The German Army planned nine of these naval observation towers on the Jersey Channel Island during World War Two, but only three were built. Smaller observation points were constructed along the coastline to fill in the gaps. The Kriegsmarine Peilstand und Messtellung 2 at La Corbière is 7 floors high, including the open top floor. The glass construction on top is from recent years. The tower was painted during the war to resemble a Napoleonic tower which is spread across the island coast.
These observation and distance measuring towers are unique for the Channel Islands. It gave fire guidance to the Stützpunkt La Corbière which lies at the tower’s base. This Stützpunkt has unique bunkers for which the German engineers developed specialized versions for the Channel Islands. The three naval observation towers worked together in triangular measuring to an enemy object which gave a much more accurate fire solution for the guns.
The tower is almost 18 meters high and has 2 meter thick walls. Next to the Naval observation tower MP 2 is a Regelbau 622 personnel bunker.
Visit
A car park is next to the tower, foundations of a machine gun nest and mortar can be found in the vicinity. If you like you can spend a night in the Naval observation tower but this is costly.
