Flak battery Raederschleuse

The flak battery was located at what is now known as the “Rüstringer Berg” between the sea and the trees in the right-hand image section.

The heavy flak battery Raederschleuse was a bunkered position of the naval flak in Wilhelmshaven during the Second World War .

Location and structure

The battery was built north of the Wilhelmshaven sea lock , which at the time was still called the “ Raeder lock”. It was on the Heppenser sea dike, which was widened for the battery. It consisted of four gun beds and a control station , which were embedded in the ground and connected via an underground bunker system. The battery was secured to the north and south by two light anti-aircraft bunkers. A 2-cm weapon was located on Flakbunker 2 . The underground control center of the plant was located at Flakbunker 1. 100 meters to the north there was a second control station in a high bunker. Makeshift wooden shelters lay half set in the ground, in a ring around the bedding. For safety reasons, the ammunition bunker was built 120 meters south of the battery. At the second flak bunker there was a makeshift farm building that housed the kitchen and the common room.

Organizational integration

Position of the flak batteries in the Wilhelmshaven section

The German Bight Coast Commander was responsible for the coastal defense . The battery belonged as part of the II. Marine Flakbrigade to the Wilhelmshaven section. The flak battery belonged to the Marine Flak division 232, whose Flakuntergruppenkommando Hafen was in the Westwerft.

Seeschleuse Wilhelmshaven, formerly Raederschleuse.

history

construction

In the summer of 1941, construction work began on the Raederschleuse flak battery. The shell of the facility was completed in autumn 1942, but expansion was then stopped. It was not until Marine Flaka Division 232 was re-established that the battery should be made ready for action. At the beginning of December 1943, the necessary work on the expansion of control room 2 and the headquarters began, which was completed just a month later.

At the same time, the Hohemey battery was converted from a 10.5-cm anti-aircraft gun to a Flak 40 M with a 12.8-cm caliber. A large part of the crew was relocated from this battery to the Raederschleuse battery in January 1944. At the same time, the 10.5 cm guns from the Siebetshaus battery were moved to the Raederschleuse. Two of the guns were ready for action on January 28, 1944, the other two followed the next day. Since the first control station was not expanded, it was used as a lookout.

business

On February 3, 1943, parts of the Raederschleuse flak battery were hit in an attack on Wilhelmshaven. The battery personnel consisted of the personnel from the Hohemey and Tirpitzhafen batteries . The roof shields for the guns were retrofitted in February 1944. Apart from a few officers and technical specialists, most of the personnel were posted to the front in September 1944. Little experienced 17 to 18 year old members of the Reich Labor Service replaced the staff.

Post-war period - "Rüstringer Berg"

After the war, the directional equipment and the guns were dismantled and scrapped. The gun bunkers and beds were blown up by Canadian troops in January 1946. The restaurant "Oase", which was well known in Wilhelmshaven, was later located in the battery's farm building. It was demolished in the early 1990s. The overflowed bunker remains on the dike are known today as Rüstringer Berg and are a popular lookout point. The observation platform with pavilion built in 1977 has a copper roof that previously stood on the parcel post building on Ebertstrasse, which was demolished in the 1970s. Today's parking lot is on the site of the former barracks.

literature

• Friedrich August Greve: The air defense in the Wilhelmshaven section 1939-1945. 2nd Navy Flak Brigade. Hermann Lüers, Jever 1999, ISBN 3-9806885-0-X , pp. 131f.

Web links

• Flakbatterie Raederschleuse on www.bunker-whv.de, with historical and current photographs.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d e f} Friedrich August Greve: The air defense in the Wilhelmshaven section 1939-1945. 2nd Navy Flak Brigade . Hermann Lüers, Jever 1999, ISBN 3-9806885-0-X , p. 131 f .
2. ^ Friedrich August Greve: The air defense in the Wilhelmshaven section 1939-1945. 2nd Navy Flak Brigade . Hermann Lüers, Jever 1999, p. 48 .
3. ^ Rüstringer Berg. Retrieved November 10, 2019 . 

Coordinates: 53 ° 32 '51.3 "  N , 8 ° 9' 45.1"  E