Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,
K.V.U.Gr Percee, K.V.Gr Bayeux,
KVAH2, AOK7.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

Details

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest, it is situated within walking distance of the port, heading west along the Coast path. A small defence it overlooks the Grand Vey estuary and Utah beach. The defenders would have been on the receiving end of the bomber attack that bombed all the beaches on D-Day morning. They then would have been able to watch the Utah beach landings going in. They may have tried to call down artillery fire from the Maisy batteries, Stp83 and Stp84 if any of the guns survived the onslaught or any of the other gun batteries in field positions behind them.
There was a field batterie, 1./Artillery-Regiment 352 with 4 x 10.5cm guns at Houteville south of Wn81 and this may have escaped any bombing, as they were field art. and not casemated. The Allied intelligence found it hard to find them. Due to fact that they moved around and had very good camouflage.
Several landing craft went astray and headed down past Wn81 and the Americans were captured, one of the senior Officers was carrying a full set of Bigot plans for 'Operation Neptune'. These were very quickly sent to the German HQ and passed on to Rommel’s HQ.
Bigot was the code word for anybody in the know about Overlord/Neptune and if you were in the know you were a Bigot or Bigoted.

This could be the landing craft in question?

10.5cm gun in a camouflaged position.

Observing from a Tobruk.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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1 x Vf double stand for 5cm KwK.
1 x R667 casemate.
1 x Tobruk for a Pz. T (f) tank turret.
2 x Tobruk's Vf58c.
Some small bunkers.
1 x Vf Welblech.
2 x 5cm KwK L/60.
and - Beach defence obstacle.
Mf36 a set of mine fields around the inland side.

The SHM, French post war plan adjusted by me.
1 - R667 casemate.
1a - SK/Doppelschartenstand. (SK - Sonderkonstruktionen)
2 - Tobruks.
2a - Tobruk for a Pz. T (f) tank turret.
5 - Vf unterstand. (Vf. For V (erstärkt) f. (eldmäßig).
6 - Barracks.

R667 casemate for a 5cm KwK L/60 gun.

SK/Doppelschartenstand.

SK/Doppelschartenstand.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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The bombing of this area on D-Day.
A friend of mines father was a Lancaster bomb aimer and was there with q60 Sqn RAF.

Marauders.

Thunderbolts.

Lancaster’s.

Halifax.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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The view to Wn 87 along the coast.

The view towards Grandcamp.

 

 

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Reconnaissance photos of Wn81.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.

Plan.

5cm KwK L/60.

5cm ammunition.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.

Plan.

SK/Doppelschartenstand.

5cm KwK L/60.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.

Plan.

SK/Doppelschartenstand.

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.
The entrance on the left. These Doppelschartenstand seem to be all slightly different, some have an attached Tobruk and this one does not.

Plan.

SK/Doppelschartenstand.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.
A passageway runs in from each side and a connecting door on the left to the gun room.

SK/Doppelschartenstand.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.
Gun room, the gun can fire through one embrasure and then if needed it can spin around through and fire through the other embrasure. So this casemate can cover both lengths of the beach.
This design of casemate was gradually being replaced by R667 casemates.

Shooting west.

 

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.
Gun room.

Shooting east.

 

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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SK/Doppelschartenstand.
Looking towards Grandcamp.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Vf unterstand.
This could be the command bunker for the defence and would have had a field telephone link to their HQ..

Plan.

Plan of a small unterstand.

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Vf unterstand.
(Vf. For V (erstärkt) f. (eldmäßig).

Plan.

 

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Tobruk?
I am not too sure exactly what or where, it was near the Vf bunker and the tank turret Tobruk. All this area has now been cleared and built over.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Tobruk for a Pz. T (f) tank turret.

This is the Tobruk for a Pz. T (f) tank turret in the port at Grandcamp.

Tobruk for a Pz. T (f) tank turret.

Pz. T (f) tank turret.

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Some bits?

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Sea wall, may be an earlier defence.

Plan.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Sea wall, may be an earlier defence.
I have seen these before and they may be a small wall for an anti-tank gun to use earlier in the occupation.

2cm Pak.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Sea wall, may be an earlier defence.
SK/Doppelschartenstand.

Plan.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Tobruk.
There should be two here.

Plan.

Tobruk Bf/VF58c type.

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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R667 casemate for a 5cm KwK L/60.

Plan.

R667 casemate.

 

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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R667 casemate.
Rear entrance.

The embrasure 1944.
Built of formstein concrete block. The inner and outer walls were made of formstein block with steel reinforcement in between and the concrete was poured into the gap, thus doing away with a lot of wooden shuttering and being able to make the casemates/bunkers quicker.

Rear entrance of an R667.

Gun room.

Formstein.

Formstein and reinforcement.

building in formstein.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Beach defence tetrahedra.

Wn78 Grandcamp Maisy (est) tetrahedra.

Beach defences.

Tetrahedra.

Assembling the concrete version.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Beach defences of the Vey, along the shore of the large bay.

A US Signals Corps photographer taking pictures of the defences.

Rommel checking them out.

Assembling the mine post.

Mine laying.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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View from Grandcamp and the coast path.

Wn81 Grandcamp-Maisy ouest,

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Well it was a long day for John, so a beer and what maybe a short sleep?
The Bar at Brasserie 'L Estran' on the west side of the port.

© 2013 Richard Drew