Schuilplaats, Betonnen werken omgeving Fort bij Tienhoven Breukelen

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Cluster 21. Group shelters type P.

NEW HOLLANDSE WATERLINIE

Introduction

GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P as deconcentrated, armed concrete works added to an existing concentrated defence. This concerns within the complex Concrete works around Fort bij Tienhoven a modest series of group shelters built on the east side of the Vecht that formed part of the reinforcement of the access of the Nieuweweg and the Tienhovensche Vaart with associated lock works and of the main defence line of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. Of any former earthen, wooden or concrete works, such as covered ways, trenches and the like, little or nothing is still recognisable on the surface. Group shelters type P were built according to a more or less uniform or standard design (especially) in the years 1939-1940 at multiple locations in the Netherlands. The total number of built examples amounts to approximately 700, of which in the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie approximately 570; the majority (approximately 400) of these still exist. The construction programme of the group shelters Type P was not completed at the outbreak of the Second World War and a number of examples are known never to have been completed. Type P (also called 'the pyramid' because of its distinctive shape) is presumably the most well-known type of concrete defensive work in the Netherlands. The type emerged from the so-called VIS 77 (Instruction for Setting Up Positions no. 77), from 1928, and had among other things the purpose of forming part of the defence of a number of existing and new accesses, including in particular (motorway) roads and (electrified or to be electrified) railways. The group shelter Type P usually came into being in the immediate vicinity of already existing or simultaneously realised casemates, gun positions, fortifications or trenches. Because the trenches and other (earth)works were later almost everywhere levelled or demolished, the concrete shelters nowadays often lie partly below ground level. The front side or frontal side of the group shelters Type P, which was traditionally completely closed, was in many cases covered by earthen works that could form part of a glacis to protect the trench or a covered way. These earthen works are now mostly no longer present or still only recognisable with difficulty, but particularly on forts or in otherwise uneven terrain they are sometimes still present. There exist various variants of Type P, both in terms of dimensions and protection class as well as in execution and detailing. For instance, there are examples built in protection classes W 15-21 and W 21-28 with dimensions ranging from approximately 5.50 x 7.20 x 4.70 m to 6.50 x 8.20 x 4.90 m (w x d x h). Numerous examples of Type P were built in inundatable areas, in which in a number of cases a visible pile foundation was applied, while often a retaining wall and occasionally a trough with stairs to contain inundation water was introduced in the then elevated, square access and in yet others a concrete foundation slab protruding all around is present.

Description

GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P are single-storey, usually executed in reinforced, approximately 100 to 180 cm thick cast concrete, shrapnel-proof, military shelters, which could provide protection for 10-12 infantrymen/gunners, with protection class W 12-15 or W 21-28. In the Eastern Front most belong to the heaviest class. The examples in the complex Concrete Works around Fort Tienhoven lie somewhat scattered in the field and are mostly clearly recognisable. Group shelters Type P were built on a rectangular ground plan, with dimensions ranging from approximately 5.50 x 7.20 x 4.70 m to 6.50 x 8.20 x 4.90 m (w x d x h). The visible height above ground level, however, varies. Both blind side walls and the throat side are executed vertically to approximately 3.00 m height. Above this these walls bend inwards at approximately 45° and subsequently transition into a flat roof. On the right in the throat side is at locally varying height above ground level a (later either sealed or not), usually square, but also often rectangular access opening. The entirely vertical, closed frontal side reflects the angles of 45° and thus ends as a 'truncated pointed gable'. In a number of cases iron hooks or brackets were cast in the gable(s) that could serve for attaching camouflage material. A characteristic component on top of the shelter type P is the conical, concrete 'outlet', which was intended for use of a periscope. These periscopes in practice, however, were rarely or never installed. The interior of the group shelters Type P consists of a short corridor (usually with a concrete retaining wall or balustrade and usually several descending steps) and from there a 'sluice' directed to the left which had to be closable by a (consisting of multiple parts) heavy, steel door with bolts. Via a second, comparable door one could turn right into an underlying, virtually square space, the actual shelter. The access could be covered from this space by a rifle firing loop. The steel doors, however, were rarely or never installed and the entrances were later often sealed with brick and plastered. The ceilings located at approximately two metres above floor level are flat and rectangular. In a number of cases interior components are still present, such as (remains of) wooden benches or a support for the firearm for covering the entrance.

Valuation

The GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P of the Complex Concrete Works around Fort Tienhoven are of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie as designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially from 1815 realised by him, Jan Blanken and major-engineer Willem Offerhaus and subsequently by others strengthened and improved for approximately 125 years.

* Architectural-historical values, in particular as an expression of military-strategic construction, which is based on the system of 'living' field fortification in depth (20th century).

These concern components from the years 1939-1940, namely reinforced concrete enlisted men's shelters of type P (pyramid).

* Ensemble value and situational values as components of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie in general and because of the mutual functional, functionally-spatial and physical coherence with the remaining components of the complex.

* The components are representative (characteristic) because they are clearly recognisably preserved in the field.

* The components are reasonably well-preserved because the principal physical characteristics have remained recognisable.