Batterie Mirus, Guernsey

Batterie Mirus

Details

The island was ringed with heavy batteries, three Naval (Abteilung 604) & eight Army (9 Heeres Kusten Artillerie). This one is battery Mirus.
4 x 30.5cm SKK/14 (r) gun.
3 x S448a ammunition depots.
1  x M120 fire control post.

We visited in October 2000 and my camera was an early digital, very bad quality and low battery life. Things have moved on since then.

View.

Elevation.

Plan.

S448a ammunition depots.

M120 fire control post elevation.

M120 fire control post plan.

Batterie Mirus

Details

Batterie Mirus

Details

Due to the Channel Island being British, Hitler presumed that Winston Churchill would insist that the British re taking the islands back as quickly as possible. Churchill’s thoughts on that idea, were that if Britain sent a task force:
1. Would it be able to achieve its task.
2. How many British (Islanders) would needlessly loose their lives in an all out battle.
So the Islands were left in the hands of Hitler and the people struggled through as best they could. Please read books about the Islands in occupation, as its a very good story. The Germans on the other hand decided to make the Islands a fortress, ploughing in millions of Deutsch marks, tons of concrete & steel and also thousands of men that could have been used in many other battle fronts.

Luftwaffe Officer talking to a local Policeman.

Vigilant to the end, April 1945.

Relaxing at barracks.

Batterie Mirus

Details

Built by the Organization Todt at St. Saviour. The battery was called Battery Mirus, named after a German Naval Commander, Kaptain Mirus, who was killed when the RAF attacked his boat whilst returning from Alderney.
A plan of 1943 of all the major defences. Showing the position of the batterie on the island, the guns were in open emplacements and could turn 360° and engage targets up to 51km (31.5 miles).

Range, this picture is taken from 'Island Fortress'. A Blog on Channel Islands history.

Batterie Mirus

Details

4 x 30.5cm k14 (r) guns. The red square is the one we entered, green is the range finder bunker.

History of the 30.5cm guns at the Mirus Battery
The battleship "Imperator Alexandr Trety" was launched at Nicolaieff on 15th April I914 and commissioned in the spring of 1917. The vessel was part of the Black Sea Fleet and displaced 27,300 tons. After the Russian Revolution the battleship was renamed "Volya".
Early in 1918, after the German Crimean campaign and in accordance with the terms of a German-Russian treaty, thy "Volya" was placed at the disposal of the German Navy for police duties in the Black Sea. The Russians, however, retained ultimate ownership of the vessel.
In 1918 the "Volya" made test voyages in the Black Sea under German command, but she was not officially commissioned again.
Following the collapse of Bulgaria and Turkey, British, French and Italian units entered the Black Sea. Germany duly handed the "Volya" back to the Russians.
When Wrangel formed his White Army, all Russian warships of the Black Sea Fleet were incorporated into the White Navy, The "Volya" became its flagship and was given the name "General Alekseyev".

When the Whites had to evacuate the Crimea in November 1920, they took every ship that could be manned with them, including tie "General Alekseyev", which was then transferred to Bizerta.
She remained there until 1935, when she was broken up. As her guns were still usable, they were stored at the local arsenal (Bizerta Naval Dockyard),
In the winter of '39-'40, the Allies pledged material assistance to the Finns in combating the Soviets, so 4 of the 12 guns were loaded on board the steamer "Nina" for shipment to north Finland via Norway. En route, the vessel was intercepted by the German Navy and impounded in a Norwegian harbour. The guns were subsequently reconditioned by Krupp and installed on the island of Guernsey.
Taken from the book 'Festung Guernsey' and the official history.

"Imperator Alexandr Trety"

One of the guns with its turret in place.

'Festung Guernsey'.

 

Batterie Mirus

Details

Plan of the site..

2cm Flak.

Machine gun defence.

Barracks.

Batterie Mirus

Details

S448a ammunition depot, a huge bunker with a drive through entrance here, a railway ], narrow gauge passing through as well. To transport shells in and out.

Shell store in the ammunition depot. Yellow square i noticed there was a Tilly lamp paraffin fuelled.

S448a ammunition depots.

Google photo from above..

Delivery on a trailer.

Batterie Mirus

Details

This is is an S231cammunition depot set in a massive gun position in Southern Brittany at Va300 Plouharnel M.K.B.Hella.
In the S231 you see the railway line running into the bunker.

The entrances would have steel doors and above the door a steel shutter where the overhead rail went.

S231 ammunition depots Va300 Plouharnel M.K.B.Hella.

S448 ammunition depots Mirus.

 

Batterie Mirus

Details

A plan of the emplacement, a massive arrangement of rooms for barracks, ammunition, electrical generators, command and control, repair section, showers/toilets and a lot more.
Mirus was being built at the same time as Batterie Lindemann in K.V.A. 'C'. Nord Pas de Calais. But was completely different, Lindemann was i casemates, huge ones. Mirus was in Geschützstellung, open emplacements with a 306° turning circle. The emplacement design resembled the S169 of Batterie Vara in Norway. Allowing access to ammunition magazines. The outer walls were 1.5m and most of the roof, but 2.5m for the ammunition and engine house. The design date of Mirus was November 1941.

  1 - Gas lock.
  3 - Crew rooms.
10 - Gun emplacement.
11 - Shell rooms.
12 - Cartridge rooms.
21 - Computing room.
22 - Ventilation.
24 - Water tanks.
29 - Store room.
39 - Officers.
43 - Engine room.
50 - Fuel.
58 - Latrines and wash rooms.
63 - Command room.
70 - Gear & Fuel.
102 - Sinks.

Ammunition.

 

 

Batterie Mirus

Details

This is one of two entrances for ammunition, it would have been delivered by lorry from the S448a ammunition depots. There were three depots 24m x 20m in size, built surprisingly above ground. I know one still exists.

Entrance..

Powder charge.

 

Batterie Mirus

Details

The open ringstand where the turret fitted.

Turret.

The breach of the gun.

Lowering the gun in place.

Batterie Mirus

Details

Looking down into the centre of the emplacement where the turret fitted, all cabling and access to the gun via a small tunnel from inside the bunker and carried all the power, telephone, etc. needed for the gun to be used in action.

Batterie Vara, Norway.

Gun turntable and tunnel access.

Plan.

Batterie Mirus

Details

There were two ammunition entrances each side and two crew entrance, one at the lower level and this one from the roof level down steps.

Marines.

 

Batterie Mirus

Details

This is where the ammunition would have come from the ammunition slots and onto trolleys to be trundled underneath the rear of the turret, then winched up onto the gun platform and into the breach.

 

 

 

Batterie Mirus

Details

This must have been the cartridge room?
I had a small amount of battery life and minimal storage on my camera then? so only two pictures inside.

The engine room, where the power to run all the lighting and power for the gun would be generated.

Plan.

Engine room yellow on plan.

Batterie Mirus

Details

Red arrow on the plan below looks to be where I was in 2000.

Powder bags, made usually of cotton or even silk and hold Cordite charge. To increase the range of a gun, more bags can be added t the charge to push the shell further.

Plan.

Shell store.

Loading ammunition into a railway gun, the same sort of loading would have happened here.

Batterie Mirus

Details

Batterie Mirus

Details

© 2013 Richard Drew