Mortar bunker, Regelbau 633 at Oostende
Outside
view of the 633
This
bunker stands next to the lock at the fishing dock on the eastern bank of
Oostende.
The main
armament was a 5 cm mortar M19 installed under a heavy armoured copula. The mortar had a range from 50 m to 750
m. Manually the mortar could fire 60
rounds per minute. Automatically he
could get 120 rounds. 3900 mortar bombs
were stored in the ammunition room. The
bombs were loaded in clips in the mortar.
The mortar made its appearance in the bunkers of the Oder-Warthe-Bogen
Stellung at the former German-Polish border (now Poland).
The
purpose of this type of bunker was the defence of the beaches and strongpoints
(Stützpunkten).
In this
case, two 633 bunkers took care of the defence of the harbour of Oostende, one
of which remains actually there today. By arcing fire it was able to destroy
resistance nests which could not be hit by direct fire from MG and/or PAK
casemates. Therefore it was not necessary for this type of bunker to be in the
front-line and one will always find them behind the main line. The bunker
received its co-ordinates from front-line observers and observation posts as
well as from its own periscope.
The
bunker has one entrance, a gaslock, crew-room (3) with emergency exit, a close
defence room, an ammunition room (2)
where the
filters also hung, a workshop (1) and the combat-room (4). In the workshop the
crew prepared, primed and stored the mortar bombs. The combat room had two
floors, on the groundfloor one found the ammunition hoist and the primed mortar
bombs. The mortar gun was installed on the upper floor.
Outside
and inside view of the copula for the mortar.
How
it looks like when the mortar should be in place. (thanks to Stichting Bunkerbehoud)
A
remaining M19 in Denmark. (thanks to
Dan Mouritzen)
The bunker had a total crew of fourteen
men. The mortar was served by an aimer
(copula commander), a loader and a marksman. The second in command stood in the
workshop with three soldiers.
All doors are still present and there are
still some technical texts on the walls. Unfortunately the mortar and its
equipment has gone.
The Simon Stevinstichting presented a
request to the Ministry of Monuments & Landscapes for classification of the
bunkers for their historical and unique value.
Luc Martens, Flemish minister for culture,
family and welfare, signed in 1998 the decree for the classification .
Next to the 633, one see a 51a, probably for
the guard of the lock.
Some other 633 mortar bunkers :
Breskens
(NL)
Stp
Martha at Le Platier. Notice the
periscope SR9 behind the copula of the mortar.
Stp
Fransozenkraut at le Mont Lambert near Boulogne. The copula has been removed and you see only the roof of the 633.
Stp
Corbičre (Jersey, Channel Islands). The
bunker is linked with a 634 and is under restoration by CIOS.
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