Militair verblijfsgebouw, Betonnen werken nabij Fort Asperen. Geldermalsen (West Betuwe 25)

English translation

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Description

Cluster 69. See also object number 531796.

NEW HOLLANDSE WATERLINIE

Introduction

At multiple locations within the complex Betonnen Werken Asperen lie GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P, which were built as part of the defence of the lock complex at Asperen, by means of which large parts of the foreground area and the southern Alblasserwaard could be inundated. They also served for the defence of the Lingeacces. The group shelters Type P were built according to a more or less uniform or standard design 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 which still exist. The building 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 to have never been finished. Type P (also called 'the pyramid' on account of its distinctive shape) is presumably the best-known type of concrete defensive work in the Netherlands. The type emerged from the so-called VIS 77 (Regulation for Arranging Positions no. 77) from 1928 and was designed to form part of the defence of a number of existing and new accesses, including in particular (motorway) roads. The group shelter Type P usually came into being in the direct vicinity of already existing or contemporaneously realised casemates, gun emplacements, fortifications or trenches. Because the trenches and other earthworks were subsequently levelled or demolished almost everywhere, the concrete shelters nowadays sometimes lie partly below ground level. The from time immemorial completely closed front or forward face of the group shelters Type P was in many cases covered by earthworks which could form part of a glacis to protect the trench or a covered way. These earthworks are now usually no longer present or still only recognisable with difficulty, but particularly on forts or in otherwise uneven terrain they are sometimes still present. Numerous examples of Type P were built in inundatable areas, in some cases with a visible pile foundation applied; in others a projecting foundation slab or also a trough against inundation water is visible.

Description

GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P are one storey high and usually executed in reinforced concrete of approximately 100 to 180 centimetres thick, and they formed shrapnel-proof, military shelters which could provide cover for 10-12 infantrymen / artillerymen, at cover class W 12-15 or W 21-28. The group shelters within the complex Betonnen Werken Asperen belong to both classes. The 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 (w x d x h). The visible height above ground level varies, however. Both blank side walls and the rear wall are executed vertically to approximately 3.00 metres height. Above this these walls bend at approximately 45° inwards, and subsequently pass into a flat roof. On the right in the rear wall is at locally varying height above ground level a (later either sealed or not) square entrance opening. The entirely vertical, closed front wall reflects the 45° angles and thus ends as a 'truncated pointed gable'. In a number of cases iron hooks or brackets were cast into the wall(s) which could serve for attachment of 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 were, however, never actually installed. The interior of the group shelters Type P consists of a short corridor (usually with a concrete retaining wall or balustrade and usually a few descending steps) and from there a 'lock' directed to the left which could be sealed off by a (consisting of multiple parts) heavy steel door. Via a second, comparable door the actual shelter could be reached by going to the right, a nearly square space. Access could be covered from this space by a rifle loophole. The steel doors were, however, rarely or never installed and the entrances were later often sealed with brick and plastered. The ceilings located just over 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 small arm for covering the entrance.

Of the Group Shelters Type P which form part of the complex Betonnen Werken Asperen there lie at least four to the north of the Fort at Asperen, near the Meerdijk, and at least three to the south of it, near the Langendijk.

Valuation

The GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P of the complex Betonnen Werken Asperen 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 realised 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 design, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and accesses (nineteenth century), b. the race with increasingly strengthening offensive means (nineteenth and twentieth centuries), c. the system of 'active' field fortification (twentieth century).

These are components from the period 1939-1940, namely examples of reinforced concrete enlisted men's shelters, now without earth covering.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. Also because of the functional and physical coherence with the remaining components of the complex.

* The components are representative (characteristic) because they were added as part of a decentralised defence (line) to the existing fortification system.

* The components are reasonably well preserved and can be recognised as built elements in the field fairly readily.