This torpedo battery which is located on the cliffs just outside of Kristiansund was built by the Germans during World War II as part of Hitlers Atlantic wall, an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the German Third Reich in 1942 until 1944 along the western coast of Europe to defend against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland from Great Britain.
It is an interesting and huge structure, partly built with concrete (St, meaning a minimum wall thickness of 2 meters) and partly built into the rock and cliff face itself. The battery was finished in December 1944 but never saw any action before the end of the war, only six months later. After the war it was briefly in use by the Norwegian coastal artillery, but was soon abandoned and stripped down. The armament consisted of Dutch torpedo canon with four 53 cm torpedo tubes and a number of flak-positions.
- First sighting. Flak positions. Obviously getting close 🙂
- The bunker where the torpedoes was loaded into the battery
- The bunker where the torpedoes was loaded into the battery
- Entrance to the bunker
- Better be carefull. That’s a 20 foot drop. Those stairs doesn’t look too inviting either. Better try another route to get in, I guess.
- The evil eye… Let’s see where this leads
- The doorway leading into the bunker blasted into the rock face
- This looks more promising…
- Large hall at the bottom of the stairs. The stairs themselves can be seen in the top middle of the picture.
- Continuing into the facility. Luckily the water isn’t too deep
- Possibly room for ammunition storage. This room is through the doorway of the previous picture, and at the bottom, off to the side of the stairs seen previously
- Launch ramp. The bolt ring where the torpedo tubes used to be can still be seen on the floor
- Launch ramp. The bolt ring where the torpedo tubes used to be can still be seen on the floor
- The room where the torpedo tubes was located, from the front. Stairs up to the leitstand to the left.
- Back outside. Inside a VF bunker?
- The leitstand from the outside
- And, as a parting image… the torpedo battery from the business end
- View from the shoreline just 50 meters down from the battery