Battery Lothringen
Battery Lothringen was a World War II coastal artillery battery in Saint Brélade, Jersey, named after the SMS Lothringen, and constructed by Organisation Todt for the Wehrmacht during the Occupation of the Channel Islands. The first installations were completed in 1941, around the same time as the completion of the nearby Battery Moltke, in St. Ouen. The battery is at the end of Noirmont Point, a rock headland which overlooks St. Aubin's Bay, Elizabeth Castle, and the harbours of Saint Helier. It was a part of the Atlantic Wall system of coastal fortifications, and most of the concrete structures remain today. The 3rd Battery of Naval Artillery Battalion 604 was stationed here. The site overlooks the 19th century Martello tower of La Tour de Vinde. Naval guns In 1941, the main guns in the battery were three 15 cm SK L/45 naval guns, with a fourth 15 cm SK L/45 installed later. These guns were originally manufactured by Krupp and date from 1917. The guns were placed on elevated concrete platforms. Ammunition was stored in nearby bunkers, and was manually transferred from the bunkers, via concrete footpaths, to smaller concrete storage bays at the guns. After the Liberation of the Channel Islands, the guns were removed by the British Army, and discarded at the foot of the cliffs at Les Landes, in St Ouen. Gun no. 1 This gun was positioned on top of a walled concrete platform, with one access ramp, and a small room alongside the gun. Ammunition was stored in Ammunition Bunker VII, and was manually moved from the bunker up to the gun, via a sloping concrete path, to be stowed upright in small bays, just to the rear of the gun. To the rear of the platform, there was a barrack hut, an administrative building, and a personnel bunker. Only the bunker remains in 2012. To the east, was a latrine. Electrical and communications services for this gun were linked to the command bunker. In 1992, gun no. 1 was recovered and returned to Noirmont Point. The recovery work was completed in March 1998, by placing the cannon back on the gun platform, using a Chinook helicopter. Gun no. 2 In 1941, this gun was positioned on top of a concrete platform, to the north-east of the command bunker. Gun no. 3 Gun no. 3 was positioned on top of a concrete platform. The ammunition bunkers are not in close proximity to this platform, so extra storage bays were built below the platform. In 2012, there is no gun at this position. A section of the platform wall is missing, due to demolition when the gun was removed. Gun no. 4 Gun no. 4 was positioned on top of a concrete platform. MP1 tower The Marine Peilstand 1 tower, or MP1 tower, was used to observe targets at sea. The round tower is around tall, and has four observation floors, each with a wide, and narrow embrasure (for observation purposes only). Each of these floors