Bomvrij militair object, Gedekte Gemeenschapsweg met Inundatiekanaal Houten

English translation

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Description

Cluster 58. Shelter types 1915-1916 / I.

NEW HOLLAND WATER LINE

Introduction

SHELTER TYPE 1915-1916 / I as part of linear and access defence based on trench systems, covered roads and similar features. (Concrete) shelters were a response to the advent of heavy projectiles and bursting grenades with high-explosive charges. According to the weight of the grenade and the protection against it, a classification in resistance or cover classes was introduced in 1928, consisting of two numbers, e.g. W 12-15. The first indicates that the cover is sufficient for impacts of projectiles up to that calibre (in cm); the second that protection also exists against one or at most a few impacts up to this higher calibre. The earliest types of shelters offered only protection against shrapnel and were called 'shrapnel-proof'. From the beginning of the 20th century, experiments were conducted with deconcentrated, small (concrete) (group) shelters. In this process, ad hoc use was sometimes made of existing, available materials such as railway rails, rubble, wooden beams and concrete slabs, but prefabricated components were also assembled or concrete was poured on site. Thus, in various places within the New Holland Water Line, diverse - whether or not unique - traces of such experiments in concrete can still be found. Sometimes they are called shelters, but also battery shelters. In the complex 'Covered Community Road, with Inundation Canal' various forms occur of (early concrete) shelters, some of which date from 1902-1903 and others from the period 1914-1918. None of them belongs to the known and frequently occurring types 1918/I or 1918/II, and their rarity is much greater. A number of specimens dating from 1914-1918 show clear traces of experiments with prefab elements. This is most evident in some types which are composed of linked, identical segments. There are several variants, at least two of which occur in the complex Covered Community Road, with Inundation Canal, namely Shelter types 1915-1916 / I and 1915-1916 / II.

Description

SHELTER TYPE 1915-1916 / I, which is located as the northernmost in the western slope of the earthen wall along the Inundation Canal. This type consists of separate, prefabricated, reinforced concrete, rectangular trapezoidal segments, which are connected to each other by means of rods. The segments are several tens of centimetres wide and are provided on the inside with iron rings by which they were linked and held together via cables or pull rods. With this system, shelters could be built to any desired length. The number of entrances - simple rectangular recesses in which doors could be hung - could also be varied; this was done by placing concrete intermediate elements. This specimen has one entrance, centrally in the visible facade. No door is any longer present. The iron reinforcement and the concrete itself were initially fairly weak, as a result of which the protection proved inadequate. In later versions this was improved, but the system remained, despite the earth cover applied, vulnerable. The cover which the works afforded fell at most into the category 'shrapnel-proof'. Presumably for this reason, additional concrete slabs were placed against the front of and on top of the structure.

Valuation

The SHELTER TYPE 1915-1916 / I in the wall of the Covered Community Road is of general interest because of:

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

* Architectural-historical values, in particular as an expression of military-strategic building art, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (19th and 20th centuries), b. the arms race with increasingly powerful offensive means (19th and 20th centuries).

This concerns a component from the period 1914-1918. The component is an example of a shelter type 1915-1916 / I executed in concrete and steel.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the New Holland Water Line. Also because of the functional and physical coherence with the other components of the complex.

* The component is rare as an early example of military concrete experiments and representative (characteristic) because it is clearly recognizable as a component of a deconcentrated defence line added to the existing fortification system.

* The component is reasonably well preserved and can still be easily recognized as a built element.