Stützpunkt Yport West
The HeeresKüstenbatterie Yport or Stützpunkt Yport West lies north of Etretat and south of Fecamp. The small coastal battery lies on the western cliff near the beach in Yport. There are two larger gun bunkers, Regelbau 679, next to 3 smaller bunkers. There is a tobruk for close defence with a machine gun, There is a Vf Unterstant (a shelter) and a Vf Schnabelstand for observation.
2x Regelbau 679
1x Vf Schabelstand (on the cliff side, but no longer visible)
1x Tobruk 58c
1x Vf Unterstant
The bunkers were operated by 3./H.K.A.A., a branch of the Wehrmacht. The abbreviation H.K.B. 3./H.K.A.A. 1253 stands for Heeres-Küsten-Batterie 3 / Heeres-Küsten-Artillerie-Abteilung 1253. This was a German army coastal battery that was part of the Atlantic Wall during World War II and had two 15,5 cm K420 (f) guns. German fortification documentation specifically lists the 15.5 cm K 420(f) among the guns that could be mounted in Regelbau 678 and Regelbau 697 positions on heavy pedestal mountings.
15.5 cm K 420(f) gun in the regelbau 679
The 15.5 cm K 420(f) was a French heavy gun that the Germans captured and incorporated into the Atlantic Wall during WWII. The (f) is the indication for Französisch.
The original French weapon was: Canon de 155 L modèle 1916 Saint-Chamond with a caliber of 155 mm. The gun had a substantial range—contemporary U.S. documentation describes the 155 mm Saint-Chamond as having a maximum range of roughly 22,000 yards (about 20 km).
The gun 155 L modèle 1916 was derived from the earlier 145 mm Saint-Chamond weapon; some barrels were rebored to 155 mm.
The Germans deployed these guns as coastal artillery, including in fixed/open positions and in some cases inside reinforced concrete bunkers. A particularly interesting installation was the 15.5 cm K 420(f) on Sockellafette VI. For example, the battery at Gatteville (HKB 7/1261) reportedly had six K 420(f) guns; several were subsequently housed in Regelbau 679 bunkers. And two were places here at the Heeres Küstenbatterie Yport.
Visit
From the campsite, walk to the transmission tower; behind it, you will find the first gun emplacement Regelbau 679, with the second 679 located right next to it. The Tobruk is no longer visible, and only a few remnants of the Vf bunker remain. The Regelbau 679 next to the mast is used as a cattle/sheep pen.
Sources:
- Regelbauten – Atlantikwall Typologie – Rudi Rolf – isbn 978-90-817095-0-7
- Atlantikwall – Batteries and Bunkers – Rudi Rolf – isbn 978-90-817095-5-2
- bunkerpictures.nl
- bunkersite.com
- bunkerinfo.nl
- Relikte.de
- Wikipedia
