(Pz-Türme) tankturrets on Rs at the Südwall

[erik1939-1945]

hello
wow ! thanks for sharing this infos & pictures !
attached an actual view of the Pz I

greetings
erik R

[herring]

Hello AC,

Did you also find any steel shelters OT-Stahlunterstand typ Z or typ A? (basing on reports they were also delivered to Pyrenees..)

regards
herring

[jory]

Hi all and AC.
Thanks for sharing your maps and infos.
I'm living in Toulouse and i'm studying bunkers since nearly 10 years.
I've nerver heard talking about a panther or any other panzer turret located in my area...
Moreover it's a nonsense:
The "Pyrenees Linie" is far from about 150 km from Toulouse....

Has anyone got more details about it?

Regards


Jory

[erik1939-1945]

hello

i just returned home from a visit at a OT Stahlunterstand for Panther turret at Col de la Perche / Mont Louis.
See attached some images from the todays status.

Does anybody have more infos or locations of this "Pyrenees Linie" - as this site is in the middle of "no-where"...

greetings

erik R
http://www.atlantikwall-research-norway.de

[jopaerya]

Hello Erik

So far as we know there were 6 Panther turrets build in the
Pyrenees Front 3 turrets in the sector 1 Army and 3 in the
sector 19 Army , from the last 2 are known .
The last must be one other that was delibered at the trainstation
Oloron Sainte Marie this is near the road Pau to Zaragosa .????
I have heard from Alain that the 3 turrets in the 1 Army were
delibered at Bayonne trainstation .

Regards Jos

[FKDeane]

Here are two pictures that I took when I visited some years ago.

The information supplied by Jopaerya is correct that six Panther Turrets were installed on the Pyrenees is correct. There are excerpts from a number of German Wartime documents describing their installation in the Panzer Tracts No 21-2 about the Pantherturm by Tom Jentz and Hilary Doyle.

Fred

[FKDeane]

Here are two pictures that I took when I visited some years ago. The first shows the escape hatch at the front of the bunker and the second the concrete block main enterance at the rear left.

The information supplied by Jopaerya is correct that six Panther Turrets were installed on the Pyrenees is correct. There are excerpts from a number of German Wartime documents describing their installation in the Panzer Tracts No 21-2 about the Pantherturm by Tom Jentz and Hilary Doyle.

Fred

[jopaerya]

Hello Fred

Did you found any other O.T.Stahlunterstand with a Pz.turm in the Pyrenaenfront ?
Does somebody know the reason why O.T. Stahlunterstande with a Pz turm and
M.G. Panzernests only build in Defence lines in Italy and the Pyrenaenfront and not
AFAIK not in the Atlantikwall and Südwall ?

Regards Jos

P.S. Thanks for the pictures

[FKDeane]

We were on holiday staying with a friend living in the Perpignan area. I was thrilled even to be brought on two trips from there to see all the fortifications, ancient and modern, from the Mediterranean across as far a Mont Louis. So I only have seen the Panthers at Perthus and Col de Perche. Based on the documentation there must have been another one somewhere in the AOK1 area. Alain Chazette has identified the one in Hendaye so again there must have been two more in AOK19 area. Does anyone know where?

Attached is a photo of the exposed Panther bunker at Perthus and the exact opposite view to that posted by Erik R of the 38t turret at Col de Bailtres? What a pity that someone “stole” the gun, front plate and hatch from this turret, when did this happen? Fortunately Alain Chazette published a photo of the complete turret in his great Atlantikwall-Südwall book. Does anyone more photos of the complete turret?

Fred

[Chazette]

See to

http://sudwall.superforum.fr/ATLANTIKWA ... r-t718.htm

[FKDeane]

Thank you for the link to the superforum.fr. The additional photos posted there are very very interesting.

In the superforum I saw the question about the 887 number on the side of the 38t turret at Co de Balitres - I had wondered about this also.

Hilary Doyle informed me that these are the original turret numbers that were chalked on to the individual armour plates before assembly. You can see 887 on one of the plates in the commander’s cupola. Exposed to the elements the paint lifts off these chalked areas before the rest of the plate helping us with our archaeology efforts. Hilary Doyle also informed me that the same number 887 is stamped in to the metal at several points inside this turret. Unfortunately there were more than one armour manufacturers making these turrets so the number doest not exactly correlate to the number of tanks built. But apparently all the other indicators show that the turret on this bunker was probably a new Pz.Kpfw.38t Ausf.G turret that was never mounted on a tank.

Fred

[erik1939-1945]

hello

now we have a new "info" - there should be a Pz II left :

http://sudwall.superforum.fr/HIER-ET-AU ... 164-60.htm

un petit Panzer II sur la frontière - chercherz pas il est plus là.

according to my french understanding : "a tankturret close to the borderline - have a search and you will find it..."

thanks & greetings

erik R

[S_haule]

Sorry Erik, that mean : "a nice Panzer 2 turret on the border : don't look for it, it's gone"...

[erik1939-1945]

hello

maybe i should have learned MORE french in school !!!
thanks for clearyfing / translating correctly of this !
greetings

erik R