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Hanstholm fortress (German: Festung Hanstholm; Danish: Hanstholm batteri) was a large coastal fortification, built by Nazi Germany at Hanstholm in north-western Denmark during World War II. The remains of the fortress is now a World War II museum situated in Thy National Park.
Hanstholm Fortress was part of the "Atlantic Wall" and its main purpose was to seal off the entrance to Skagerrak together with the Vara fortress in Kristiansand, southern Norway, and extensive minefields in Skagerrak. The fortress had a wide range of artillery, from medium-sized 17 cm SK L/40 guns up to four 38 cm S.K.C/34 guns, weighing 110 tons each (the whole gun position weighing 650 tonnes). The guns were protected by 3.5 metres (11 ft) of reinforced concrete and many anti-aircraft guns. The 38 cm guns were similar to the ones fitted to the Bismarck-class battleships and had been intended for the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. However, after Gneisenau was damaged in a bomb raid, a decision was made not to fit the guns to the ship, but to use them instead in fortresses. The guns could fire a 495-kilogram (1,091 lb) projectile 55 kilometres (34 mi), or an 800 kg (1,800 lb) shell 42 km (26 mi). The rate of fire was 1 shot per 1.5 minutes. The fortress was defended by German Naval Artillery Battalion 118.
The 38 cm guns were scrapped in 1951–52. Today, the remains of the fortress is a museum. [1]
| Unit | Equipment |
|---|---|
| 1./M.A.A. 118 | 4x 17 cm 2x 2 cm FlaK 2x 110 cm searchlights 2x 90 cm searchlights (Danish) 2x 7.5 cm field guns (Polish) 6x 2.5 cm FlaK Hotschkiss |
| 2./M.A.A. 118 | 4x 38 cm 6x 7.5 cm field guns 2x 4.7 cm fortress anti-tank guns 5x medium flamethrowers 6x light flamethrowers 3x heavy mortars |
| 1. M.Fl.A. 814 | 4x 10.5 cm FlaK 4x 3.7 cm FlaK 7x 2 cm FlaK |
| 2. M.Fl.A. 814 | 4x 7.5 cm FlaK Vickers |
| 3. M.Fl.A. 814 | 4x 7.5 cm FlaK Vickers |
| 4. M.Fl.A. 814 | 4x 7.5 cm FlaK Vickers |
| 7. M.Fl.A. 814 | 11x 150 cm searchlights 4x 60 cm searchlights |
Hanstholm is a small town and a former island, now elevated area in Thisted municipality of Region Nordjylland, located in northern Denmark. The population of the town is 2,088.
The 40.6 cm SK C/34, sometimes known as the Adolfkanone, was a German naval gun, designed in 1934 by Krupp and originally intended for the early H-class battleships.
The Scharnhorst class was a class of German battleships built immediately prior to World War II. The first capital ships of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, it comprised two vessels: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Scharnhorst was launched first, and is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; they are also referred to as the Gneisenau class in some other sources, as Gneisenau was the first to be laid down and commissioned. They marked the beginning of German naval rearmament after the Treaty of Versailles. The ships were armed with nine 28 cm (11 in) SK C/34 guns in three triple turrets; plans to replace these with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never realized.
The BL 13.5 inch Mk V gun was a British heavy naval gun, introduced in 1912 as the main armament for the new super-dreadnought battleships of the Orion class. The calibre was 13.5 inches (343 mm) and the barrels were 45 calibres long i.e. 607.5 inches. The guns were greatly superior and unrelated to the earlier 13.5-inch (30-calibre) Mk I to Mk IV guns used on the Admiral, Trafalgar and Royal Sovereign classes completed between 1888 and 1896.
The Landkreuzer P. 1000 "Ratte" was a design for a 1000-ton tank to be used by Germany during World War II which may have been proposed by Krupp director Edward Grotte in June 1942, who had already named it "Landkreuzer". Submitted designs and drawings of the vehicle went under the names OKH Auftrag Nr. 30404 and E-30404/1, which were presented in December 1942. The tank was planned to be 1000 tonnes, far heavier than the Panzer VIII "Maus", the heaviest tank ever built. The project gained the approval of Adolf Hitler, who had expressed interest in the development of the tank but was cancelled by Minister of Armaments Albert Speer in early 1943.
Festung Norwegen was the German term for the heavy defence and fortification system of Norway during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany in World War II. Some, including Reichskommissar Josef Terboven, thought that these fortifications would serve effectively as a last perimeter of defense for the Third Reich in the event of Allied victory on the continent. This led to German troops being kept away from mainland Europe, which resulted in a quicker end to the war.
Fjell Fortress is located on the island of Sotra in the former municipality of Fjell in Vestland county, Norway.
The 38 cm SK C/34 naval gun was developed by Germany mid to late 1930s. It armed the Bismarck-class battleships and was planned as the armament of the O-class battlecruisers and the re-armed Scharnhorst-class battleships. Six twin-gun mountings were also sold to the Soviet Union and it was planned to use them on the Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers, however, they were never delivered. Spare guns were used as coastal artillery in Denmark, Norway and France. One gun and one barrel is currently on display at respectively Møvig Fortress outside Kristiansand and Bunkermuseum Hanstholm, Denmark.
The BL 6-inch gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy travelling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British Empire until the 1950s.
The M-19 Maschinengranatwerfer is a German 50 mm mortar which was used during World War II. The mortar was developed in 1934 for the purpose of defending permanent military bases. It had a maximum rate of fire of 120 rounds per minute and a range of 750 metres.
The 3.7 cm SK C/30 was the German Kriegsmarine's primary 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft gun during the Second World War. It was superseded by the fully automatic 3.7 cm FlaK 43 late in the war.
The 15 cm SK C/28 was a German medium-caliber naval gun used during the Second World War. It served as the secondary armament for the Bismarck class and Scharnhorst-class battleships, Deutschland-class cruisers and the Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers. A number of surplus weapons were used as coast-defense guns and eight were adapted to use Army carriages and used as heavy field guns as the 15 cm Schiffskanone C/28 in Mörserlafette
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.
Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included her sister ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935 and launched on 8 December 1936. Completed in May 1938, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans were approved, once construction had started, to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets, but as this would involve a lot of redesign, construction continued with the lower calibre guns. The intent was to make the upgrade in the winter of 1940–41, but the outbreak of World War II stopped this.
Kristiansand Cannon Museum is a museum at Møvik, 8 kilometers west of the town centre of Kristiansand, Norway. The museum has collected authentic equipment from a former military installation.
The Todt Battery, also known as Batterie Todt, was a battery of coastal artillery built by Nazi Germany during World War II, located in the hamlet of Haringzelles, Audinghen, near Cape Gris-Nez, Pas de Calais, France.
Austrått Fort is a disused coastal artillery site located at Austrått in Ørland, Norway. It was constructed in 1942 by the German Wehrmacht to protect the Trondheimsfjord during the German occupation of Norway during World War II. The fort's centrepiece is a triple 28 cm SK C/34 (11-inch) gun turret from the German battleship Gneisenau, which was damaged in Kiel. The three-gun turret weighs 800 tons and was capable of firing 730-pound shells 38 kilometres (24 mi). The last firing took place in 1953 and the fort was decommissioned in 1968. It opened as a museum in 1991.
The Type 24 torpedo boat (also known as the was a group of six torpedo boats built for the Reichsmarine during the 1920s. As part of the renamed Kriegsmarine, the boats made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. One was sunk in an accidental collision shortly before the start of World War II in September 1939 and the others escorted ships and searched for contraband for several months of the war. They played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of April 1940 and resumed their escort duties. After being transferred to France late in the year, the Type 24s started laying their own minefields in the English Channel.
Seeadler was the second of six Type 23 torpedo boats built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Battle of Kristiansand during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Seeadler spent the next couple of years escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and laying minefields herself. She also spent the latter half of 1941 escorting convoys through the Skaggerak. The boat returned to France in 1942 and was one of the escorts for the capital ships sailing from France to Germany through the English Channel in the Channel Dash. Seeadler then helped to escort one commerce raider through the Channel and was sunk by British forces while escorting another blockade runner in May.
Luchs was the fourth of six Type 24 torpedo boats built for the German Navy during the 1920s. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Battle of Kristiansand during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Luchs was sunk in Norwegian waters in July by either a British submarine or a floating mine.
