Tu301 La Dilanne M.K.B. 'Kermoisan'

Batterie 4./M.A.A.280.
1 x S414 fire control post.
2 x R502 twin group shelter.
2 x R501 group shelter.
2 x R607 ammunition bunker II
2 x R612 casemate for an assault gun.
4 x Vf8c Tobruk's.
4 x Vf/s.MG.
6 x Geschützstellung 7.5cm, open emplacements.
2 x Flakstellung 2cm Flak 38.
2 x Geschützstellung for 24cm K.(E).
2 x 24cm K.(E) 558(f) railway guns.
4 x under construction S741 type emplacements for 30.5cm guns.
6 x 7.5cm Flak M33(f).
2 x 2cm Flak 38.
2 x 7.5cm F.K.235(b) guns.
4 x 30.5cm S.K.L/50 (still in their factory in Germany)

Geschützstellung - Gun emplacement.
Unterstand - Shelter.

A plan from the National Archive at Kew showing the position of the two 24cm railway guns and four massive casemates unfinished.
The number of actual guns on Tu301 La Dilanne M.K.B. 'Kermoisan' - 2 x 240mm railway guns in open emplacements (red dots on plan). The 24cm guns come from the French battleship 'Diderot' and were placed on railway gun mountings.
Turms 1,2,3 & 4 were under construction. Four large emplacements, These are 'S' emplacements, numbers used in several publications put them as S536, 539 & 741. But Rolph states the type as S741. So I will use S741 for four 30.5cm C/41 railway guns.

Turm 4 the rear corner of the casemate S741.
Unfinished & none of the four large 30.5cm KM/6/10(f) guns were ever placed here. By 1944 the area was encircled by the American army.

Turm 4 the gun platform S741.
S741 type emplacement being constructed from 1943/4 onwards but the war caught up and they were never finished.

Turm 4 the gun platform S741.
Another view.

A British Army plan of the large casemate drawn just at the end of the war. There would have been ammunition magazines, heating, electrical generation, etc.

Joint Intelligence Committee files.

Joint Intelligence Committee files.

This is one of the original guns on a storage cradle a 24cm K.(E) 558(f).
24cm K.(E) 558(f) these guns were in place here at the end of 1941. The guns were removed post war and tested, then stored at the Army proving ground at Gavres. There were two Officers, 24 NCO's and 164 men of the 4./M.A.A.280.

A 1947 air photo of the whole battery position.
We have two sites here: -
The first two emplacements with their ammunition magazines can be seen [24cm guns] in the middle
Then casemate [Turm 4] can be seen at the top L/H, [Turm 3& 2] and then (Turm 1) the final casemate under construction. They would have been 4 x S741 casemates for four 30.5cm C/41 railway guns. The end of the war came and they could not be finished.

The railway came in from the bottom left and a small connecting branch joins the two Geschützstand for the 24cm guns. Two R502 twin group shelters for the guns crews and two Vf Unterstands that may have been used as HQ for each gun. Behind each gun were four ammunition bunkers. Possibly two for the cordite bags and two for shells.

Joint Intelligence Committee files.

Joint Intelligence Committee files.

The first part of the Batterie we found and followed the yellow arrows.
First set on the side of the track is a defensive Tobruk.

R502 twin gruppe shelter.
Built on the surface and not in a large hole in the ground, the usual method of construction. This R502 looks as though spare ammunition was placed inside it and then exploded by French army engineers.

R502 twin gruppe shelter.
The reinforcement holding the concrete together.

Vf Unterstand.
It may have been the guns office and the R502 the living accommodation.

The western large 24cm Railway gun open emplacement. OB.
Shaped in a D with access from the rear.

The western large 24cm Railway gun open emplacement. OB.
The layout of the western gun position with the bunkers in the north and ammunition behind.

They came from the French battleship 'Diderot' and placed on a rail chassis with an internal pivot and could be sat on any railway line and still fire 360deg. The British report states that the railway lines were removed when they arrived at Tu301 La Dilanne M.K.B. 'Kermoisan some time in 1945.

The wall surrounding the gun emplacement.
Looking over the concrete wall.

The wall surrounding the gun emplacement
You can see the hole in the concrete, the wall is NOT a defensive wall but just a wall wall. It is hollow inside. Hard to believe, I have seen pictures where you could almost crawl inside. ????

The wall surrounding the gun emplacement.
This is the rear of the D shaped emplacement. This is where the railway gun would have been drawn into its emplacement and also all the ammunition would have been brought through.

The wall surrounding the gun emplacement.
There seems to be a step in the wall that may have allowed the guns crew to get on and off the gun??

The base of the emplacement with two wet feet.

Vf Ammunition storage bunkers.
Two of four that were here.

Ammunition storage area. This is how it may have looked.
An archive photo of some ammunition magazines. But I am not too sure that although it is stated that these were here. Also these have a sloped roof, the ones here do not. Why the British Army mission managed to get this wrong, I have no idea.

Ammunition storage area.

Ammunition storage area.
Entrance and some brackets. No door hinges could be seen.

Ammunition storage area.
The view inside.

Ammunition storage area.
The two the other side have been blown up and completely removed as far as we could see.

The railway line link between the two guns.
The trains came off the main line and onto a short branch line specially laid and onto this section that joins both gun positions.

A photo of the gun after capture. Note the British Army Officer in the picture to give scale to the picture.

The eastern part of the Batterie.
The layout is a mirror image of the western side.

Tobruk.

Tobruk.

Ammunition storage area for the second gun.
Totally camouflaged.

Ammunition storage area for the second gun.

The second gun position.

The second gun position.
Store.

The second gun position.
Inside the store.

The second gun position.
R502 shelter.

The second gun position.
Vf Unterstand.

Turm 1 S741 type emplacements for 30.5cm guns unfinished.

Turm 1 S741 type emplacements for 30.5cm guns unfinished.
Base of the gun platform.

Turm 1 S741 type emplacements for 30.5cm guns unfinished.
The base of the gun platform with the trench for cabling to run through.

Turm 1 S741 type emplacements for 30.5cm guns unfinished.
The short concrete posts we were not sure what they were for. The only thing we could think of was used to hold camouflage nets??