Bomvrij militair object, Fort Blauwkapel Utrecht

English translation

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Description

Cluster 33. Group Shelters Type P.

NEW HOLLANDIC WATERLINE

Introduction

GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P at Fort Blauwkapel as during the mobilization period 1939-1940 added components to existing linear and access defence with trench systems and the like. At multiple locations on and around Fort Blauwkapel there are group shelters Type P. Group shelters Type P were built according to more or less uniform or standard design in the years 1939-1940 at multiple locations in the Netherlands. They occur in any case in large numbers on the South Front of the so-called Fortress Holland (on the Nieuwe Merwede and the Hollandsch Diep) and at various locations in the New Hollandic Waterline - then called the East Front of Fortress Holland (among others in the area between Fort Rijnauwen and Fort Vechten, in the area between Fort de Klop and Fort Voordorp and on and near Fort Everdingen). The total number of built examples amounts to approximately 700, of which about 570 in the New Hollandic Waterline; 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 were never 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 stemmed from the so-called VIS 77 (Regulation for the Installation of Positions no. 77), from 1928, and had among other things the purpose of forming part of the defence of a number of (new) accesses, including especially (motorway) roads and electrified railways. The Group Shelter Type P usually came into being in the immediate vicinity of already existing or contemporaneously realized casemates, gun emplacements, fortifications or trenches. Some were also built on existing forts, such as the examples at Fort Blauwkapel. Because the trenches and other earthworks were almost everywhere levelled or demolished subsequently, the concrete shelters nowadays often lie partly below ground level or conversely - unintentionally - stand out markedly in view. The entirely closed front or front side 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 of a covered way. These earthworks are now mostly no longer present or only with difficulty recognizable, but particularly on forts or in otherwise uneven terrain they are sometimes still present. There are numerous examples of Type P built in inundatable areas, in which in a number of cases a subsequently visible pile foundation was applied; in others a foundation slab protruding all around or also a trough against inundation water is visible. The examples at Fort Blauwkapel are scattered over the fort terrain, but with a concentration on the east side. One example lies on the redoubt, southwest of the guardhouse.

Description

GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P are single-storey, usually in reinforced, approximately 100 to 180 cm thick cast concrete executed, shrapnel-proof, military shelters, which could provide protection for 10-12 infantrymen / artillerymen. Group shelters Type P were built on a rectangular floor plan, with dimensions of approximately 5.70 X 7.20 X 4.70 m in the W 21-28 execution. The visible height above ground level varies. Both blank side walls and the gorge side are executed vertically to approximately 3 m height. Above this these walls go inward with a bend of approximately 45°, to then transition into a flat roof. On the right in the gorge side is an access opening at locally varying height above ground level (subsequently closed or not). The entirely vertical, closed front 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 into the wall(s) which could serve to attach camouflage material. A characteristic component on top of the type P shelter is the conical, concrete 'outlet', which was intended for the use of a periscope. These periscopes were in practice, however, never installed. The interior of 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 'sluice' directed to the left which was to be closeable by a (consisting of several parts) heavy, steel door with bolts. Via a second, comparable door, a rear, virtually square space could be reached by turning right, the actual shelter. Access from this space could be covered by a shooting aperture. The steel doors were, however, never installed and the entrances were later often sealed with brick. 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 shooting aperture closures, (remains of) wooden benches or a support for the firearm for covering the entrance. The Group Shelters type P at Fort Blauwkapel are scattered and are fairly easily recognizable in the field.

Valuation

The GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P at Fort Blauwkapel are of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Hollandic Waterline as designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially from 1815 realized by him, Jan Blanken and Major-Engineer Willem Offerhaus and subsequently by others strengthened and improved over approximately 125 years.

* Architectural-historical values, in particular as an expression of military-strategic architecture, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (19th and 20th century), b. the race with increasingly strengthening offensive means (19th and 20th century), c. the system of 'living' field fortification in depth (20th century).

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

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

* The components are representative (characteristic) because they are clearly recognizable as elements of an existing defence added to the fort.

* The components are fairly well preserved and can still be easily recognized as built elements on the fort.