Wn130 Fort Joret
Originally a French fort which had fallen into disrepair then the Atlantikwall needed a strong point and the ruin's were turned into WN130.
It may have looked like Le fortin de la guerre des Sept ans at Réthoville.
Vf69 mortar Tobruk.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Wn130 Fort Joret
The car park.
Nr1695 Ringstand.
5cm KwK L/42 is probably the type used here.
Wn130 Fort Joret
This is the site of an old French Fort to keep out the English. There are and were many forts all around the French coast almost a precursor to the Atlantikwall but a few hundred years earlier. There are many remains of fortifications built from the 17th to the 20th century along the coast of la Manche.
It may have looked like Le fortin de la guerre des Sept ans at Réthoville.
Wn130 Fort Joret
At the entrance to the old fort is one of Rommell´s concrete anti-tank anti-shipping defences, now used as a fence post. There are many all around the Normandy Manche coast.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Note the French Military boundary stone marking that they owned the fort and area until quite recently. The mounds of earth/sand are all well camouflaged bunkers of some kind. They probably were part of the old fort and used to hide defences in them.
Boundary stone.
Vf bunker design.
Vf69 mortar Tobruk.
Wn130 Fort Joret
1 x Nr1695 Ringstand.
1 x
5cm KwK gun.
1 x Vf69 mortar Tobruk.
1 x 81mm Mortar.
4 x Vf58c.
4 x S/Vf bunkers.
3 x Sk bunkers.
Vf bunker design.
Nr1695 Ringstand.
Wn130 Fort Joret
From a 1958 air photo I think I have found the four Tobruk´s.
The main defence was the Nr1695 ringstand for a 5cm KwK anti landing/tank gun. An 81mm mortar was also sighted here for all round defence and was a very powerful combination. Then four Tobruk´s covering the four corners. There were also living accommodation in several bunkers made probably by the soldiers stationed here and were just squarish concrete bunkers of one or two rooms.
Vf58c Tobruk.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Plan
German defence plan of the area showing Wn130 to Wn129 and the extensive mine fields MF.70 to MF.67b.
´S´ Mines.
Mine laying.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Possibly aerial bases
The first things we found were two round concrete blocks.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Possibly aerial bases
The only thing we could imagine they could be use as were bases for aerials??
Wn130 Fort Joret
Possibly aerial bases
Wn130 Fort Joret
The layout.
Vf58c Tobruk.
5cm KwK 39 L/42.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Nr19695 KwK ringstand
Ringstand for a 5cm KwK type gun, an ex tank gun. When tanks were up gunned to the 7.5cm & 8.8cm guns, it made the 5cm redundant. But as there were so many of them being used and continued to be made, to use of them in the Atlantikwall was an obvious choice.
There were two types 5cm KwK 39 L/42 & 5cm KwK 39 L/60. The L/60 is a longer barrel & includes a muzzle break. Here I would think it was an earlier L/42 type.
L/42
L/60
Wn130 Fort Joret
Nr19695 KwK ringstand
An octangle bunker with four ammunition niches to store around two wooden boxes of 5cm rounds.
Nr19695 ringstand
These boxes could fit into the niches.
Ammunition.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Nr19695 KwK ringstand
The ringstand socket and hold fast bolts.
The bottom of the gun mounting to fit into the socket.
The gun would be lowered onto the centre pintail.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Nr19695 KwK ringstand
Built by the 40924B possibly a Todt organisation or a RAD group.
Built by the 40924B possibly a Todt organisation or a RAD group.
Wn127 Réthoville Plage, K.V.G.U.Gruppe Barfleur, Normandy also was built by the same workers.
RAD workers.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Nr19695 KwK ringstand
The gun had a 360° rotation and could cover not only the seaward side but also the landward side.
Wn130 Fort Joret
VF bunker
Entrance to a Vf/SK bunker. There were: -
4 x S/Vf bunkers.
3 x Sk bunkers.
Vf bunker in the sand dune.
Wn130 Fort Joret
VF bunker
The entrance in. No steel doors just wooden doors stolen from a local house or farm.
Plan of a wooden bunker door.
Wn130 Fort Joret
VF bunker
The first room.
Wn130 Fort Joret
VF bunker
The second room.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
80/81mm mortar Tobruk with attached observation Tobruk and an ammunition space.
Vf69 mortar Tobruk plan.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
The left hand Tobruk is for the mortar and the right is for an observer and defence machine gun.
8cm Gr.W 34 Mortar.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
The entrance.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
The entrance passage way splitting with the mortar Tobruk on the left and the observation Tobruk on the right..
Vf69 mortar Tobruk plan.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
Ammunition store.
Vf69 mortar Tobruk plan.
80mm Mortar bombs.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
Details
Tobruk Pit 80mm Mortar Mounting No. 974-57.
Markings around the side to help aiming.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
Small ammunition niches around the walls.
The mortar would sit on a central turntable and swivel on the centre pin.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
Note the way the lip of the Tobruk is shaped to allow the mortar shells to be fired easily.
Box of mortar bombs.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
The pintail to sit the mortars base on and it would have a securing pin through the hole to stop it jumping out on recoil.
Safety pin.
Pintail.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
The view into the mortar Tobruk.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
Observation and defence machine gun Tobruk.
Scissor range finder.
Binoculars.
Machine gun.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
The inside.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf69 mortar Tobruk
How to get out.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Tobruk
Vf58c
The only remaining defence Tobruk of the four that were here. I have a sneakie feeling that a bit of archaeology here and maybe two more could be found.
Tobruk Vf58c
Wn130 Fort Joret
Tobruk
Vf58c
The entrance.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Tobruk
Vf58c
Covering the left flank.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Anti-Tank sea wall.
Wn130 Fort Joret
MG Position
A hidden machine gun position.
Wn130 Fort Joret
MG Position
Closer look.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf bunker
Vf bunker under the house.
Bunker.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf bunker
Trench entrance to the bunker.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Vf bunker
The bunker roof.
Wn130 Fort Joret
Small hut
Wn130 Fort Joret
Eisenpfahel
A whole row of Eisenpfahel barbed wire fence posts.
Eisenpfahel barbed wire fence posts.
Eisenpfahel barbed wire fence posts.
Wn130 Fort Joret