05 October 2016