676 Excavation

[JTG]

Not in the Channel Islands, at least:

the "standard" interior finishes are bare (but often painted) concrete throughout; battens and hardboard in crew rooms; battens and tongue & groove boarding in crew rooms.

All the formwork was salvaged for re-use.

HTH

John

[StevePowell]

Well all of our hard work in the spent shell room finally piad off today......

Just the one but better than none!

Regards

Steve

[scruffy]

it looks like a rather small/ pipsqueak of a shell , a 37mm? .....you would think the gun would have been much bigger -----and isn't that a Czechoslovakian marking on the head stamp ? they must have been using a captured light artillery piece in that particular bunker ...

[JTG]

Skoda manufactured Pak K 36 (t). **Edit - K - Kasemate

Suggest you review the thread - these were fortress-designed weapons ex-Sudetenland Wall.

See also:

http://bunkersite.com/locations/ci/jers ... lbr-1.html

HTH

John

[JTG]

Wonderful find!!

Wasted in Gy, obviously, so just pop it over to us!

<huge grin>

[Clive Mortimore]

it looks like a rather small/ pipsqueak of a shell , a 37mm? .....you would think the gun would have been much bigger -----and isn't that a Czechoslovakian marking on the head stamp ? they must have been using a captured light artillery piece in that particular bunker ...

The markings indicate it is a cartridge case from a 4 cm kasematový kanon vz.36, correctly identified by JTG as a 4.7 cm Pak K 36 (t) when in German service. see http://en.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/t/18206. Not quite a pipsqueak weapon, even in 1944 it was very effective against allied armour. They were positioned so that they would fire at the side of a tank as it tried to pass through the line of bunkers.

[JTG]

Further to Clive's response:

Scruffy, you should appreciate that these fortress weapons - from the Cz equivalent of the Westwall or Maginot Line were specifically engineered with a matching ball-mount embrasure to accommodate the weapon, its co-axial machine gun and optical sight.

They were renowned for their accuracy!

Specifically emplaced in St-(2m) bunkers for enfilade fire.

John

[M19 MADMAL]

Well all of our hard work in the spent shell room finally piad off today......

Just the one but better than none!

Very nice work. . . . Again!

Are you planning to do a full restoration of the bunker so it looks as it did in the photo below in late 1944 or leave it as found???

BTW. What's the item hanging up on the upper right above the shells that looks like a large funnel???

Regards,
Malcolm

[corsair5517]

The markings indicate it is a cartridge case from a 4 cm kasematový kanon vz.36, correctly identified by JTG as a 4.7 cm Pak K 36 (t) when in German service. see http://en.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/t/18206.

Just to hijack the thread a little... thanks for that link, Clive!!

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi,

A couple of photos of the type of ammunition used by the 4.7cm Pak K 36 (t)
(Originally posted on this forum. . .somewhere :roll: )

The ammunition nearer to the gun crew looks like 4.7 cm Sprgr. Patr. 36 (t) tracer (?) shells while the ones closest to the camera look like 4.7 cm Pzgr. Patr. 36 (t) armour piercing shells

Now. Who's going to start making them!?

Regards,
Malcolm

[StevePowell]

A little update for you all, preservation of the 676 is going well - we have now cleaned out the interior and cleaned up a lot of the internal fittings. The main entrance now benefits from some additional concrete steps and the embrasure is now cleared along with the spent shell room.

The most significant stage so far is the successful completion of the work on the armoured plate which is now fully operational.

If you would like to see this masterpiece in operation please take a look at:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVpma9fqgbQ

Latest photos can be found at:

http://www.steve-powell.co.uk/Festung/W ... index.html

I hope to do another video showing the plate raising and lowering whilst also showing the mechanism inside the bunker in operation.

Watch this space!

Cheers

Steve

[M19 MADMAL]

Again loving it Keep up the good work in Guernsey

And I haven't even seen the shield working locally at Wn. Millbrook yet :roll:

Regards,
Malcolm

[MNO KI]

Thanks Malcolm
Ian has now identified the mystery funnel object as a Sprengpatrone Z34

Regards
Paul

[MNO KI]

A few recent pics from our open evening at the casemate. We were lucky enough to be lent the original range board from this bunker, courtesy of the Underground Hospital. A few pics of this and a view through the periscope.

Regards
Paul

[AvB]

Wow, looking great the board!