Block 8 - The Men's Entrance


Block 8 - The Men's Entrance :

It has been provided with four 'GFM cloches'. Two of them are embedded in the front and the other two , which have a far lower profile rising, in the rear.

The former Entrance was blown up in late 1944 by the German occupying forces, then in retreat. However, it was rebuilt by the Army in the early 1950s, after an up-to-date design. The former armoured door, exposed to direct shots, gave way to a pit-head entrance, which made it possible to lower the whole bunker. The two front 'cloches' are embedded far deeper in the concrete and covered with a rough cast layer, meant to deceive the enemy. The former automatic rifle, in one of the rear 'cloches', was repl aced by a periscope. The other rear 'cloche' was to have been armed with a hand-grenade launcher, which turned out to be another of the many projects which were never implemented.

Fresh air was sucked in through a ten meter deep layer of rocks located in the rear of the Block. The carbon monoxide and stale air outlets can still be seen on the façade of the block.

The way in leads to a shaft housing a staircase, an elevator, a fresh-air intake pipe and another two pipes for stale air and carbon monoxide exhaust.












- Continuation