ID of radar/radio tower location near Cherbourg?

[jpz4]

Hello everybody,
Sorry for asking a question that may already be covered in several other posts, but I'm not familiar with this subject at all and I do have few quite specific questions. Any thoughts are appreciated.

I recently acquired a photograph (see a fragment below) and I'm trying to figure out the location. The caption on the back suggests it is close to Cherbourg, or at least on the northern half of the Cotentin. The caption also mentions "Les Chefs" what seems to be the location. Unfortunately I've unable to find a name that comes even close.
So now I'm looking into other ways to come up with an identification. The best clue is a steel tower in the background. Another photograph of the same location suggests there could also be a second tower. This tower appears to be either square or triangular. We can see where a support cable is attached. I'm presuming this is a radio (or perhaps a radar) tower, but I know next to nothing about these installations..... So don't blame this fool. I certainly could use some help

Simply put my questions are these:
- What kind of a construction is this? Its function and country of origin (German, French, US?)
- Based on this id, is there anything we can say about a likely location on the northern part of the Cotentin?

Thank you for your help,
Niels

[moonraker]

hello,
with a piece of photo can not give a precise location! it is possible that this photo was taken in "Cotentin" since all along the north coast stations and listening post is installed by the Germans.

[jpz4]

sorry moonraker,
Unfortunately this tower is the only distinguishing feature on the photograph. The center of the photopgrah is a CharB2, that if the caption is right, should belong to Pz.Abt.206. However, that still does not say the location is east or west of Cherbourg or even south. The rest shows just a field and some hedgerows, no buildings or anything else distinctive. You can't even see what's behind the next hedgerow (no high ground or anything).
This tower is in the background at the far right of the photograph and I already enhanched and enlarged it to make it a bit more clear. Together with this mysterious 'Les Chefs' location it's all the information I got.

[moonraker]

hello jpz4,
with any reservation there is a place called "bridge head" in the Cotentin area is on there were many battle tanks hedge and was just being in that place few km around??

[jpz4]

moonraker, thank you for your thoughts.
I'm very sorry, but I'm not sure if I understand you correctly. I get the feeling a bit of your message is "lost in translation". Could you tell me what you mean with the word "hedge" and "was just being in that place few km around"? You could also write your previous message in french and I should be able to understand it.

This is what I get so far. Please let me know if I'm correct:

"With some reservations, there is a place [town] in Normandy called bridge head [Chef du Pont] and many tanks were collected [in a collection point] a couple of km from there [there = Chef-du-pont]."

So am I right or not? If I am correct, you might be interested in this article I wrote: http://www.network54.com/Forum/571595/t ... 215773424/

However, the photograph shows just a single tank and the terrain is different from the vehicle dump. I still believe the photograph was taken further to the north. And your information on the listening stations also points to that.

I will keep looking for a location called "Les Chefs" or something similar.

[jopaerya]

Hello Niels

I have been looking for the place but didn't find any clue's on the Les Chefs , it's hard to see but to me
it does not look like a radar more like a radio antenna . I will try to find some more information .

Regards Jos

P.S. a compliment for your article

[jpz4]

Thanks for your efforts Jos.
I believe you're probably right about this being a radio tower instead of a radar (but what do I know, lol). I have a suspicion "Les Chefs", may not be an actual place, but merely a name given to it by locals. Similar to "Le Chaos" for the battery at Longues sur Mer.... Good luck finding it....

So are there any known locations for German radio towers on the Northern coast of the Cotentin (including the defensive ring around Cherbourg)?

Niels

PS Thanks for your compliments

[jopaerya]

Hi Niels

The only major radio bunker I know in Cherbourg near the defensive ring is a Les Terres Rouges , a lot
of old names like Les Chefs could be now have dissapairs under housing estate's or big shopping mole's .

Regards Jos

[jpz4]

Because we were getting a litle stuck, I decided to ban all thoughts from my mind and give start over again.
After a fairly thorough search through the sources available to me, I've developed a theory, which interestingly enough also incorporates Les Terres Rouge.
This is my theory at the moment:
- "Les Chefs" may actually be a mistake, being Les Chèvres instead.
- On 21 June a company of Pz.Abt.206 was send from KG Keil (Flottemanville-Hague) to KG Köhn (this could explain the CharB1bis)
- That KG defended the southern approaches to Cherboug, including the positions between Les Chèvres and Les Terres Rouge.
- fighting at Les Chèvres was 313.Inf.Reg. This regiment specifically pointed out to a patrol that: "two radio towers are dominant guide features on the terrain" The men were to use the Trotebec(?) stream as a guide north. That would have put them in an area between Les Chèvres and Les Terres Rouge.

So what do you guys think? Plausible theory or not?

That may also depend on this type of radio tower and I need some thoughts on that. The book that came up with the quotation illustrates this story with a photograph of two large, square towers + a smaller tower looking very similar to the one I posted (although it does not specifically state it shows the location of the story).
Although the two bigger towers are not visible on my photograph it may be due to the angle or perhaps there was a second smaller tower at this location (not on the photograph in the book) as well. At least the photographs of this Char suggest there were two towers. And from what I've been seeing, two similar radio towers at a single location is not uncommon.

[moonraker]

hi jpz 4,

here the photograh the bunker "the terres rouges" at "les chèvres" now destroy !!
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 9&start=15

[moonraker]

hello all,
was quite possible that jos is in truth, in "the red earth bunkers" had served in the radio transmission!

[kstdk]

Hello

It could be this one, then? (Look in the background of photo)

Picture from: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA ... ah-10.html

See at the bottom of the above page-link.

Regards
Kurt
kstdk

[stril]

Is it possible to see the rest of the picture ?
regards
stril

[jpz4]

Les terres rouges in ww2 and today. The RN13 is at the bottom, and heads north/north-west at this point. So we're looking basically to the east here. For larger resolution click here, here and here.

[jpz4]

The plot thickens.
Especially for kstdk (but also for everybody else): Archives Normandy