Stp Corbière in Jersey

[jopaerya]

Hi Malcolm

Is there anything that you can't build or duplicate , great job again .

Regards Jos

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi,

Work has been continuing at Stp. Corbiere and the 20 x pre-fused high explosive German produced 10,5 cm Gr 345 (f) shells which were kept in the gun room as 'Sperrmunition' are now in place. Every Jäger casemate along St. Ouens Bay had a designated Sperrfeuerpunkt which was in front of another Wn. and the north facing casemate at Stp. Corbiere's was the beach directly in front of Wn. High Tower.

The ammunition room would have held 960 rounds and there are now various amounts of 5 different types of 10,5 cm shell on display as can be seen below which are,
Yellow & Red French mixed HE shell, 10,5 cm Gr 345 (f)
Black French reduced charge training shell, 10,5 cm Gr (Üb) 345 (f)
Red French shrapnel shell, 10,5 cm Schr 340 (f)
Yellow German produced 10,5 cm Gr 345 (f)
Black German produced 10 cm Pzgr (f)
A BIG thanks to Zünder for his help in the correct shell colours

Regards,
Malcolm

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi all,

Since permission was given for the installation of a mains electricity suppy to the inter connected 633/634 bunkers the hardest part of the work has been the excavation by hand of a trench for the JEC (Jersey Electricity Company) to fit a cable to a meter box oppersite to the 634 entrance door.

Luckily we were able to use the original German electrical cable trench cut through the solid granite for the new electricty cable which is compliant with the JEC cable needing to be 70cm deep. The german trench deepens as it heads towards the drain in front of the 634 entrance door where the pipe that takes the cable into the gas lock would be found. We followed the original cutting up to the point where we needed to dog-leg off to the position we are required to install a meter box.

Regards,
Malcolm

[AvB]

Wow nice work Malcolm!!

[corsair5517]

Is that why the M19 is closed this season, Malcolm?

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi all,

The gun seat for the 10.5cm K 331 (f) in 'K 2' has been replaced!
The design of the missing parts have been copied for examples shown in 3 original photos of this type of gun.

It's great fun to be able to opperate the gun whilst looking through the sight
Work is also in hand the get the traversing fully operational

Is that why the M19 is closed this season, Malcolm?

The M19 is open this year but the interconnected 634 is not due to the above work being undertaken.

Regards,
Malcolm

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi Bunker fans

A historical re-enactment sponsored by Starburst Fireworks in co-operation with the CIOS & Unseen Jeresy took place at Stp. Corbiere in March which 'showed' events that involved Herr Horst Herrmann who was a crew member of the 10.5cm casemate ' K2' in late 1943 which was in 3 parts (search on this forum 'The Soldiers who served at Stp Corbiere' for more info on the actual events ).

The 1st part shows when Horst was larking around in front of 'K2' in late 43 and fell into the barbwire perimiter fence which also contained 'Lichtminen' or 'Light mines' which was a flare set off by a trip wire. When he fell he not only set off 1 flare but loads of them went off from everywhere around the casemate! Horst thought he got away with it, but the Kriegsmarine soldier in the nearby MP2 complained about this 'firework display' and Horst was threatened with a courtmartial for his actions!

The 2nd part is actually firing the 10.5cm gun (the gun does actually fire a round then the other shots seen are from racks infront of the gun). A job Horst only did once but he had previously experienced the 10.5 being fired and at the point of firing the blast wave in the gun room caught him completely by suprise and sent him flying up the corridor on his arse. Much to the dis pleasure of the gun commander! When he did fire the gun by pulling the lanyard, he was so nervous from his first experience that his hands were sweaty and the lanyard slipped through them. The Commander thought that the gun had misfired and ordered everbody out on the double, with Horst then having to explain what happend. He was again threatened with a courtmartial!!!

The 3rd part is fantacy and shows the 10.5cm gun firing along with several soldiers (of the Local TA squadron and members of the C.I. Living History Group) firing automatic weapons out to sea along with the M19 mortar firing ( ) while the Allies zero in on their target with a naval bombardment on the casemate to silence the gun!


Filmed by 'Si' of Unseen Jersey

Other news of note is that the interconnected M19 & 6 Sch. bunkers now on mains electricity
Regards,
Malcolm

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi all,

A couple of updates on work at Stp. Corbiere.

Firstly, it was realised that a horizontal scratch with residual dark coloured paint made in the concrete above the recess in the tunnel at the M19 end was left by a metal 'Schrank' of some kind and this theory was boosted by several noticable scrapes caused by moving a large 'object' on the wall of the ventilation room at the start of the stairwell down to the tunnel (and also some help from Kurt! ). The likely contender was a metal cabinet for holding gas contaminated clothes, and as one was on display in the ventilation room it was man-handled down into the tunnel. It was noted that more scratches on the stairwell walls were caused by the original on its journey in & out of the tunnel which was not an easy job and I have the bruises to show for it!

The first photo below shows the Schrank in the tunnel where the original stood. The 'wet' areas and signs on the wall highlight loads of penciled 'bunker art' which includes the number '14078' which looks like it was a count of 7.92mm ammunition (hence the 'Kastern 88' crates) and also the improved racks for holding trinkwasser bottles, as recalled by local who visited the bunker just after the Liberation.

The second photo shows the crew room of the 634 which is undergoing a major referbishment. Not the position of the lower bunks and the 'Kastern 88' crates. Thanks to some photos coming to light in the CIOS archive that show this room 'as found' in 1984 it was noted that the bunk hooks were still in place (although later removed for use at other restored sites before I came along in 1994) and that each of the lowest bunk hooks were redrilled so that they were raised higher than normally permitted. After a bit of thought as to why this would have been done, it became obvious that this was to allow for the storage of 'Kastern 88' crates holding 7.92mm ammo for the MG34's as there are not many practical places to store the ammo crates within the 634.

Regards,
Malcolm

[AvB]

Good work Malcolm and interesting discoveries. Really nice examples of everyday life in the bunkers during the war and the practical solutions for problems!

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi all,

Many of the members of this forum will be aware of Herr Engelbert Hoppe who was the commander of the M19 bunker at Stp. corbiere from late May 1944 until May 9th 1945 when the Island was Liberated. http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 0&t=153219

The sad news arrived that he passed away on 11th July 2013. He first returned to Jersey in June 2006 tuning up at the M19 bunker (which happened to be open to the public) and stated that he was its last commander during the war! Engelbert had returned to Jersey, and specially La Corbiere, to "Pay tribute to friends passed away long ago, at least finding their graves and to be as near to them as I was when they accepted me as a human being that had become an occupier not of his own making."

The biggest suprise for Engelbert apon his return was his former M19 bunker which he had expected to find as ruins, but found it as if he had just left yesterday! Engelbert was a remarkable person,and it was a privilege to have known him even though it was only for a short time. The kindness he exprerienced from the Le Brocqs (who lived about 50 meters from the M19 bunker during the war) as well as other locals changed his view of life, and it was responsible for the hard, and sometimes difficalt work he personally under took in reconciliation between England and Germany in the immediate post-war period. Engelbert had always regretted that he had not returned to Jersey sooner than he did, but his visits brought many unexpected new friends and the fact that he was received with open arms gave him much pleasure and revitalised him in his final years.

The full story of Engelbert's time on Jersey as well as his life as a POW can be found in the C.I. Occupation Reviews No 35 and 37 which can be obtained from http://www.ciosjersey.org.uk

Regards,
Malcolm

[c_hoff82]

Sad news. It was a good thing you got to know him. RIP.

[M19 MADMAL]

Hi all,

When the Type 634 was constructed, and to make a suitable entrance after cutting/blasting through the rock to bring in the electricity cable, the Germans used sand bags to 'repair' the entrance trench to the bunker. At the same time they also cut out a hollow on each side of the entrance for emplacing an Abwehrflammenwerfer 42 to cover areas of 'dead ground' caused by rock outcrops blocking the 6 Sch. field of fire.

A rifle pit was also built onto one side. It has a partially concreted floor which is thought to have been done to give a firm base for pressing the flamethrower's detonation plunger on. Of note is how the Germans have gone to the effort of cutting out exact sized gaps into the rocks, which the sand bags fit into perfectly

Over the last couple of years work has been on-going on replacing the sand bags (now concrete filled) to return the entrance to its original state as well as re-installing the rifle nest. Two replica Abwehrflammenwerfers were fabricated from various width steel poles and, after using an original to get the correct position etc, again noting the recess in the rock for the flamethrower tank has been cut out to size exactly (see 2 or 3 pages back), the 634 entrance has been re-armed!

Regards,
Malcolm

[wimve]

Malcolm,

As always I am amazed what time and effort you guys put in.
Looks good , as always..

[Heim62]

Congrats Malcom,
you have done and still doing a fantastic job. Keep on like this to preserve the both historic memories of the Island and of the Wall.


RV

[der bunkermann]

Hi malcolm, what do you mean with plunger for activating the abw. Flamm. 42?
I thought it was fired by a igniting a pressure charge under the cap and electric igniter from a switch board?
Please explane cause i'm very curious