Wn315 Vauville le Fort

WN · K.V.U.Gruppe Joburg · AOK 7 Normandy · France

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Vauville is a village on the west coast of the Cherbourg peninsula.

8.14cm GrW 34 mortar, it could engage targets out to 2.4 km.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

_-_-_ = Minefields.

German plan of the defence

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

2 x R676 casemate.

3 x Vf58c Tobruk.

1 x Vf69 mortar Tobruk.

1 x 5cm Nr1694 ringstand.

2 x 4.7cm Pak K.36(t) Pak.

3 x Unterstand (one found).

8.14cm GrW34 (f) Mortar.

Plan

R676 casemate for a 4.7 Skoda (t) Pak gun.

Vf51 Unterstand that may be like the ones here. Another type is an FA Unterstand.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Dunes de Biville. Looking down at Dunes de Biville towards Wn317 from the view point near Camp Maneyrol, Aerodrome de Vauville. This was a very large minefield running down the coast.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

The view from the right is directly at Wn315 Vauville le Fort and to the north Wn314 La Creque.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Car park on the beach. The large mound on the left is an R676 casemate, on the right the remains of a 5cm KwK ringstand. We cannot see into this bunker as its covered over in earth and grass.

24 October 2004

Gunner and commander, there may have been one more, a loader.

Commender looking out of his viewing slit.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

An Allied plan of an R676 casemate with a staggered entrance and a gun room, ammunition storage down one side of the room..

Allied intelligence plan of the casemate

The embrasure where the gun points out, a very short barrel as a steel shutter can be lowered down to protect the barrel/embrasure from direct fire.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Allied plan, elevation. Showing the pit in the front to allow fired cases to drop down after shooting. A way of storage whilst a battle is progressing.

Allied intelligence plan of the casemate

The gun fires and the shell case passes into a collecting bag and down a shoot out of the casemate an dropping down into the case storage pit..

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

R676 casemate the view of the front of the casemate, now covered in sand and grass. The flanking wall covering the embrasure from direct fire from the sea.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

R676 casemate one other feature is the periscope, not all had them, but this one seems to have.

24 October 2004 Plan Kurt

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

5cm KwK L/42 anti-tank gun ringstand. Between the R676 and the car park is this tipped up 5cm KwK anti-tank gun. The two casemates were covering the north and south beaches and this 5cm gun would have covered the gap between.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Beach obstacles. A new use for old concrete beach obstacles, reused as sea defences to hold back the sand bank.

24 October 2004

Assembling the Rommel’s Asparagus, named due to the fact they were springing u like Asparagus shoots.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Bf69 mortar Tobruk is a double Tobruk, one for he observer and the second for the mortar and crew.

24 October 2004

Bf69 mortar Tobruk. Main mortar Tobruk, observation Tobruk, enterance and an ammunition store.

8.14cm GrW34 (f) Mortar made originally by Brandt a French company, so many were captured and then re used. They were an excellent mortar and could fire out to targets up-to 2.4 km.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Mortar Tobruk Bf69.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Mortar Tobruk Bf69.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

The mortar Tobruk.

24 October 2004

Observation watching for the fall of shot to shout adjustments to the mortar crew.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Mortar Tobruk Bf69. The mortar Tobruk, note the inner lip to allow the mortar shells to pass out at their lowest angle.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Mortar Tobruk Bf69. Looking into the entrance and ammunition room.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Mortar Tobruk Bf69. Two views of a mortar Tobruk at Fort Joret showing the entrance with the mortar room to the left and the Tobruk observation t the right and the second picture is the ammunition room.

Wn130 Fort Joret K.V.G.U.Gruppe Barfleur

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Le Fort Vauville this is a lovely little place, it would have held a small garrison to help protect this shore line from who else but the 'English'.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Part of the Fort is this very small house set behind the Fort.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Vf58c Tobruk covering the rear of the defence.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Vf58c Tobruk covered the right flank and forward out to sea. Its very unique camouflage covering the rear to make it look like part of a wall.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Vf58c Tobruk covered the right flank and forward out to sea.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

R676 casemate was open so we could enter.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

R676 casematehe front embrasure with the fittings now broken off, probably for scrap.

24 October 2004 - How it should have looked

The raising of the shutter covering the embrasure.

Internal handle to raise and close the shutter.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

R676 casemate most has now been removed L to R the ammunition storage area of niche, vent to allow smoke/fumes to exit the gun room, the embrasure for the gun and mounting, slit for the guns commander to view, the space for the mechanism to raise and lower the shutter.

24 October 2004

How it would have looked with the shutter mechanism above the gun.

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

R676 casemate the view of the beach ahead.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

R676 casemate Artistic licence.

24 October 2004

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Le Fort SHM This is a picture taken for the French military after the war of most of the German defences. Here it shows the Fort and the casemate behind with its rear entrance and the small house on the right.

SHM-SHM

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

Unterstand. There were three understands this looks very like one and now sits on the edge of the camping site.

With thanks to Jean-Pierre Gabriel

Wn315 Vauville le Fort

24 October 2004