Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
The large deep water port of Brest was large enough to receive battle ships like the Tirpitz. Also a U-boat pen was constructed inside the harbour. That meant that the whole area around the entrance to the Rade de Brest had to be defended. After the attack on the lock gate at St Nazaire the defence was again increased. R305 MKB Von Holtzendorf uses the French fire control post (PDT).
U-boat pens at Brest.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
We are now at the yellow square where an older French fire control post is located, it directed a battery of the original fortress guns, four 16.47cm set in concrete open emplacements.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Built up on a mound of earth to look over the pre-war French battery of 4 x 16.47 cm Mle 1893/1896 guns.
SUFFREN 12,700t, 18 knots, had 10-16.47cm guns, launched 1899. Gives an idea what they may have looked like.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Side view of the FCP.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Range Finder Room Poste de Télémétrie.
You can see the rear door.
Plan of the batterie.
The rear entrance into the range finding room.
French Poste de Télémétrie.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Range Finder Room Poste de Télémétrie.
Range finder, director the type of equipment that may have been used when originally built.
French military boundary stone.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Range Finder Room Poste de Télémétrie. It just shows how small these rooms are.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Range Finder Room Poste de Télémétrie. Looking at the rear of the room and the door out.
Wall with holes where some form of fittings would have been
German bunker wiring.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
French Naval Lynx.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Range Finder Room Poste de Télémétrie.
The view that would have been out to sea when the original French & also the earlier German open emplacements of four 16.47cm guns, but when they them replaced with four SK casemates and 15cm S.K.C/28 guns into an earth bank it made this one redundant and a new FCP was planned but not built??
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Fire Control Steel Roof.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
In use by the Germans.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Fire Control Room.
The fire control room is the upper aperture.
Hole in the steel roof may have had a periscope?
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
View from the Range Finder Room
The four arrows show the positions of the four niche's?
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
The Four Niche's
They look like Tobruk's without the machine gun ringstand. They could be ammunition niches for the Flak batterie or small arms ammunition for an M.G. anti -aircraft guns.
2nd niche.
3rd niche.
4th niche.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
Road to the batterie
There seems to be a problem ahead!
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
MKB Von Holtzendorf.
The first casemate showing up.
Re305, Les Respects early French fire control post.
MKB 'Von Holtzendorf'.
Plan of the area and also a mark in the earth where an M145 ammunition depot was/is sited. It may have been removed.
Plan.
M145 ammunition depot.
Inside an M145 showing the size of the rooms.
© 2013 Richard Drew