Ra603 St Ideuc

WN · K.V.Gruppe Rance · AOK 7 Brittany · France

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Several occupied ports were made into Festung's, fortress's and defended by extra troops and guns. A ring of casemates circled the inland side of St Malo and continued around to Dinard.

Ra603 is one of the northern Widerstandsnest (Wn's) facing inland.

1 x R625/SK anti-tank gun bunker.

1 x R630 heavy machine gun bunker.

1 x Vf58c Tobruk.

1 x 7.5cm Pak40.

01 December 2013

7.5cm Pak40.
7.5cm Pak40.
Ra603 St Ideuc
Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
Easy to find, take the D355 from the last roundabout and turn left at the first junction and that takes you to the bunkers, also look out for a tall radio aerial.

Google

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
Festung St Malo North Flank Ra603 St Ideuc The ring of Wn's covering the inland were numbered 600series. This one is Wn Ra603. Between the Wn's were minefields, barbed wire and anti-tank ditches.

01 December 2013

Ra603 St Ideuc
Barbed wire & minefield.
Barbed wire & minefield.
Laying Teller mines.
Laying Teller mines.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
There were two casemates here an anti-tank bunker an R625/SK and an R630.

1957

An R626 with a Tobruk defence and a concrete wall going out from the middle of the casemate covering the gun room from a flanking shot.
An R626 with a Tobruk defence and a concrete wall going out from the middle of the casemate covering the gun room from a flanking shot.
This model has its flanking wall on the left and no Tobruk defence.
This model has its flanking wall on the left and no Tobruk defence.
This is an R630 with its flanking wall and the one at Ra603 has no flanking wall.
This is an R630 with its flanking wall and the one at Ra603 has no flanking wall.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
The Aerial with the R625/SK Bunker to its Left.

25 November 2013

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
R625/SK casemate This looks very like the casemate just after being captured.

25 November 2013

Ra603 St Ideuc
Ra603 St Ideuc
Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
Rear of the R625/SK. Crew entrance on the right and gun room door on the left.

Marc-Luc Claude WW2 Pictures Facebook

This is the gun room of an R626 casemate with no roof but it shows what it may look like inside the R625 above.
This is the gun room of an R626 casemate with no roof but it shows what it may look like inside the R625 above.
Ra603 St Ideuc
US Sherman tanks advancing on St Malo.
US Sherman tanks advancing on St Malo.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
R625/SK rear crew door.

25 November 2013

491p2 Gittertür steel gate possibly closed off this entrance. This enabled the machine gunner inside at the close combat window to fire at attackers from the rear.
491p2 Gittertür steel gate possibly closed off this entrance. This enabled the machine gunner inside at the close combat window to fire at attackers from the rear.
Close combat defence window in use.
Close combat defence window in use.
Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

R625/SK casemate

Gun room rear entrance. There would have been a large steel double door closing off the rear protecting the their backs.

25 November 2013

494p2 like this one.
494p2 like this one.
Ra603 St Ideuc
Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

R625/SK casemate gun room for a 7.5cm Pak40 anti-tank gun looking in as best I could.

25 November 2013

7.5cm in the open.
7.5cm in the open.
An R677 gun room from the rear also looks very much like this one.
An R677 gun room from the rear also looks very much like this one.
Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

R625/SK casemate

Side of the bunker. I have no idea what this does, on a none S/K (Sonderkonstruktionen) type it too has a shape very similar on its left side??

25 November 2013

R625.
R625.
Ra603 St Ideuc
Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

R625/SK casemate

Flanking Wall.

25 November 2013

R625S/K note the flanking wall on the far left side and not in the middle.
R625S/K note the flanking wall on the far left side and not in the middle.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

R625/SK casemate

Gun room front embrasure. This is as close as I can get to the embrasure as there is so much rubbish strewn around.

25 November 2013

How it may have looked.
How it may have looked.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

R625/SK casemate

Rear View. Looking along the front line when the Americans attacked St Malo it would curved around to the far trees with belts of barbed wire and mines.

25 November 2013

Ra603 St Ideuc
Ra603 St Ideuc
'S' mine (Shrapnel) or 'Bouncing Betty'. I do know that these were used on this front. All mines are nasty but this one bounced on contact and exploded at waste height.
'S' mine (Shrapnel) or 'Bouncing Betty'. I do know that these were used on this front. All mines are nasty but this one bounced on contact and exploded at waste height.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Rear of an R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

As I could not get to the R630 I have added some details of what it would look like from a casemate north of Maupertus airport Cherbourg.

25 November 2013

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Rear of an R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

A crew of around four or five would live in this confined space with folding bunk beds that could hang from a chain and hook to the wall, three to four high, wooden cupboards, folding chairs and table. A small heater and an anti-gas filter pump. R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

25 November 2013

Bunks.
Bunks.
Bunker heater using coal or wood.
Bunker heater using coal or wood.
Hand powered filter system.
Hand powered filter system.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Inside of an R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

Crew Room.

Here there is an escape hatch in the side wall and the sand on the floor is initially used to fill in the escape tunnel. When the door is opened the sand/gravel would be shovelled out and then escape. All very long winded and quite frightening. Inset is the equalising valve, if the pressure suddenly changes the valve opens. A 4ML01 type. R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg. R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

25 November 2013

Escape.
Escape.
Inside a cramped bunker.
Inside a cramped bunker.
A pair of bunker cupboards.
A pair of bunker cupboards.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Gun Room, R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

To the left is a small ammunition room adequate for many thousands of rounds of machine gun ammunition. The gun room would have had a large heavy steel plate bolted with several large steel nuts & bolts and a fitting for a heavy machine gun Mg34. R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

25 November 2013

A steel plate similar to this one would have been here.
A steel plate similar to this one would have been here.
Mg34 mounting.
Mg34 mounting.
Gunner using his machine gun.
Gunner using his machine gun.

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc

Gun Room.

Rear of an R630 at Maupertus, Cherbourg.

25 November 2013

Ra603 St Ideuc

Ra603 St Ideuc
 

08 December 2013