Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
The old fort covered the east side of the port.
Finding these old French fortifications attached or very near the Atlantikwall is great fun. We were very lucky at the time that we could get inside and photograph it. The occupying forces used these fortifications as barracks, storage for ammunition and training.
StP Gâvres
StP Gâvres is made up of four Wn's, L0335 a battery of four casemates. Lo361 a Flak battery covering Lorient. Lo362 an old French fort and Lo112 a defence site for the town.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Originally built in 1695 on the Gâvres peninsular and covering the entrance of the Blavet river into Lorient. The parts we see today are a Corps de Garde crenellated pattern 1846 No.1 type fort.
1 x Casernment.
1 x Vf58c Tobruk.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Built around a Corps de Garde keep with surrounding wall. The centre section is the main fortress keep with a large outer wall.
Corps de Garde.
Floor plan.
King Louis-Phillipe 1773-1850.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
View from the town.
Recent history it was a boys summer camp.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Main Gate with musket slots in the wall.
French artillery.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Above the main gate.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Passageway.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Outer wall. Later latrines and washing area.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
La Batterie de Gavres a Lorient 2 x 19cm Mle 1864-66 guns. I believe there were three French batteries laid out along this front.
Canon de 19 cm long modele 1870 sur affût modèle 1886 PC.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Looking back towards the entrance. Latrines up against the outer wall.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Facade du Corps de Garde.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Facade du Corps de Garde.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Main door.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Main door. The drawbridge mechanism and one of the hooks to hold the door open.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
View through the front door down its length.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
The first room.
Plan of this side.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Part of the outside wall.
Air photo.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Concrete ammunition space.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Earlier stone ammunition space.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Ammunition space.
Ammunition manufacture.
Ammunition space with a small niches either side?
How it may have looked.
How it may have looked.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Steps up to the ramparts.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Roof of the Corps de Garde.
Internal staircase.
Plan showing the internal stair case comes out.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
The view towards Lorient. The red circle is a gun mounting of the same as I have seen around the French coast. When this fort was built Lorient was becoming a major port in France and world wide and needed protecting. This and many other 17th, 18th & 19th century forts were built here.
9.5cm canon de cote de 95 M93.
This type of gun may have been here.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
French Gun Base. There are several gun bases around this fort and they all look like pre-WW2 types.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Ammunition Casemates. The two ammunition casemates and the view out to Ile de Groix.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
More gun bases around here of all sorts of types.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
View Towards Lo335 Batterie.
Green: Tobruk.
Yellow: Fire control bunker.
Red: the four casemates of Lo335 MKB Gavres.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
Port-Louis fort across the inlet with inset: a gun bunker.
The casemate.
Lo362 Fort de Port Puce Gâvres
View towards Fort Talut. Lorient harbour entrance.
Lorient 1800's.
U-boat entering the port of Lorient 1940's.
© 2013 Richard Drew