L 408 Oostende

[jopaerya]

Hello All

I am looking for the exact place were the L 408 was build in Stützpunktgruppe Oostende ,
according to some information in the the southern part of the Stp.Gr. and from the "Marc"
report ( Resistance fighters) captured German documents near Steene and even 2 X L 408
Who has any aerial photo's of the southern part of Oostende from just after the war or wartime ???

Documents = BaMa and Soma

Regards Jos

[pierrot]

Hello Jos,

You are not the only one who try to solve this mystery, here what I have found about that until now.
There where probably 4 L408's built in Belgium. For 2 of them (Zeebrugge and Wenduine) we have drawing from the inventory of the Engineer Corps of 1946 that confirms the type and the location.
The one in Zeebrugge was most probably the HQ of the 415. Leichte Flak Abteilung.
The one in Wenduine was probably part of the Luftwaffe Radar station Bremse, and was located just next to the L479.

The 2 other L408's are presumed to be located in or around Ostend. 1 inside the city as HQ for the 252. Gem.Flak Abteilung (Stp Immelman). No drawing has been made by the Engineer Corps but the description in the inventory could match with a L408. Sakkers and Houtermans also put a L408 in their map of Ostend in their book "Atlantikwall in Zeeland and Vlaanderen" but I don't know their sources. This bunker was probably destroyed immediatly after the war.
The second one is for me the HQ of the 12.III./4, (12. of the III. Abteilung of the FlakRegiment 4) this Luftwaffe unit was commanding 12 x 150 cm searchlights spread out all around Ostend and a Gliederung of 1943 gives its HQ in Ostend, Steene.
I think I found where this unit was located but strangely this position has not been inventoried in 1946 by the Engineer Corps. I have been there last year and I found back 2 very nicely preserved FA Flakbettung's among other rest brick constructions but on the post-war aerial pictures, I can not find something that could be a L408. This mystery is not yet revealed for me.

On the aerial picture, inside the red circle is what I think to be the HQ of the 12./III./4. To help you situate yourself on the picture, the Nr 40 and 41 are the 2 still existing R630 of the Wn Wolf and the Nr 42 and 43 the 2 still existing R669 of the Stp Kolberg (all in the PzStp Steene)
The second picture shows one of the 2 surviving Flakbettung's (probably of the L serie, but I haven't measure them yet)

Greetings

Pierrot

[jopaerya]

Hello Pierrot

According to the document the L 408 should be inside (Im) the Stp.Gr. Oostende ,
my first thought were between the 2 x 669 and the canal but I have no proof ??

Regards Jos

[pierrot]

Hi Jos,

Between the R669's and the canal, there is only one place I know with an unidentified bunker that still brings a lot of interrogations to me. That is the former position of the 2./252 with its 6 x 8.8cm that was installed there till 1942. Some resistance reports of 1943 and 1944 tell that there is no guns anymore there and that only 1 searchlight and 1 detector are still located there (with detector they mean Hochgerät, I guess). Althought this position was already empty of all gun, they built 2 bunkers there, and one of them looks very much like a Standige regelbau and could be a L408. Here again, very few information can be found in the inventory of 1946. This place is called Konterdam and is located a little bit more to the east of the Stp Iltis.
See the attached post-war picture with the possible L408 indicated by the red arrow.

Greetings

Pierrot

[jopaerya]

Hi Pierrot

Nice work , looks that you have found the long lost L 408 in Stp'. Gr. Oostende .

Thanks and Regards Jos

[jopaerya]

Hi Pierrot

In that area there must also be a 634 according to the book Atlantikwall in Zeeland en Vlaanderen .

Regards Jos

[pierrot]

Hi Jos,

Sometimes a good picture tells more than 2 pages of text...
The answers on your questions are on the aerial picture.

Greetings

Pierrot

[jopaerya]

Thanks Pierrot

I am waiting for your book on the German bunkers in Belgium , I'l be one of the first buyers

Regards Jos

[Simon V.]

Most interesting post! Great aerial pictures. Do these come from the National Geographic Institute? They are pure gold . I've visted Pz.Stp. Steene / Stp. Kolberg two weeks ago, and I'll definitely return after having seen these pictures from the Flak position. I'm doing research on the different Geräte-, Stellungs- and Beute-Batterien along the Belgian coast. Seems a good aerial from the position of the Stellungs-Batterie (K) 308 at Stene would be an interesting thing to order!

Cheers
Simon

[jopaerya]

Here a picture from Evidence in Camera from this L 408(a) in Oostende with the letter D

Regards Jos

[dirk Peeters]

nice Jos
never noticed it in evidence in camera ...
sometimes these books give good info

[pierrot]

Hello Jos and Dirk

The L408 was still present in 1968 on the aerial of NGI.

Pierrot

[dterrier]

Hello

Thereby an aerial of TARA with the same L408.



Dirk T. Belfra