Kazemat, Werk aan het Spoel Culemborg

English translation

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Description

Cluster 503.

NEW HOLLAND WATERLINE

Introduction

TWO CONCRETE BLOCKS OF CAST STEEL CUPOLA CASEMATES TYPE G as remnants of concrete works added to the Work at the Spoel in the period leading up to the Second World War. In 1936, as a supplement to the reinforced concrete casemate, the so-called cast steel cupola casemate was introduced in the Netherlands, which was based on a system already applied in France in 1917. The armour cupolas used were small in size (favourable with regard to visibility and hit probability), round in shape (favourable with regard to deflecting hits and strength), relatively simple to produce in series and they had an 'external' firing aperture (favourable with regard to gases and sound). Furthermore, they could be manufactured in the Netherlands, which significantly reduced dependence on foreign countries. A first order of 100 pieces in the Netherlands (from DEMKA) was, however, followed by a second order of 50 pieces from the Belgian Soc. Anonyme John Cockerill. In total, over 700 must have been cast in a short period, but only a few have survived. The cast steel cupolas, with a diameter of 1.75 m and thicknesses of 10-17 centimetres, were installed in several casemate types with resistance classes W 12-15 to W 21-28. Shortly before the start of the Second World War, so-called Cupola Casemates Type G were constructed at various locations in the Dutch lines, in particular in the IJssel line, the Maas line, the Grebbe line (each approximately 150) and the New Holland Waterline (approximately 80). The usual construction of reinforced concrete with one or more fixed firing positions was hereby abandoned in favour of a system that possessed a firing direction variable within limits (up to 270°), within a cast steel cylinder with cupola roof. Both the firing aperture and the access to the casemate, which was located in a recess behind the cupola, could be sealed 'gas-tight' from within. Standard cupola casemates in the New Holland Waterline were equipped with a heavy machine gun as armament. During the Second World War, the vast majority of cupolas in the interior were dismantled from the casemates by the occupier - partly by blowing them up - to be recast for other steel requirements. On the coast, they were partly incorporated into the defences, but were mostly nevertheless dismantled after the war. As a result, complete cupola casemates are rare, but they still occur, amongst others, at Fort Vechten (2), at Fort Everdingen (1) and near Fort Uitermeer (1).

Description

TWO CONCRETE BLOCKS OF CAST STEEL CUPOLA CASEMATES TYPE G on the east side of the northern part of the Work at the Spoel, as a remnant of a casemate type of which examples were constructed at various locations in the Dutch lines shortly before the start of the Second World War. Concrete blocks of cast steel cupola casemates type G are relatively low, virtually square concrete consoles (approximately 7.00 x 6.50 x 3.00 m; w x d x h), with at the height of the space recessed for the cupola a rearward sloping surface. At the rear there is a recess in the concrete to allow entry to the cupola. The cupola casemate on the east side of the Work at the Spoel, here the only remaining specimen, served as a contemporary combat position for the defence of the Southern Lek Dike and for covering the railway bridge and railway embankment.

Valuation

The TWO CONCRETE BLOCKS OF CAST STEEL CUPOLA CASEMATES TYPE G on the east side of the Work at the Spoel are of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Holland Waterline 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 accesses (19th century), b. the race with increasingly strengthening offensive means (19th and 20th century), c. the system of 'living' field fortification (20th century).

The components are examples of remains of casemates formerly equipped with a cast steel cupola (type G), executed in reinforced concrete without earth covering.

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

* The component is representative (characteristic) because it is clearly recognizable as having been added to the existing fortification system as part of a deconcentrated defence.

* The component, despite deliberate dismantling during the Second World War, has been reasonably well preserved and remains easily recognizable as a constructed element in the field.