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| Europe |
| Very Cool - WW2 German Bunker found in Normandy Untouched for 60 yrs |
| 2006-01-24 |
| This is VERY cool - what a find!! A WARTIME bunker used by Nazis to bombard Allied troops during the D-Day landings has been unearthed untouched — after 60 years. British treasure hunter Gary Sterne found the base exactly as it was when German troops fled after the Normandy invasion in June 1944. Gary, 41, said: “It’s truly incredible. Apart from damage to the radio room, the whole place seemed to escape bombing unscathed.” The bunker sprawls over 20 acres and is thought to be the hidden German battery that decimated US soldiers at Omaha Beach, seven miles away. The encampment contains 40 buildings — including a field hospital. Some of the offices contain army papers — as well as radio equipment. Amateur historian Gary found it in dense undergrowth after buying a German army map at a French car boot sale. The dad of two, from Manchester, kept it secret for three years so he could buy the land near the village of Grandcamp-Maisy. He now plans to open it as a tourist attraction this year. |
| Posted by:Yosemite Sam |
| #7 Rex- There were a few bunkers at the old Luftwaffe base at Rechlin, which was their equivalent of Wright Field. However, my understanding is that those bunkers were cleared and demolished after the war. It's still a wonderful thought though that someday someone is going to open one up and find a 190D, or even an Me 262, just waiting. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2006-01-24 20:37 |
| #6 I always enjoy these stories on Page 3 from The Sun. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-24 20:05 |
| #5 Germany is full of such places. They were very big for underground facilities going back to WWI. I've prowled around several in the Stuttgart area. At the end of the war, many just had their blast doors welded shut, for fear of booby traps, so remain in pristine condition. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-01-24 20:02 |
| #4 The dad of two, from Manchester, kept it secret for three years so he could buy the land near the village of Grandcamp-Maisy. He now plans to open it as a tourist attraction this year. A born American. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-01-24 16:48 |
| #3 What an incredible find! The one time I was in Normandy and saw several of the pillboxes and underground passageways, I saw a lot of them had been vandalized with spray paint or were strewn with garbage and--judging from the smell--human waste. To find such a large complex so well preserved would be a military historian's dream! |
| Posted by: Dar 2006-01-24 13:00 |
| #2 Excellent Sam - great find! Mike - I've heard about those aicraft bunkers - weren't some located under E. Berlin airport? Fueled and bombed up (possibly) last I heard. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2006-01-24 12:47 |
| #1 Way, way cool. And there's an outfit called TIGHAR that is investigating the possibility of intact Luftwaffe bunkers - with their aircraft - in Eastern Europe: http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Opsep.html Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2006-01-24 12:24 |