Xanten air ammunition plant

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Coordinates: 51 ° 37 ′ 54.5 ″  N , 6 ° 26 ′ 58.1 ″  E

The "bunkers" served as ammunition stores in the Muna. There are over 100 in the Hees.
Map of the Xanten air munitions facility

The Luftmunitionsanstalt Xanten was an ammunition plant of the German Air Force in the time of National Socialism near Birten , a district of Xanten in the Wesel district . It was not only responsible for the production of ammunition, but also for "the recovery, analysis and defusing of enemy ammunition dropped on Reich territory". Head of the munitions plant and at the same time location elder was, Major Friedel later to lieutenant colonel promoted. While - as in the rest of the Reich - forced laborers , prisoners of war and military internees were used in Xanten , the "use of foreign workers or prisoners of war in the air ammunition facility [...] can be excluded for the verifiable period."

The first planning for the construction in the Xanten area began in 1938. If a location in the Bönninghardt was initially considered, the Reich Aviation Ministry decided on a location in the wooded Hees ridge . "The Hees was obviously chosen because of the better camouflage and infrastructure." As a densely forested area, the location was ideal for the secret project. There were also two train stations nearby. The Boxteler Bahn drove from Birten station to Wesel and from Winnenthal station to Duisburg. The Luftgaukommando VI Münster set up an advance command of the ammunition plant on October 1, 1940. The transfer of ownership from the Reich Forestry Office to the Reich Aviation Ministry could only be completed in March 1944.

The plant extended over an area of ​​over 1.6 km². Most of the more than 100 ammunition and detonator warehouses were on the west side of the Heesberg and Wolfsberg. Surrounded by a wide protective wall, they had a rectangular floor plan of approx. 15 × 18 m, consisted of plastered brick walls with an 18 cm thick reinforced concrete ceiling and mostly with two entrances. The detonator bearings were about half the size and had only one entrance. The loading ramp, about one meter high, faced the path and was accessible by stairs. They were connected to the workhouses and warehouses, garages of the transport vehicles and the MUNA loading station on the east side of the Hees via farm roads. The administration building, a locksmith's shop, a carpentry shop and supply facilities such as a well with a water pump were located where the St. Josef Hospital stands today. Parts of the munitions factory were underground and ran through the mountain with an extensive network of tunnels. With 1,200 employees, the Luftmunitionsanstalt was the largest employer in the region.

On November 20, 1942, when a B-1000 air mine was being assembled in workhouse 4 , an explosion caused the deaths of 43 people (1 fireworker , 40 workers, 2 workers). In memory of the victims of the disaster, a memorial was erected opposite the site of the accident after the war.

In 1944 the institution was relocated to Martinroda in Thuringia . In the course of the relocation, another 35 soldiers were killed in an explosion on October 6, 1944, possibly due to an Allied air raid. With the approach of the Allied troops, extensive stocks of ammunition were sunk in the old arm of the Rhine and are probably still there today.

Remains of the former air ammunition plant can still be found in the Hees today. It is one of the most important military-historical ground monuments from the Second World War in North Rhine-Westphalia and is unique in the Rhineland. The ammunition and detonator warehouses and some warehouses were blown up by the Allies in 1948 and are only preserved today as dilapidated ruins overgrown by trees and scrub. The tunnels are bricked up and renatured. Only the lines and dams remained of the track system. The wells, some workshops and garages, guard house, staff building and the administration building into which today's hospital moved in 1953 are still preserved today. Around 9 hectares are fenced in and were owned by the Federal Armed Forces until 2016. From here the NATO kerosene pipeline was serviced. Today the area is administered by the Federal Forestry Administration Rhein-Weser. When hiking through the local recreation area, you should stay on the trails for the sake of self-preservation. There are still remains of ammunition in the ground.

literature

  • Wolfgang Wegener: The Xanten air ammunition plant. In: LVR - Archeology in Rhineland 2009. Konrad Theiss Verlag GmbH 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2383-5 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The official name was Luftwaffe Munitionsanstalt 2 / VI. In accordance with the handling in the German-language Wikipedia, the place name is used here to differentiate.
  2. ^ Trost, p. 393.
  3. ↑ On the organizational structure of the Muna cf. Trost, pp. 404-406.
  4. ^ Trost, p. 411.
  5. ↑ Trost, p. 394 fn. 1117.
  6. ↑ This refers to the Esbachforst near Gehren, a branch of the Crawinkel air ammunition facility . The plant was expanded by 300 ha due to the delivery from Xanten.
  7. ↑ Report of IABG , S. 283rd