30 April 1944

30 April 1944 Channel Islands Sea Defence diary

No special occurrences. Construction follows.

Naval Artillery Battalion 604, Batterie Mirus: Würzburg set, Epa–Seipa, reworking cartridges at all guns, road at No. 2 gun and Düsseldorf anti-aircraft position continued [the construction report still lists cartridge work despite the completion entry on 29 April]. Ammunition path and camouflage at No. 3 gun complete; anti-tank shelter holes at Essen anti-aircraft position. Work begun on 150 anti-tank shelter holes along battery roads; anti-aircraft-landing stakes driven in throughout the battery. Old accommodation barrack at Hamburg anti-aircraft position demolished. Searchlight C's generating set housed under splinter protection. Two 7.5-cm positions remain suspended for lack of cement.

Batterie Steinbruch: earth banking at anti-aircraft position 4, wire obstacles and infantry positions continued. Searchlight B's rail track worked on; camouflage at searchlight A complete. Work on 7.62-cm positions suspended for lack of cement.

Batterie Strassburg: splinter-proof second 7.5-cm position and ammunition shed continued; Brown House demolition and infantry-position camouflage continued. Camouflage firm continued battery camouflage. Work on embrasured positions for two 7.5-cm guns and two searchlight shelters could not be carried out for lack of cement.

Batterie Lothringen: earth removal in front of the old fire-control post and cable trench from E-bunker to fire-control post continued. Battery camouflage; machine-gun positions and rifle pits improved. Flamethrower installed at searchlight A. Outside workers continued installing heating in the new fire-control post. Work on the 7.5-cm position suspended for lack of cement.

Naval Artillery Battalion 605, Batterie Annes, Organisation Todt: work on ammunition bunker I continued. Asphalt and a thin concrete layer applied; earth banking over the roof begun. Painting finished in gun bunker II and continued in bunkers III and IV. Levelling and camouflage continued on the battery's south side.

Battery work: splinter-proof searchlight storage continued. Side walls at No. 2 gun's bunker entrance pegged out and built in masonry. New position built for the second anti-aircraft machine gun. Entrances at the fire-control accommodation bunker improved. New position trench begun; levelling and camouflage of bunker entrances and trenches continued.

Batterie Elsass: Organisation Todt constructed the fire-control post. Battery wire obstacles, machine-gun position and an anti-aircraft position developed; searchlight Bruno position, J.'burg, constructed; damage caused by firing repaired. Artillery command post: building work complete; situation room, teleprinter and wireless stations and telephone exchange fitted out. Naval radar: splinter protection for generating sets constructed. Battalion headquarters: infantry-defence installations developed.

Progress on land mountings for 2-cm weapons: harbour-protection flotilla, seven complete; artillery arsenal command, two complete and four under construction; island arsenal workshop, one under construction. Six concrete plinths planned, of which one complete and five under construction.

Roll 2422, scans 0827–0828, original pages 41–42.