Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches),
K.V.U.Gruppe Cherbourg See,
KVR J1, Normandy.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

Details

East of Cherbourg up on a cliff overlooking the small port of Bretteville is this large French fort which was used by the Germans to train anti-aircraft gunners.
Also the French fire control post was used by StP234 Batterie Hamburg’s Hauptleitstand as Peilstand West. A batterie measuring post.

Cherbourg.

French helmets.

 

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Plan of the fort and its annexe.
1 x French Fort.
1 x French Annexe.
1 x A fantastic view.
1 x R612 casemate.
2 x Peilstand. (Measuring Post)
2 x Leitstand. (Control Room).

Leitstand. (Control Room).

Peilstand. (Measuring Post).

Plotting.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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French Forts of 1880-1900.

French pre war ships.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Le Fort de Digosville from the west.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The forts main entrance.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The forts door bell.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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French barrack buildings.

French troops in camp.

French Marines.

 

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Le Fort de Digosville main gate.
Looking over the wall towards the old batterie.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The French ammunition stores remains.

Shell store.

 

French ammunition storage shelves.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The French gun line 1940 240mm guns.

240mm guns.

Shell cases.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The French gun line 1940 240mm guns.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Google image of the main fort showing the five ammunition stores.

9 USAAF 18 June 1945.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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A row of ammunition bunkers with gun emplacements between them.

After the dismantling by a 240mm general, the Luftwaffe settled on the site and transformed it into a Flak base.

I believe the Germans turned the camp into an Anti-Aircraft training camp.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The fire control post of the 240mm batterie. It is accessible to see via the moat.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Fort Digosville was part of the central defence of Cherbourg against the English.
The fort built entirely between 1878 and 1880 at an altitude of 75m, is surrounded by a moat.
It overlooks the village of Bretteville to the east and the Becquet de Tourlaville to the west and embraces the entire Cherbourg harbour to the west up to Cape Levi to the east.
In 1881 the Fort was armed, the main Fort is made up of a barracks of three buildings with two magazines.
An annex battery of 4 guns was built in 1894 a little east of the fort, including an observation post dating from the inter war period with armour plate.
In 1910 this battery will be rebuilt with more modern weapons, concrete bunkers, the front line will be equipped with two large director posts, the Germans will establish a camp there.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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240mm French guns.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Set into the old French gun line is an R612 casemate for a 7.5cm F.K.

R612 casemate plan.

Gun room of an R612.

Firing embrasure for an R612 casemate.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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A zoomed in image of the R612 casemate for a 7.5cm F.K.

7.5cm F.K.

7.5cm F.K.

7.5cm F.K. originally horse artillery.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.
Ammunition stores and gun line.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.
The gun line.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.
One of the gun emplacements and beyond between the tree & post is a path to a fire control post.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.
Fire control post.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The cliff overlooking Point de vue Le Becquet.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.
The inter war (Maginot period) fire control post. Made from what looks like ex warships armoured plate.

Plan of the Peilstands and the Hauptleitstand of Batterie Hamburg.
Wn156 Réthoville is Peilstand Ost (East).
Wn233 Tot de haut, Fermanville the Hauptleitstand.
Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville.


Peilstand - Bearing of measuring post.
Hauptleitstand - Main Control Room.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe.
The inter war (Maginot period) fire control post. Made from what looks like ex warships armoured plate.
But it does look like this FCP could have been used by Batterie Hamburg as a Peilstand or measuring post.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
A very rough cut of the steel plate.

Armoured plate.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
Entering the post.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The computing room.

Plotting room.

Plan.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
One of the doors.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The observation room.

Plan.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The rear wall of the observation room.

Plan.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The observation room.

Plan.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The observation room.

Plan.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The observation room.

Plan.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The observation room.
Set in here would have been a direction finder not dissimilar to the one in the picture. It looks as though it was fixed to the roof and floor. By looking into the eye piece at a target, it could accurately work out the distance to the target.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
Back to the computing room and what look like cabinet fittings on the walls. There would have been phone connections to the guns and HQ plus a large plotting table with maps laid out.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The observation hole through the steel plate. Long bolts to I presume hold the roof on??.
The whole roof is a solid sheet of steel, I think its a piece from a scrapped warships armoured plate.
Inset left: is a view of the roof and there are many holes bored through it which have wooden plugs inserted. (That is a typical naval way of plugging holes). I think the holes were locations for bolting on the plate to a ship.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
A small middle room.

Plan.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
The emergency escape from the computing room.
The escape route out of the bunker, there are several steel rungs set into the concrete as a ladder.

Plan.

Steel ladder.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The Fort annexe fire control post.
View of the old fort and the large piece of steel roof, note there seems to be very little rust and deterioration.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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Down along the coast are many French fort one of the many that ringed the military port of Cherbourg. Built around the 1880's, also updated in the Maginot period.

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

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The view from the FCP to the east.
Red arrow: Wn233 Tot de Haut (f), Pointe du Brule. Another modern (Maginot period) French battery and large FCPost. (to be updated ASP)
Yellow circle: Wn203 Pointe Du Brick.
Blue circle and inset below: The site of a battery of railway guns earlier in the war.
Yellow lines: The course of the old railway line now the D116 road.
Blue arrow: Wn203 Cap Levi a large radar & AA battery.
Green arrow: StP 234 M.K.B. Batterie Hamburg. (to be updated ASP)

Wn241 Le Fort de Digosville (Fort des Roches)

Details

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