Krattigen artillery plant
The artillery works Krattigen (army designation "Gips" A 1952) is located in the municipality of Krattigen on the left bank of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland . The plant belonged to the operational area of the 3rd Division and from 1947 to the Reduit Brigade 21 . The work was created in 1941/42 and released from secrecy in 1995.
history
The impetus for the construction of the plant was given by the new army position in the Reduit ordered by General Guisan (Operation Orders No. 11, 12, 13). The 3rd Division (Bern Division) was withdrawn from the Limmat position and moved from the Fricktal to the new operational area on both sides of Lake Thun.
The commander of the 3rd Division formed Division Artillery Group II on the left bank of Lake Thun (Heavy Motor Cannon Regiment 14 (Division 17 and 18, Batteries 134-137) and Heavy Motor Cannon Division 3). The 14th heavy motor cannon regiment was moved from the Mettmenstetten-Obfelden ZH area to Interlaken in July 1940. In May 1941 it was subordinated to the 2nd Army Corps and deployed to Sursee. The Heavy Motor Cannon Regiment 12 (Departments 13 and 14, Batteries 126–129) took over his job.
The firing positions of Division Artillery Group II were in the Faulensee-Krattigen-Reichenbach-Aeschi-Hondrich area with the command post in the Hondrichwald. Battery 134 was used in the Krattigen plant in 1940 and battery 129 from 1941.
The 10.5 cm bunker cannons had had their day in 1947. Battery 129 was disbanded in 1950 with the 12th Heavy Motor Cannon Regiment.
At the end of the 1960s the artillery was disarmed. 1970–1976, the empty work was used by an army staff as a transmission center for connections to the military attaches abroad.
From 1976 / 77–1980, training courses for the special service of the Intelligence and Defense Subgroup (UNA), the forerunner of the secret resistance organization P-26, took place at the Krattigen plant under the cover name “Alpine Garden” .
construction
In September 1940, the troops began to build field war positions, which were occupied by Division 17 (batteries 134 and 135). In May 1941, the bunkered test stand at Hentschenried / Spiez A 1953 was shot in with the work gun of Department 17. It served as a model for the Krattigen, Faulensee , Sandgruben and Mülenen plants.
Instead of the field positions, the plant was built from May to December 1940. The three stands were ready to fire in July 1942. In June 1943, the Krattigen battery position was handed over to the Fortress Guard Corps (FWK) by the Thun construction office of the office for fortification structures (BBB) . The construction costs amounted to CHF 739,000.
Armament
The plant had three 10.5 cm fortress guns 35 L42 (Bofors system) with parallel lever mounts. The range of action of the artillery extended to Uetendorf . Four to five shots per minute could be fired per gun.
The guns were operated by six to nine men: gun leader (non-commissioned officer), judge, lock attendant, two ammunition carriers, two projectiles.
The infrastructure of the fortress
The work consists of three individual gun emplacements that are connected by a tunnel system that forms a central triangular interior. The central room consisted of a command room and an engine, filter and ventilation room. The gun emplacements are camouflaged as agricultural barns.
Access to the facility was through the entrance barracks, later through the garages at Gun Stand 1. From there, the three combat stalls could be reached through the tunnels. The stands are low and the openings in the pot notches are close to the ground.
- Switchboard model 1942
- two radios type K1A
- Crew quarters under the gun posts
- Gas protection devices
- Case suction device
- Unfinished blower
- separate ammunition entrance tunnels
- Toilet facility with shower
- kitchen
- Washing system, water tank for 6400 liters (1970)
- three-part sewage treatment plant (1970)
today
The artillery plant was bought in 2004 by the current owner, who is gradually returning it to its original state. This is to represent every part of his story. Visiting opportunities are indicated on the homepage.
Test stand Hentschenried
The test stand (army name “Hrd AG” A 1953) is located one kilometer west of the Krattigen plant in the area of the municipality of Spiez. The gun stand, completed in 1941, was designed for a 10.5 cm cannon in 1935 and with good protection against aerial bombs and artillery fire. The construction had to be done with little material expenditure and good adaptation to the environment (camouflage). The roof space was filled with concrete and the bricks reinforced with storm hooks. The Vorscherm on the saddle page was reset and the Dachkännel demountable.
The experience gained with the Hentschenried test stand was used to develop and test the basic concept of the artillery works in Krattigen, Faulensee, Sandgruben and Mülenen. During the trial firing in May 1941, the newly developed parallel lever gun and the collective gas protection with the ventilation systems (carbon monoxide values after long series shots) were tested. 160 shots were fired in the target area Lägenbergalp above Reutigen and Krümmelwege in the Stockhorn area. The gun stand was used by the heavy motor cannon battery 129 of the Krattigen plant as a lead gun.
literature
- Hans-Rudolf Schoch: The artillery factory Krattigen A1952 . Frutigen 2015.
- Martin Matter: P-26. The secret army that wasn't. Publisher here + now, Baden 2012, ISBN 978-3-03-919247-2 .
Web links
- Site of the artillery fort Spiez Krattigen
- Oberland Fortress: Krattigen Artillery Works A1952
- Bernerzeitung of June 21, 2012: The traces of the mysterious P26
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Rudolf Schoch: The artillery works Krattigen A1952 . Frutigen 2015
- ↑ Fortress Oberland: A1953 test stand Hentschenried ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ HS publications: publishing house for publications on Swiss fortifications, bunkers and fortresses, Frutigen
Coordinates: 46 ° 39 '43 " N , 7 ° 43' 23.9" E ; CH1903: 621787 / 167895