Brécourt: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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Codenamed ''Olkeller Cherbourg'' (Cherbourg |
Codenamed ''Olkeller Cherbourg'' ("Cherbourg oil cellar"), Brécourt's structure is located at the foot of a hillside on which the French Navy had eight underground galleries dug for the storage of fuel oil in the 1930s. |
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These installations were reused by the German army to store [[V-2 rocket |
These installations were reused by the German army to store [[V-2 rocket]]S.<ref name="jeanmaridor" /> Early in 1944, the facility was converted to a [[V-1 flying bomb]] launch facility.<ref name="Collier">{{cite book |last=Collier|first=Basil|title=The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944-1945 |origyear=1964 |year=1976|publisher=The Emfield Press|location=Yorkshire|isbn=0-7057-0070-4 |pages=35}}</ref><ref name="Henshall">{{cite book |last=Henshall|first=Philip|title=Hitler’s Rocket Sites|url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersrocketsit00hens|url-access=registration|year=1985|publisher=St Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn= |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hitlersrocketsit00hens/page/147 147] |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last= |first= |url=http://www.atlantikwall.org.uk/new_page_61.htm |title=Brecourt |work=The Atlantik Wall In Normandy |date= |accessdate=2008-02-27|publisher=}}</ref> |
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The ramp consisted of two parallel reinforced concrete walls, 75 |
The ramp consisted of two parallel reinforced concrete walls, {{convert|75| m|ft|abbr=on}} long, with a notch on the inside faces giving the slope of the ramp, which was oriented towards the port of [[Bristol]].<ref name=":0" /> |
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The Brécourt [[military installation]] was virtually undetectable by aerial observation.<ref name=aetius>{{cite web|last= |first= |url=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aetius/mur/v1Brecourt.htm|title=Cherbourg-Brécourt |work=Bases launch V1 Cotentin and Seine-Maritime |date= |accessdate=2008-02-27|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last= |first= |url= http://www.sitesv1du-nord-de-la-france.com/A4V2.htm |title= La fusée A4 V2 |work= Les Sites V1 du Nord de la France |date= |accessdate=2008-02-27|publisher=}}</ref> However, the [[387th Air Expeditionary Operations Group#History|387th Bombardment Group]] records indicate [[Operation Crossbow]] bombing in Manche of a "[[Martinvast]] |
The Brécourt [[military installation]] was virtually undetectable by aerial observation.<ref name=aetius>{{cite web|last= |first= |url=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aetius/mur/v1Brecourt.htm|title=Cherbourg-Brécourt |work=Bases launch V1 Cotentin and Seine-Maritime |date= |accessdate=2008-02-27|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last= |first= |url= http://www.sitesv1du-nord-de-la-france.com/A4V2.htm |title= La fusée A4 V2 |work= Les Sites V1 du Nord de la France |date= |accessdate=2008-02-27|publisher=}}</ref> However, the [[387th Air Expeditionary Operations Group#History|387th Bombardment Group]] records indicate [[Operation Crossbow]] bombing in Manche of a "[[Martinvast]] V-1 site" on 11 November 1943, which may have been Brécourt.<ref name=387bg>{{cite web |title=Combat Missions |url=http://387bg.com/ |work=387th Bombardment Group (Medium) |accessdate=2008-11-12}}</ref> |
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The launch pad was not fully completed when The Allies captured Brécourt a few days before July 4, 1944. both [[Dwight Eisenhower]] and [[Winston Churchill]] subsequently visited the facility<!-- the latter reportedly dropping an apple he was eating in astonishment of the massive facility.- (the link says it belongs to legend)-->.<ref name=jeanmaridor>{{cite web|last=Maridor|first=Jean|url=http://www.jean-maridor.org/francais/brecourt.htm |title= Le site V1 de Cherbourg Brécourt |work= Les bombes volantes V1|date=|accessdate=2008-02-27|publisher=}}</ref> |
The launch pad was not fully completed when The Allies captured Brécourt a few days before July 4, 1944. both [[Dwight Eisenhower]] and [[Winston Churchill]] subsequently visited the facility<!-- the latter reportedly dropping an apple he was eating in astonishment of the massive facility.- (the link says it belongs to legend)-->.<ref name=jeanmaridor>{{cite web|last=Maridor|first=Jean|url=http://www.jean-maridor.org/francais/brecourt.htm |title= Le site V1 de Cherbourg Brécourt |work= Les bombes volantes V1|date=|accessdate=2008-02-27|publisher=}}</ref> |
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The bunker was declared a French protected monument on 1 |
The bunker was declared a French protected monument on 1 December 1996.<ref name=":0">{{Mérimée|PA00135509|Rampe de lancement de V1 de Brécourt}} </ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 07:56, 7 April 2020
| Brécourt aliases: Équeurdreville,[1] Martinvast[2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of Nazi Germany | |
| Équeurdreville-Hainneville, Manche, Normandy, France | |
| Coordinates | 49°39′7″N 1°40′12″W / 49.65194°N 1.67000°W |
| Type | Bunker, V-1 flying bomb launch facility |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | No |
| Condition | ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1932 French oil storage cistern, 1943 Nazi Germany bunker & launch facility |
| Built by | Organization Todt |
| In use | never used [3] |
| Materials | reinforced concrete |
| Battles/wars | Operation Crossbow |
| Events | V-1 launch facility begun 1943, bombed 11 November 1943, captured July 1944 |
Brécourt was a Nazi Germany bunker in Équeurdreville-Hainneville near Cherbourg, in Manche of Normandy, northern France.
History
Codenamed Olkeller Cherbourg ("Cherbourg oil cellar"), Brécourt's structure is located at the foot of a hillside on which the French Navy had eight underground galleries dug for the storage of fuel oil in the 1930s.
These installations were reused by the German army to store V-2 rocketS.[4] Early in 1944, the facility was converted to a V-1 flying bomb launch facility.[5][6][7]
The ramp consisted of two parallel reinforced concrete walls, 75 m (246 ft) long, with a notch on the inside faces giving the slope of the ramp, which was oriented towards the port of Bristol.[8]
The Brécourt military installation was virtually undetectable by aerial observation.[3][9] However, the 387th Bombardment Group records indicate Operation Crossbow bombing in Manche of a "Martinvast V-1 site" on 11 November 1943, which may have been Brécourt.[10]
The launch pad was not fully completed when The Allies captured Brécourt a few days before July 4, 1944. both Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill subsequently visited the facility.[4]
The bunker was declared a French protected monument on 1 December 1996.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "Fortifications Built by Prussia or Germany". Fortifications of the World. 2003-05-25. Archived from the original on 2005-02-09. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ King, Benjamin. Impact: The History of Germany's V-Weapons in World War II. p. 112.
- ^ a b "Cherbourg-Brécourt". Bases launch V1 Cotentin and Seine-Maritime. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ a b Maridor, Jean. "Le site V1 de Cherbourg Brécourt". Les bombes volantes V1. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ Collier, Basil (1976) [1964]. The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944-1945. Yorkshire: The Emfield Press. p. 35. ISBN 0-7057-0070-4.
- ^ Henshall, Philip (1985). Hitler’s Rocket Sites. New York: St Martin's Press. pp. 147.
- ^ "Brecourt". The Atlantik Wall In Normandy. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ a b Rampe de lancement de V1 de Brécourt
- ^ "La fusée A4 V2". Les Sites V1 du Nord de la France. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Combat Missions". 387th Bombardment Group (Medium). Retrieved 2008-11-12.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bunkers in France.