StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Heeres Küsten Batterie - Army Coastal Batterie comprising of four casemates with 10.5cm K.331(f) guns. These were captured French(f) field guns.
10.5cm K.331(f) horse artillery
10.5cm K.331(f) guns set into the base of a casemate.
10.5cm K.331(f) gun inside a casemate.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Air photo 1943
This shows the original open emplacements for horse artillery guns. It shows up a least three of them and the four casemates are under construction. Behind are huts for accommodation and a kitchen.
2./H.K.A.R.1262. (Heeres Küsten Artillery Regiment)
4 x R671 casemates.
1 x Leitstand/SK.
6 x SK/Vf ammunition stores.
4 x 10.5cm K.331(f) guns.
Huts for accommodation and
kitchens.
10.5cm horse artillery batterie.
10.5cm horse artillery batterie.
Information
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Plan today with the four casemates, ammunition stores, fire control post, accommodation and a half circle of defensive machine guns. Most can be found today, IF there are no horses in the field.
R671 casemate plan.
R671 casemate elevation.
Ammunition.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Plan of the German positions around Vauville.
10.5cm K.331(f) gun in an original open emplacement.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Camp Maneyrol the link will take you to the history of the aerodrome.
Vauville was started by Alexis Maneyrol and the builder Louis Peyret in January 1923. Immediately, flights were organized which enabled several world records to be broken.
Today.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
The batterie covered the beach Wn's of Wn315 & Wn317. The guns had an effective range of 12km/7.45miles.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
The entrance to the Batterie position. 1940 the German army arrived in Cherbourg and start gradually looking at defending the beaches. First infantry would started to dig the odd trench and lay a few mines. By 1942/43 things had become more serious, artillery had been brought in and set in field positions. Casemates started to appear on the beaches and many more mines and barbed wire was laid. Allied aerial bombing started to damage open gun emplacements so Hitler decided to have all artillery placed under concrete. 1943 was a year of bunker construction and here four R671 casemates were constructed. The old fire control post was still being used as were the ammunition niches that had served the open emplacements.
10.5cm horse artillery.
10.5cm horse artillery.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Set in several of the hedges are ammunition niches, small concrete spaces to hold dispersed ammunition.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Leitstand/SK.
Leitstand (Fire control post) SK Sonder Konstruction (special construction). The Leitstand was originally built for the guns that were in open emplacements. Its an open viewing platform with a room underneath.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Leitstand/SK.
A 1945 photo taken for the French military and held at SHM.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Leitstand/SK.
A simple concrete structure made probably by the artillery men stationed here. Crude wood shuttering, a steel ladder to the observation room. The two front windows could be used as machine gun embrasures.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Leitstand/SK.
The original galvanise iron ladder handles still in place. A shelf for working on and a niche/cupboard for keeping plotting instruments.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
The small integral shelf.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
The view of the batterie.
SHM plan of the batterie.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Leitstand/SK.
This picture in 2009 shows the two window/embrasures that could double as defence with a machine gun or rifle.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Leitstand/SK.
Looking inside.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Casemate R671
Turm 4
Casemate R671 plan.
Elevation of the casemate.
In an R671 the gun was removed from its Lafette (carriage) and sat on a ring mount inside the casemate.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Casemate R671
Turm 4 rear entrance door.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Casemate R671
The door frame and heavy hinges of the 434P01 type door.
434P01 door
The exact numbers of the left and right 434P01 doors.
Hinge
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Casemate R671
In an R671 the gun was removed from its Lafette (carriage) and sat on a ring mount inside the casemate.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Casemate R671
Looking from above, the shapes of the roof are to support earth and grass to help with camouflage. The two wings, earth can be heaped up and make a continuous mound over the bunker.
Earth heaped up on both sides.
Earth n the roof.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Casemate R671
Turm 4
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Casemate R671
Turm 4
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
An Allied plan of the batterie.
Green - open emplacements.
Red - casemates.
The Allies thought the batterie would be 15.5cm when they were actually only 10.5cm.
10.5cm K.331(f) gun in an original open emplacement.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Turms 3, 2 & 1.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
1945 pictures.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
In this casemate it looks as though the gun mounting is still in place but the barrel removed.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
John wondering around one of the open emplacement ammunition niches.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
The two open emplacements and the ammunition niches in the field.
Plan.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Ammunition niche.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Another niche with an interesting cover.
A box of 10.5cm ammunition.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
An interesting cover.
Cordite bags.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
An interesting cover.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Ammunition room.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Ammunition room.
Information
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Ammunition room.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Ammunition niche with the door missing.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Barracks at the bottom of the field.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.
Barracks at the bottom of the field.
StP391 Biville le Petit Thot H.K.B.