Flak battery Sillenstede
The heavy flak battery Sillenstede was a bunkered position of the naval flak in the north-west of Wilhelmshaven during the Second World War .
Location and structure
The Flakbatterie Sillenstede was in the old Fort Sillenstede . It consisted of four artillery bunkers , which were arranged around the old infantry work of the fort. The battery's control center was located south of the infantry plant . In the northeast there was a barrack for Russian prisoners of war willing to help . In the north was a radar of the Würzburg type . To the east were accommodations for naval helpers, the canteen and a farm building.
Organizational integration
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 252, whose Flakuntergruppenkommando West was in Heidmühle .
history
8.8 cm - In Fort Sillenstede
The first battery for Sillenstede arrived in Wilhelmshaven on October 1, 1939. It was a battery that was built in the summer of 1939 as the "Nettelbeck traditional battery" in the dunes near Kolberg as a coastal battery . The four 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns were installed in Fort Sillenstede in the north of Sillenstede from September 1939. The fort dates from 1916. On October 15, 1939, the remaining staff from Nettelbeck followed. The old fort was not in good condition; when the system was being repaired, earth was used as material to fill in the excavation, of which only a 70-meter-long strip remained.
Expansion to a bunker battery
Shortly after moving in, work began on converting the battery into a bunker battery. For this purpose, several high-level gun bunkers were built directly next to the existing infantry plant. The five meter high bunkers were given a wooden parapet. A 2-cm anti-aircraft weapon was placed on a raised stand and was used for self-protection. Due to the wintry weather, construction progress slowed considerably in the winter of 1939/40. In the spring, the area was silted up by melting snow. After the snow melted, work began on a bunkered control room, a fourth gun bunker and two other bunkers, one for a 2 cm anti-aircraft gun and a headlight bunker. The work came to an end in September 1940.
camouflage
The bunkers were camouflaged with paint, and there was a hipped roof camouflage made of nets for the guns. The second and third guns were connected by a passage on the roof of the infantry factory. A check from the air revealed that, despite the good camouflage of the guns, the facility could be recognized as military. For this reason, a dummy battery was installed 800 meters north on the Warfszeile. As a deception, powder charges were ignited and lamps flashed from a distance in this dummy battery.
10.5 cm expansion and shutdown
In 1942 a new farm building was erected outside the fort. The administration, the office and the kitchen were housed here. On February 20, 1943, the battery was converted to 10.5 cm guns . In December 1943, around 80% of the crew were assigned to the front, and their posts were replaced by members of the Reich Labor Service .
End of war
In February / March 1945 the flak battery Sillenstede was integrated into the defense plans of Wilhelmshaven due to the approaching front. A lightly armed Volkssturm unit was stationed here. After the surrender of the battery chief, the batteries were handed over to a Polish major . He and his unit moved into Sillenstede.
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. 182f.
Web links
- Flakbatterie Sillenstede on www.luftschutzbunker-wilhelmshaven.de, with historical and current photographs.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d e f g 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. 182 f .
- ^ Friedrich August Greve: The air defense in the Wilhelmshaven section 1939-1945. 2nd Navy Flak Brigade . Hermann Lüers, Jever 1999, p. 48 .
Coordinates: 53 ° 34 ′ 54.1 ″ N , 7 ° 59 ′ 28.5 ″ E