Fort Hommet 10.5 cm Coastal Defence Gun Casement Bunker

Geobox|Casemate Bunker
name = Fort Hommet
category = Artillery Casemate


image_caption = 105 mm Coastal Defence Gun Casemate

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symbol =Reichsadler.svg
country = Channel Islands
state = Bailiwick of Guernsey
region = Channel Islands
district = Castel
municipality = Albecq
location = Vazon Bay, West Coast of Guernsey
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material = Reinforced Concrete
established = April 1943
date = Restored and open to the public 6th May 1995
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visitation = Open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 2.00pm to 5.00pm
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footnotes =The Fort Hommet 105 mm coastal defence gun casement bunker is a fully restored gun casemate that was part of "Fortress Guernsey" constructed by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945 [ Souvenir Guide, 105cm Coastal Defence Gun Casemate Bunker, Fort Hommet, Fortress Guernsey project. ] .

Location

The bunker is to be found on the northern side of Vazon Bay and is part of a complex of reinforced concrete fortifications built by the Germans on the site of Fort Hommet. Fort Hommet is on a Headland which lies 3.3 miles north west of St Peter Port [Perry's A4 Professional guide to Guernsey, Perry's Ref: 14A1 ] .

History

Fort Hommet was constructed on the Vazon Bay Headland in the late Napoleonic Wars era as part of the anti-French defences although there had been fortifications recorded here as far back as 1680 [Channel Island Walks, Cicerone Guide, Paddy Dillon Author ISBN 10 1852 8428 8 1 Page 156] . A Martello tower was built on the site in 1804 with further batteries and a barracks being added later. On the 20th of October 1941, after the occupation of the Channel Islands, a directive ordered by Adolf Hitler proclaimed that the Islands would be turned into an impregnable reinforced concrete fortress as part of the Atlantic Wall, and the Organisation Todt constructed fortifications round the coast. As part of these plans this restored casement was one of 21 similar standard constructions built to house 105 mm K331 (f) guns [ Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X ] . Four such casmate were installed at Fort Hommet and make up part of Stützpunkt (Strongpoint) Rotenstein.

1943 Construction

The construction work began in April 1943 after the completion of a railway link between Vazon and St Peter Port which was the essential link needed for the transportation of the vast quantity of materials required to build the fortifications. The schedule of work consisted of initial site excavations followed by a concrete base poured. Wooden shuttering would then be built and steel reinforcing would be installed in the form of cradles. The concrete would then be poured in a continues fashion giving each structure its immense strength. Once cured, the shuttering was removed and the bunker was fitted out. The process was carried out in a matter of weeks.

Liberation

After the liberation of Guernsey in 1945, the fortifications were stripped of all their fixtures and fittings by both the British Army and the islanders. By the late 1940s all the metal fittings including guns and blast doors were removed for their scrap value. Many of the bunkers including this casemate at Fort Hommet, were buried in an attempt to return the coastal landscape to its pre-war condition.

Restoration

As part of Guernsey's fiftieth liberation celebrations, and part of the project Fortess Guernsey, the States of Guernsey had all the 105 mm casemates on the island surveyed with a view to restoring the best example [ [http://www.islandlife.org/forts_gsy.htm| Island Life, Guernsey Forts and Museums, Fortress Guernsey] ] . This casemate was found to be dry and structurally sound although it was just a bare shell. The entrance to the casemate was excavated in April of 1993 and restoration work began.

ee also

*Occupation of the Channel Islands

References