Romanian fortifications

[Messerschmitt]

The second one i found is in Saturn, it has two masked firing slots , and has a small motel`s terrace on the top . It isn`t fully visible, about half is " into" the hill and a few of it is covered with "iedera". I tried to ask at the motel (actually it`s a shack) if they know where the entrance is, there was no one there and i wasn`t able to find it in the suroundings.




As you can see, this one is marked nr. 9 with yellow, i don`t know what that stands for, but being yellow gives me the link to semething regarding to gas


These are the firing slots , interesting thing, they are not reinforced with iron, just bare concrete. The firing holes are protected from the inside by a metal sheet and there is written "NU ARUNCATI" on both of the firing holes .





That`s all for today, stay tuned for some more, wich i`m gonna post tomorrow.

[C-2]

Cammon'Make the photos smaller !
It takes a life time to download.

[bansaraba]

There are 2-3 cassemates at Costinesti, in the sea, on the way to Evanghelia boat (Epava). Because of beach erosion, they are half covered with water. In Brasov I know an antiaerian cassemate, I shall post some photos soon.

[Messerschmitt]

Today i managed to upload the photos via postimage, hope it`s better now.
My objective was a cassemate behind the school camp in Eforie Sud, but i also knew the presence of a very accessible cassemate on the beach at the end of Eforie Nord. So, i got in the maxi-taxi and told him to stop at the entrance in Eforie Nord. Soon, i found the casemate. It`s HUGE. Unfortunately, i didn`t manage to take more pictures, the area was a nude beach so i didn`t spent a lot of time in there

Access was possible, but i wasn`t properly "equipped" ( beach slippers and white t-shirt) and having that nude guys around.... Anyway, i can tell you what`s inside: garbage. Lots of it.

Regarding the dimensions: it is about 4,5-5 meters tall and 5-6 meters long. It really is huge, when i was there i asked myself if this isn`t Tirpitz?

Seems like it was a MG fitted cassemate, or a small calibre gun.

Also, i`we seen traces of other constructions linked to this, but that have been demolished( probably to make space for the tourists). I wonder if those constructions were part of the cassemate or were they post war?

I decided to walk down the beach to the cassemate behind the camp(wich was visible from this one) and saw this:



I don`t get it. It`s a cassemate half sunk in the sand and being "inprisoned" in a new house-like construction. I walked around the building trying to find the entrance, but no trace of it. Probably it has sunk, too.

As you can see, i wasn`t able to find out if it was MG or artillery fitted.

This one was also marked, this time with a red 3, but being too "graffitti-like" i don`t think it has any importance.

I walked down the beach untill i reached it. It was the way i remember it, the way i saw it back in 2004.



Notice the missing protective layer of tar where waves splashed .

[Messerschmitt]

Continuing:





Notice the round angled "hole". It is present on both of the sides. I guess they are grenade slides.


(Sorry for having mom and dad in the picture )
The bunker was about 3-3,5 meters tall and 5 meters long.

As you can see, the angled hole is present on this side, too. I took a photo of it wich is below, it was aprox. at 45º angle.


Also, on this side there is another hole, wich i was`t able to photo too good, it was at about 2 meters high, i have no idea what it served for but i think it may be a flamethrower slot?


This is the firing slot, i think the bunker has been MG fitted, The hole wasn`t too big. I managed to see a little bit in the inside, but not too much, my only "help" to light the inside was the flash.

This is the top part of the bunker, there are two simmilar square concrete pieces, having a round metal piece, i have no idea what was fitted in them.

[Messerschmitt]

Continuing:

This is the round thing i was talking about.

Also, you can see some paralellipipedic concrete piece, reinforced with iron bars. They seem to be post-war.


I have noticed this on top of the cassemate, i don`t know what it served for, do you have any idea?

This i guess is the entrance.




Those are debris, i guess there was another construction around but that have been demolished or covered with earth( judjing by the iron bars sticking out of the ground)

You may think" man, this guy came to the seaside and no fun" . There was a lot of fun examining those cassemates and alo, other stuff (i didn`t manage to photo the girls )

Contest with dad. With the m4a1 , he shot one 7, one 8, and one 9 (3 shots) and i shot two 9`s and a 8

[C-2]

Good job!

[Corbu]

Back in 1980, I was serving as a private in an infantry unit near Navodari. Under our responsability were the fortifications of the beach of Vadu (some 8 km nord of Cap Midia - Navodari). These consisted in some bunkers very similar to those of Eforie.
What can I tell about:
The construction was steel reinforced concrete, abt 1 m thick. Roof was made of rails embedded in concrete. The pillboxes are 5x5m approx square, semi-underground, having each a small entrance hall, a small ammonition room and a combat room fitted with a MG port and 2 grenade slides.
The port is protected by a mobile steel shield leaving room for the MG and pointing device (optical). So, no flame thrower! The photo represents actually the MG steel shield.
The MGs for those pillboxes were under Army custody, so i managed to take a look on one of these. It was a Skoda air-cooled machine-gun on a special "half-circle" tripode mount, cal 7.92, built in 1934. Firing 2 types of ammonitions ("heavy" and "normal" ball) up to 2,2 / 2.6 km, at two firing speeds ("quick" abt 600 rpm; "slow" - abt 120 rpm). The MG with the tripode had approx. 55 kg. The cannon coud be changed, if too hot. For maintenance, taking apart of the MG was done using a small bronze hammer...
In the combat room, there is place for the MG and his 2 servants, and for the commander, that has a periscopic sight, retractable. The periscope is mounted in a steel tube that passes through the ceiling of the pillbox (that is the strange cylinder on the roof that you have photographied). There is also a manual ventilation fan, that has a reinforced concrete air intake on the roof (also in your photos). Overpressure was needed for operation, if not, toxic gas resulting from the ammonition used (cordite) could kill the crew. Note that all crew members had special gas masks, with additionnal cardridge agains carbon monoxide (sodium hydroxide crystals cardridges, a dangerous item).
The permanent fortification (pillbox) placed effectively on the beach was integrated in a semi-permanent fortification line, consisting of open, but concrete reinforced trenches and firing emplacements for mortars (system Brandt) and automatic rifles (czech type, identical to the british BREN). There were no anti-tank defences or weapons: at that time, 1936 - 1938, landing tanks on a beach was SF. And no anti-aircraft defences too...
There was also a second line of defences, 2 km distance from the beach, "L" shaped pillboxes for machine guns and small caliber AT cannons, but those cannons were no more on army's inventory.
At that time, those pillboxes were assigned to territorial troups ( "garzi patriotice"), one company per pillbox.
Every 3 - 4 years, the entrances of the pillboxes (normally covered by earth) were excavated, the combat room was cleaned and the MG shield oiled with "cannon grease". No works were done to the semi-permanent system of fortifications.
As Navodari was a training ground for artilery and aviation, I had the occasion to see such a pillbox hit by an air to ground missile. Missed by about 10 meters, but even so, completely destroyed. So the actual military value of those defences was near zero.
Built to contain a possible Soviet attack, used during the Cold War against NATO threat (Turkish forces were expected in case of a new world war), those fortifications have now only historical value.

[21 inf]

Very good article, Corbu! Congratulations!
And thanks for sharing!

[bansaraba]

Here are some photos of an antiaerian cassemate (or that's what I think it is) in Brasov:

General view:


Ventilation shaft, going inside at an angle of about 45 degrees. I don't know what's that pipe for:


The other ventilation shaft, around the corner:


Going to the entrance:


The entrance is low and small:


This is the most interesting. You can see the ventilation shafts end, and the narrow path for getting down on some metal stairs, which cannot be seen, because they are on my side of the descent shaft. You can see a rusted metal handle though (near the leaf). I don't know what's down there, but it's a long way, judging by the sound of rocks I throwed in, and I think down there is a wood floor:


Here you can see that the large concrete structure is ending just 2 meters below the earth, being continued only by the descending shaft:


Could it be just the end of a longer tunnel going below the earth somewhere else?

This post has been edited by bansaraba on July 26, 2008 02:43 pm

[Ferdinand]

hello bansaraba!

if i'm not mistakeing...is this structure behind memorandului, up on the hill? cause i saw there some old structures, masive type.
if not where is this? memo or warthe?


thanks!

[bansaraba]

Yes, that's it, on the hill. Are there any other structures?

I was very lucky to find the entrance opened. For 20 years I've known it blocked. However, I believe it's dangerous to explore it: the stairs could be very rusty and break, and besides who knows what's down there?

Although unfocussed, here is another image, where you can see the entire descending shaft:


This post has been edited by bansaraba on July 26, 2008 08:38 pm

[mihnea]

Very very nice, I would take the risk as I doubt it's that deep remember it's not a anti atomic bunker. But I would take another person with me if something happens he can call for help. The only thing that scares me is water.

[Ferdinand]

i think i can go someday with him and i have the guts to enter. i have all the equipment that i need.


i'll post pictures

[mihnea]

Just remembered a very dangerous thing about going into deep poorly ventilated areas such as wells or hermetically closed bunkers: carbon monoxide as it's odorless and when you realized that you are poisoned it's generally too late.