Artillery Plant Schmockenfluh
Map with all coordinates: 
The artillery factory Schmockenfluh (Army designation A 1881) of the Swiss Army is located in the area of the municipalities of Beatenberg and Sigriswil on the right bank of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland . It is located in the same rock face of the Niederhorn (Krachenfluh / Schmockenfluh) above the village of Merligen and below the two plants Legi and Waldbrand . The plant belonged to the operational area of the 3rd Division and from 1947 to the Reduit Brigade 21 .
The facility was built in 1942 and dismantled in 2003.
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 The 3rd Division (Bern Division) was withdrawn from the Limmat position and moved from the Fricktal to the new operational area on both sides of Lake Thun.
By order of March 1941, the 3rd Division formed Divisional Artillery Groups (Div Art Gr) I on the left and II on the right bank of Lake Thun.
The facility was operated by the following troops: Fortress Company 73 and I / 14, Fortress Artillery Company III / 24 and finally Fortress Artillery Company II / 15.
Armament
As a first armament, two 7.5 cm and four 10.5 cm attachment cannons were installed. Later these were replaced with two 10.5 cm cannons 35 L42 on lever mounts (combat stand M1 / M2) and four 10.5 cm Kan 39 L42 on stand mounts (combat stand R1 / R2 / L1 / L2).
The field of fire of the three artillery works Legi, Waldbrand and Schmockenfluh in the Beatenberg area covered an arc from the right boundary of Oppligen to the BLS viaduct in Frutigen, which could be covered with heavy shells with a range of around 21 kilometers. The fire control was carried out centrally from the Heinrich command post .
Plant infrastructure
The work was a typical reduit casemate work of the office for fortifications (BBB). Access was from the former exit point of the Thunersee-Beatenberg funicular . The two-meter-wide main tunnel is around 700 meters long, the secondary tunnels and access to the fighting stalls around 360 meters. The difference in altitude from the entrance ⊙ to the accommodation is 50 meters. The crew consisted of 180 men.
- two fighting stands (M1 / M2) with lever mounts (4 × 8, 3 meters high)
- four fighting stalls (R1 / R2, L1 / L2) with stand mounts (5.7 × 6.5, 4 meters high)
- three observation posts
- two emergency exits (N1 in the western part of the facility in a difficult-to-access couloir, N2 below observation post 2 at fighting stand M2)
- three large ammunition magazines (40 meters long)
- external power supply with three lines of 380 volts
- two Sulzer diesel engines with 80 HP each for the emergency power supply
- three tanks with 8000 liters of diesel each in the engine room (with 24-hour operation for 33 days)
- Fresh air was sucked in at the emergency exit N2
- Exhaust air could escape through an exhaust pipe at the M1 combat station
- Fresh water reservoir with two containers for 75,000 liters each and one for 5000 liters of water
- Wastewater was collected in a septic tank and led down to Beatenbucht via the sewer system
- Accommodation was in the back of the plant, 400 meters from the main entrance.
- Accommodation wing (accommodation 1 and 2) was on two floors
- Kitchen and large storage room for food supplies in the western part of the lower floor
- Location of the works commandant (first floor of accommodation 1)
- Bedrooms, dining rooms, toilets and showers, infirmary on both wings
- Main rescue station with an assortment of bulwarks (after entrance).
- Rescue station 2 (accommodation wing)
- 20 fire extinguishers (water mist, air foam, carbon dioxide, dust)
- seven depots with digging tools, fire fighting vehicles, oil weir material and various bucket syringes
today
The facility has been completely cleared and dismantled since 2003. The general installations including the transmission and the electrical systems were removed. Grills were installed in front of the emergency exits and the entrance. The gun barrels were sawn up and some of them were deposited in the fighting positions or in empty ammunition magazines. The cleared material was transported to Beatenbucht with the Thunersee-Beatenberg-Niederhornbahn.
literature
- Hans-Rudolf Schoch: The artillery plant forest fire as well as Legi and Schmockenfluh . Volume no. 5 of the series "The 3rd Division in the Reduit". Frutigen 2014.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Oberland Fortress: A1881 Artillery Works Schmockenfluh
- ^ HS publications: publishing house for publications on Swiss fortifications, bunkers and fortresses, Frutigen
Coordinates: 46 ° 41 '32.3 " N , 7 ° 44' 54.7" E ; CH1903: 623704 / 171280