Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy,
StP. Gruppe Villers sur Mer.
A.O.K. 15, K.V.A. G

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255, here I have added over 70 photos, I could have added many more, what I have shown is a very nice walk around, if you wish to spend more time, there are many more bunkers to find, many French from 1939. There is a German tunnel system which is open to the public and although I have never visited when its open, it is very worth a trip.
I have also added a plan of the French batterie, from the Martian report (British Government document) of the German plan of their first batterie which increased the batterie from four to six guns and then the three of four casemates that still exist.

Pete I have to thank you for all your help with plans & details and all the time you spent at the archives.

I will continue updating the page, so keep checking it out.

French garage.

German bunker.

French batterie.

Me.

Camouflage net hook.

Wild life..

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy

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Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

The start of our walk, in 2008 my wife and I stayed in Trouville for a few days and walked the sea front of Deauville to Mont Canisy and then walked around the hill to the western side and entered the batterie position from there.

 

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Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Heers Kusten Batterie Canisy.
Batterie 2./Heers Kusten Artillerie Ableitung 1255.
3 x R679 casemates (+1 under construction).
6 x open emplacements (French) installed in 1938 part of the Maginot extended plan, which included coastal defences.
6 x 134/SK ammunition bunkers.
1 x R501 grouppenunterstand small group bunker.
1 x V2a grouppenunterstand small group bunker.
2 x Vf67 Tobruk for a tank turret.
10 x Vf58c Tobruks.
1 x Vf3a machine gun/observation.
1 x R612 Casemate for an assault gun.
3 x R675 Wasser bunker.
2 x 5cm KwK Ringstands.
2 x Leitstand/SK (Fire control posts).
13 x Vf Field bunkers.
1 x Stollen (Tunnel).
Weapons.
1 x Pz.T. R35 3.7cm KwK 144 (Tank turret).
1 x 2cm Flak 38.
1 x 2cm Flak 38 Vierling (four barrels).
2 x 5cm KwK guns.
6 x 15.5cm K.420 (f) guns.
1 x 10.5cm le.F.H.325 (f) gun.
1 x 7.62cm F.K.39 gun.

R679 casemate.

R134 Ammunition

Flak 38 Vierling (four barrels).

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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The view from Av. du Littoral.

Plan.

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Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

SK Leitstand (Fire Control Post).
SK - Sonderkonstruktionen, special construction, either a one off or modified from the original drawings.
The French used the top of the hill, the Germans preferred to place theirs lower down, presumably to enable them to see under low cloud or as fog is lifting ?

Plan.

View from above.

 

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Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Unknown bunker by the rond point on the Chem. des Enclose. There are a few odd bits, a small garage as well.

Plan.

Ammunition delivery.

Ammunition on a trailer.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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The entrance all the supplies and ammunition would have come up from the railway down in the valley.

Plan.

 

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Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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On the left of the track there are several bunker/huts set into the soft rock.

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Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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Bf66 Ringstand 5cm KwK Ringstand.

Plan.

5cm KwK Ringstand 1947.

Bf66 Ringstand.

Bf66 Ringstand.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

A sea mine and a beach obstacle on display.

On a Normandy beach.

Mine crusher, a boat would hit the wooden post which was hinged and the engaged the mines fuze and then blow up.

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Continuing on into the complex.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Stollen (tunnel) small.
One of the small tunnels along this cliff edge.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Set into the cliff side, this could be the guard room for the main gate.

Guard.

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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The main gate pillar.

Threaded rod.

Plan.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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R501 grouppenunterstand small group bunker.

Plan.

Google view.

R501.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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Plan of an R501 grouppenunterstand, small group bunker.

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Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

R501 grouppenunterstand small group bunker.
This could be an anti-aircraft defence for a machine gun? set on the R501 bunker.

 

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

R501 grouppenunterstand small group bunker.
Tobruk defence.

 

Also observation.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Moving on. The R679 rear of the casemate out in front.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Yellow the original French 1939 batterie position. Red, the added two German positions. White the three + 1under construction casemates of R679 type.

French artillery.

German using French 15.5cm guns.

R679 casemate.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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Ammunition passageway into one of the French gun emplacements.

 

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Initially designed as a gunnery school in 1937, a new battery consisting of four 138 mm guns would protect the Bay of the Seine and the anti-submarine net, which would be reinstalled in 1939. A 1.5 m diameter searchlight would complete the system. Captain Lemonnier, in charge of the coastal sector south of the Seine, received orders to evacuate the site on June 14, 1940, after disabling the guns and searchlight and sinking the metal net across the entrance to Trouville/Deauville harbour to allow ships to leave the port more quickly.

France in the 1930's started to re arm after WW1 and under the Maginot plan, the main line of resistance ran along the Franco/German border, but also French ports in metropolitan France, but also North Africa and many parts of the French colonies. Planned on a grand scale, very little was accomplished as the war came too quickly for fruition of plans.

A British anti submarine net from Scapa Flow, Scotland.

A net being laid across a port in Scotland.

Net hanging from boys.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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French open emplacement for 4 x 138 mm guns.

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Ready ammunition rooms and passage.
Hooks on the wall to hold the cleaning/ramming rods.

Open ringstand.

Cleaning rods.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

The French ringstands were re purposed by the Germans after the French soldiers had damaged their guns. The Germans arrived in Trouville-sur-Mer on 19 June , 1940, the occupying forces gradually became aware of the importance of this exceptional strategic location for defending the entrance to the Seine and the port of Le Havre. Thus, the German army did not begin work on installing a battery on the site until mid-1941, a year after their arrival. Thus, the German army did not begin work on installing a battery on the site until mid-1941, a year after their arrival. Six 155mm guns of French origin (Schneider-St. Chamond) with a maximum range of 18 to 20 km were installed in the centre of the site on circular concrete bunkers. By December 1941, four guns were operational, with the last two in February 1942.
The first batterie that arrived here were the 2./H.K.A.A510.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

6 x 15.5cm K.420 (f) guns of the 2./H.K.A.A510.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

I have to thank Pete for this, he spent hours in the National Archive recording details, this is one which records what was at Mont Canisy before the casemates were built.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

The three R679 casemates and the site of the fourth under construction.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

The three R679 casemates.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

R679 casemates.
The steel plate that was fitted around the top of the embrasure possibly a 731aP1 plate.

Two of the four bolts to hold the steel plates either side of the embrasure.

An R679 casemate showing the two steel plates either side of the gun embrasure used as extra protection.

731aP3 is the steel semi circular plate around the top.

One the nut was still on the thread, these plates may never have been placed here as many steel plates had not arrived in France or was in the stores but not arrived at the emplacements.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

R679 casemates.
Built with formstein blocks outside and inside and filled with steel reinforcement and poured concrete.

Formstein block

 

Formstein.

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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R679 casemates.
The gun room.

 

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Tobruk attached to a bunker.

 

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Bomb or shell crater, the site was bombed and shelled on D-Day by HMS Warspite, Ramillies and HMS Roberts.
Due to Allied bombing, Hitler has now ordered all open emplacements to be Casemated. Three casemates had been built and guns installed. The Battleships fired from of Sword beach a good 35km away (about 22 miles), The Allies were concerned that Vill013 could fire on Sword Beach, but they got that very wrong, the guns 15.5cm K.420(f) gun, a German adaptation of the French 155mm GPF, had a maximum range of approximately 26,500 meters (29,000 yards).. So there were no threat after all.

HMS Roberts.

HMS Warspite.

HMS Ramillies.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

Tobruk & trench systems.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

French FCP re used by the artillery units here.

Range finder, director the type of equipment that may have been used when originally built.

French Poste de Télémétrie.

French naval artillery.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

The second French FCP plan.
1 - Observation turret.
2 - Turret destroyed.
3 - Escape routes.
4 - Ways in and out.
5 - Steps to the west exit.
6 - Technical rooms or plotting rooms.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

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The second French FCP.

Detail plaque and the entrance.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

2 x Vf67 Tobruk for a tank turret.
1 x Pz.T. R35 3.7cm KwK 144 (Tank turret).

Renault R35 tank.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

A metal plate just left lying around, it would have fitted to a machine gun casemate.

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

The view from the Mont, with the SK Fire Control Post arrowed and Le Havre to the right of the picture.

 

 

Vill013 Benerville, H.K.B. Canisy
Batterie 2./H.K.A.A. 1255

Details

© 2013 Richard Drew