Swallow IV

Schwalbe IV was an underground high-pressure hydrogenation plant planned in the Second World War near Heggen near Finnentrop for the production of aviation and vehicle gasoline , which was to be operated by Gelsenberg Petrol AG as part of the mineral oil safety plan as an underground relocation . The project was never completed, but parts of the tunnel system (code name “Selenite”) have been preserved to this day.

location

The "Selenit" gallery is located below the Hohe Ley . The construction work went largely unnoticed, as there was already a quarry with a lime works and a rail connection to the Finnentrop – Freudenberg railway line .

history

A production area of ​​25,000 square meters was planned, divided into 16 parallel tunnels that were to be connected by two cross tunnels. An exit was planned exactly to the west on the other side of the ridge, in a quarry in the Lennetal near Borghausen , which corresponds to a tunnel length of approx. 1.4 kilometers. In stage 1, 7,500 tonnes of coal tar or 12,000 tonnes of lignite tar should be processed per month, in stage 2, 12,000 tonnes of coal tar or 12,000 tonnes of lignite tar.

Construction began in October 1944, just six months later; it was stopped again in April 1945, when the tunnels were completed at around 40 percent. After the lime works was shut down in 1966, the tunnel mouth holes were closed by pouring earth and rock material, so that there is no longer any access today. At least three tunnels have been preserved, the longest of which is around 300 meters long, as well as a cross tunnel.

Web links

Detailed report with photos Coordinates: 51 ° 9 ′ 13.1 ″  N , 7 ° 58 ′ 0.5 ″  E