Bomvrij militair object, Lunet I Utrecht

English translation

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Description

Cluster 44. Group Shelters Type P.

NEW HOLLANDIC WATERLINE

Introduction

TWO GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P on Lunet I, as 20th-century, serially constructed additions to the existing fortification. The two group shelters within Complex Lunet I are located near each other on the southern side of the work. Such works formed part of the modernisation of the fortification by means of so-called 'living field reinforcement', which typically had a dispersed character. 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 approximately 570 in the New Hollandic Waterline; the majority (approximately 400) of these still exist. The construction programme for Group Shelters Type P was not completed when the Second World War broke out, and a number of examples are known never to have been finished. Type P (also called 'the pyramid' because of its distinctive shape) is presumably the best-known type of concrete fortification work in the Netherlands. The type originated from the so-called VIS 77 (Regulation for the Arrangement of Positions no. 77), from 1928, and had among other purposes the role of being part of the fortification 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 contemporaneously realised casemates, gun emplacements, fortifications or trenches. Because the trenches and other (earthen) works were subsequently levelled or demolished almost everywhere, the concrete shelters nowadays often lie partly below ground level. The entirely closed front or frontal 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 a covered way. These earthworks are now mostly no longer present or only barely recognisable, but in particular 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. Thus 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 some cases with a visible piled foundation, while often a retaining wall and occasionally a trough with steps to retain inundation water was incorporated in the then raised, square entrance, and in still others a concrete foundation plate projecting all around is present. The western of the two examples on Lunet I was later closed with a simple wooden door.

Description

The TWO GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P on Lunet I are located on the southern side of the work, between the flank casemate and the rampart. They are one storey high, executed in reinforced concrete of approximately 1.00 to 1.80 m thick and they formed a shell-proof military shelter, which could provide protection for 10-12 infantrymen / artillerymen, at protection class W 21-28. The Group Shelters Type P are built on a rectangular plan, with dimensions of approximately 5.50 x 7.20 x 4.70 m (w x d x h). Both blind side walls and the rear wall are executed vertically. Above these, these walls angle inward at approximately 45 degrees, then transition to a flat roof. On the right side of the rear wall is an entrance opening at locally varying height above ground level. The entirely vertical, closed front wall reflects the 45-degree angles and thus ends as a 'truncated pointed gable'. In the walls of the western of the two are cast-in iron hooks or brackets which could serve for the attachment of camouflage material. The interior of the Group Shelters Type P consists of a short corridor and from there a 'lock' directed to the left which was to be lockable by means of a (consisting of several parts) heavy steel door with bolts. Via a second, comparable door, a rear space could be reached by turning right, the actual shelter. The entrance could be raked from this space by means of a rifle port. The steel doors are, however, rarely or never installed and the entrances are later often sealed with brick and plastered. The ceilings, located at approximately two metres above floor level, are flat and rectangular. Interior components are still present, such as (remains of) the door fittings (hinges etc.) and furthermore also provisions at the rifle ports.

Valuation

The TWO GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P on Lunet I are of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Hollandic Waterline as it was designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially from 1815 was laid out by him, Jan Blanken and major-engineer Willem Offerhaus and thereafter by others over approximately 125 years was reinforced and improved.

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

These are two examples of reinforced concrete enlisted-men's shelters on a lunet, without earthen covering, from the period 1939-1940.

* Ensemble value and situational values as components 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 recognisable as additions to the existing fortification system.

* The components are reasonably well preserved and are still readily recognisable as built elements on the work.