Bomvrij militair object, Op terrein van vliegveld Valkenburg Valkenburg (Katwijk 28)

English translation

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Description

Introduction

Light ANTI-AIRCRAFT POSITION consisting of 18 works, to the south of Katwijk (FLAK position; Bureau Registratie Verdedigingswerken Valkenburg, position C, drawing 407 I), built by the German occupier and to be dated from late 1941 through summer 1942, situated on the south-eastern side of the former Valkenburg airfield in a marshy, planted in 1990-1991, shrub woodland. The FLAK position was built by the Luftwaffe after the conquest of Valkenburg airfield (May 1940) to protect the conquered airfield. Typologically and organisationally, the bunkers are to be classified among the bunker series used by the "Luftgaukommando Holland" for the defence of the coast: Küver bunkers, namely personnel bunkers of the 400 series. The protection and development of airbases and surveillance of the approach routes to German targets was initially the Luftwaffe's primary objective. The completion of Valkenburg airfield - as a pivot in the organisation of attacks on England - fell under this objective.

From March 1941 onwards, cooperation between the three different branches of the armed forces was more strongly coordinated. From December, work began on the "Neue Westwall", which was intended to prevent a two-front war threatened by the invasion of Russia. Given the occurrence of Küver bunkers in the position, this already played a role in the Neue Westwall. From 13 August 1942, initial plans are documented for the fortification of the "Atlantikwall", the successor to the aforementioned Neue Westwall, which would ultimately run from the Bay of Biscay to Norway.

Links in the Atlantikwall were the so-called Stützpunktgruppen. The light anti-aircraft position forms part of the Stützpunktgruppe Katwijk, one of initially (1942) seven Stützpunktgruppen in the Netherlands - a number that had risen to twelve by 1944. The Stützpunktgruppe Katwijk consisted of a sea front, a land front and air defence. The terrain covered approximately 10 by 5 kilometres and included, among other things, Valkenburg airfield, two coastal batteries and a heavy anti-aircraft battery. Valkenburg airfield was incorporated in autumn 1942 into the Stützpunktgruppe Katwijk and thereby into the defence structure of the Atlantikwall. Thus the form of this Stützpunktgruppe was partly determined by the somewhat inland airfield. The existing defence clusters for the airfield that the Luftwaffe had established were incorporated into the Stützpunktgruppe.

The increasing threat of a British air raid led to the destruction of landing areas between sea and land fronts to prevent enemy landings. A corresponding order was given on 22 March 1944 by Field Marshal Rommel. The importance of Valkenburg airfield to the Luftwaffe had been slight since 1943 and was thereby made effectively negligible. From April 1945, the airfield received a new purpose as a drop location for food parcels in Operation Manna.

In various respects, the light Flak position did not comply with the regulations as issued from September 1942, for example the wall thicknesses (feldmässiger Ausbau FA and verstärkt feldmässiger Ausbau VF), the open positioning of guns and the failure to place entrances below ground level to prevent oil from incendiary bombs entering. In 1943, existing installations that did not sufficiently comply with the guidelines were to be modernised ("Richtlinien für den ständigen Ausbau von Flakstellungen" dated 17 April 1942). On the other hand, attention was also drawn to the importance of numerous Flak positions.

Works of the Luftwaffe are relatively scarce in the Netherlands because the navy predominated. The lighter structures (FA and VF) have not yet been fully inventoried and moreover are more vulnerable than the heavy, concrete works. The Flak positions of the Luftwaffe at the time of the Neue Westwall distinguish themselves from the marine Flak positions in that they were always built on top of a personnel shelter (Unterstand), rather than beside it. This also applies to this Flak position. Superstructure (bedding) and substructure did not always connect seamlessly to one another. The open beddings are four-sided (in this case) or eight-sided, rather than round or eight-sided with the marine.

The gun belonging in the FLAK beddings has not been preserved. The equipment with stoves, telecommunications equipment and other fittings has also not been preserved. However, original doors and window frames have been retained in various bunkers. It is possible that entire windows are preserved behind boarding.

The protection extends to all immovable property: exterior and interior.

Description

The FLAK position consists of 18 works, including a trench. The works with BRV nos. C4 and C5 are located in the west of the cluster. The remaining shelters, some with open beddings, and storage rooms, with BRV nos. C6-C14, lie at some distance to the east of these; they are arranged in a striking circle and interconnected by a trench. Most works are covered with earth, creating a cluster of small hills in the (formerly open) flat terrain. Apart from the ground-level entrances, the light/escape shafts and chimneys are visible from outside, as are the open beddings where present. In the circular arrangement, the splinter walls merge into the trench walls and are entirely covered with earth in the hills.

The bunkers with sleeping and living quarters are partly in VF execution (verstärkt feldmässiger Bau, splinter-proof, but not resistant to direct hits) for the living quarters, partly in FA execution (feldmässiger Ausbau) for the sleeping quarters. Many rooms are plastered. The splinter walls are predominantly of concrete formstones, in some cases of masonry.

C4: large personnel bunker with sleeping and living quarters (12 persons) and (completely overgrown) open bedding. The bunker situated in an artificial hill is accessible at ground level between two long splinter walls of concrete formstones. A door provides access to a corridor, to its right an open stairway to the bedding. From the corridor on the left side access to the plastered living quarters with stove connection, ceiling provided with wooden battens for attachment points and a light/air shaft. From the corridor a sleeping quarters behind the living quarters accessible in VF execution (12 persons) of unplastered concrete with connection for air purification (two channels) and half-round limestone escape shaft with climbing brackets. At the end of the corridor a half-round escape shaft. At the front of the corridor at the height of the living quarters a recess in the wall for a cable distributor and fuse (not preserved). (X088923/Y464163)

To the north-west of C4: a water reservoir of gravel concrete sunken into the ground. (X088909/Y464176)

To the north-west of C4 and the water reservoir: a Ringstand or Tobruk, eight-sided, plaster remains on the exterior, the entrance with stairs on the side of C4 entirely covered by earth, above the entrance a raised edge for camouflage with earth. (X88898/Y464180)

To the south-east of C4: a simple latrine building of plastered masonry on a concrete base and with a concrete flat roof. (X088933/Y464148)

C5: bunker, originally a garage, with two entrances flanked by earthed splinter walls of concrete formstone. The two previously broad, opposite entrances, which made the bunker usable as a garage, were narrowed to doors and relatively thin walls in a later phase (possibly still in WWII). In the bunker two spacious recesses are left in the walls. On the roof above the entrances stand raised edges for earth camouflage on the roof. (X088957/Y464152)

The objects grouped in a circle follow clockwise, beginning at the western entrance of the trench.

TRENCH of concrete formstones, rising in height to shoulder height and at the entrances to bunkers in some cases to above door height. The trench has four exits to the surrounding terrain. Small iron brackets at the top of the walls served to span the trenches with camouflage nets. The walls of the trench also serve as splinter walls at the bunker entrances. (start of trench X089135/Y464092)

C7: personnel bunker, with a sleeping and a living quarters (6 persons) to the left of a corridor, layout and wall thicknesses as C4 but smaller and without staircase and bedding, and without escape shaft at the end of the corridor. (X089140/Y464103)

C12: brick provision room, plastered interior with hooks in the ceiling, frame with thumbs preserved, associated wooden door provided with sheet steel and three hinges (lies in the room). In front of the entrance stands a masonry, plastered splinter wall across the full width, connected via the concrete flat roof to the provision room. (X089148/Y464117)

C6: large personnel bunker with open bedding. The bunker has a sleeping and a living quarters (12 persons) to the left of a corridor, outside right of the original door a stairway to an open bedding. (X089131/Y464120)

C14: personnel bunker and storage place and corridor with two entrances at the ends, on the south side one living and one sleeping quarters each with a window and light/escape shaft. The rooms are accessible from the corridor, on the other side of the corridor two small storage rooms each accessible via their own door from the corridor. The brick splinter walls are partly collapsed. (X089142/Y464140)

C13: personnel bunker with two entrances between them a plastered room/corridor, on the south side one room, which is shorter than the corridor, giving the bunker a T-shape. Two chimneys protrude from the bunker roof/hill. Both entrances are secured by bent, concrete splinter walls. (X089166/Y464129)

To the north-east of C13: in a meadow a block of three masonry latrines with concrete lean-to roof and concrete base slab.

C11: directly adjacent to the provision room C12, personnel bunker with two entrances, corridor, rooms on the south side with on the south side two light/escape shafts. (X89155/Y464105)

C10: personnel bunker with open bedding. The bunker has a sleeping and a living quarters to the left of a corridor, as C6 with outside right a weathered stairway to a large roof with remains of an open bedding. (X089180/Y464094)

To the east of C10: in the meadow a water reservoir. (X089235/Y464093)

To the east of C10: a Ringstand or Tobruk, at some distance to the south-east of the water reservoir in the meadow, corresponding to the Tobruk no. C4. (X089287/464076)

C9: personnel bunker with sleeping and living quarters (6 persons) to the left of a corridor, from the living quarters a window to the corridor. Wooden door provided with sheet steel preserved.

C8: personnel bunker with bedding. The bunker has a sleeping and a living quarters (12 persons) to the left of the corridor; the living quarters is plastered and provided with two windows at the front. To the right outside is a stairway for an open bedding. (X089151/464093)

Valuation

The ANTI-AIRCRAFT POSITION is of general importance - on account of its cultural-historical value as an example of a development phase of German coastal defence of importance to military history and the changes that occurred therein, whereby a Flak position of the Luftwaffe from the Neue Westwall is incorporated into the Atlantikwall, which is relatively rare; - on account of its ensemble value as part of the larger whole of the Atlantikwall and the Stützpunktgruppe Katwijk, a cluster within the German Atlantikwall; - as a relatively well-preserved position for light anti-aircraft guns of the Luftwaffe, whereby the mutual functional relationships of the various buildings, the strategic structure within the position and the camouflage technique become clear; - on account of its recognisability as a Flak position; - on account of its ensemble value as part of the larger whole of the Atlantikwall and the Stützpunktgruppe Katwijk, a cluster within the German Atlantikwall; - on account of its location near the anti-tank ditch (RM) as part of the land front in the Atlantikwall.