Festung Quiberon 2008

The story of the Hannan, a German ship sunk on July 28th 1944 while communting between Belle ISLE and Quiberon


http://www.ww2f.com/atlantic-naval-conflict/25387-hannan-sunk-july-28th-1944-a.html#post307520

 

Very nice pictures, but a pitty of the grafiti on the walls.

 

Grafitti everywhere I'm afraid, but that's to be expected! Even the Vimoutier Tiger is tagged. It's a shame but I've learned to go beyond this pollution, this is how I can find original German text and engravings that most people would not even see. You'd love it here , I'm sure there are plenty of things buried there.

 

Skipper, very nice photos! This was a great thread to go thru!!

 

Hi Bigfun, good to see you back, don't talk in the past, this thread is only starting, so keep coming back. I will scan more pictures today.

 

Skipper -- Given the condition of the bunkers, and the proximity of the museum, it is surprising that the museum does not do more to protect the bunkers from further vandalism. I have to assume it is due to a lack of funding. You might consider "volunteering" at the museum as an amateur archaeologist (perhaps with others from the forum) and getting permission to clean out the trash and excavate any place that looks promising. It would be time consuming but you would have fun with it, as long as you took it bunker by bunker and got the museum to agree to put a locked cage around the doors to keep out the vandals.

 

OUTSTANDING IDEA!!
I believe that DG has hit on something here!! It's a shame that being state side we cant offer to help, because I would be all about this idea. I found out that we had an M3 range about an hour from here during the war, and I thought about trying to preserve it, went as far as to contact the city council for that town in South Carolina, but noone seemed to know what I was talking about. I've even seen pictures from the range. It's a shame that such things are not kept up, you know? The only evidence that there was ever a training camp in Charlotte for recruits in WWI is a street name.

Listen to DG, he has a really great idea.

 

Nice idea guys, but it has been done before. Bunkers have been secured by the army in the 1940s-1950 and some were used by the army or civilian authorities. Now those who are abandonned and forgotten will probably remain like this for a long time. The main concern of authoritities is how to bury them or how to blow them up. They are way too afraid someone has an accident there. Only one or two are needed as museums in mosts places, because the average tourist does not give adamn about these bunkers. Just look at the main beaches when they go for a swim and don't even notice they are surrounded with bunkers. It would cost a lot of money to clean these and they would be vandalized again soon or late. As to vonlunteering , I live a 600km from the coast , so that would be a bit hard. However there are local associations who are trying to restore a couple of them here there and are doing a great job ,especialy as not many understand why they are spending their weekings cleaning old concrete.

 

another dark room



all kinds of objects on the floor







detail of the door



The exit!

 

Many thanks for such enthusiastic support of my idea . . . if only my wife and kids paid as much attention!!

 

Fortunately, just as the generation that fought WWII was rediscovered in the 90's, I think preservationists will begin to rediscover facilities and relics that can be preserved. Yesterday's "junk" is today's tourist attraction!

 

Great photos Skipper! I wonder how many people walk by these things and wonder what they are! Probably too many! Anyway, keep them coming! I love these threads!

 

Wel besides the big ones near the beaches and the main roads, the average tourist won't even find these. I had the hardest time and I probably missed some. They are often half buried in the dunes or in the middle of a forest, or even underground like most of these. Besides a few youths squatters and WWII , they are mostly forgotten and unknown.

 

exit number 2

After reaching this exit (one of four, including the sealed metal one ) I found othe rfragments of the tracks. Some large sections of rails were still around (the other too but buried under the sand) , but by digging a bit I could confirm their presence. By following these I realised that they made a marge circle around the shell storage bunker with four entrance and the going further , proabably to anothe rbunker and a loading place (sea or road)



exit number 3



exit number 4





tracks between the entrances

 

Nice photo's but do you have any showing the topography of the bay especially the cliffs as previously mentioned, thanx.

v.R

 

Yes I have posted a air map on page one and told this is a peninsula + mentionned that I started at the bottle neck and would go down. I will go down west now and will post some detailled pics of the beaches later. The topography is described , but as a reminder the west coast was only lightly defended compared to the bottleneck because heavy streams and cliffs would make any action almost impossible there.

 

hopefully Skip this is not irrelevant but has the French govt. been put in charge for any type of write-in protection for an area like this without having to meet the needs of a well placed museum ? it appears the place has been let go and is easily used for whatever means by the public.........am I correct in this ?

it would be nice if there was a small locale of dedicated historians that could put to use "our" monies to preserve even a small portion of this area, but .......

 

I returned to the former Festung Quiberon this Summer and got some more impressive pictures from more bunkers that were no accesssible for me last year.

The automatic flamethrower bunker at the entrance. There were 2 of those guarding the entrance of the peninsula and taking any intruder by reverse from both sides. a destroyed vehicle would be enough to block the only access road and infantry did not stand a chance. One bunker was destroyed in the 1960s because it was about to fall from the cliff and fall on the road, but the other is still there. It was hard to get there . I had to find a place to park, cross the road, a railroad, climb the cliff walk to the dense vegetation and avoid the holes (artillery duels and former minefields which had over 38.000 mines!) + swamps , but I eventually made it and could take the following pictures :

 

This tower was hard to find , but I wanted the picture to be able to compare the "now and then". A more modern tower has replaced the older one.