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Where 1/MAA 118 was supposed to take care of guarding the gap in the minefield under the coast, 2/MAA 118 task was to cover the half of the Skagerrak from the danish side.
For that purpose four huge ship guns with a caliber of 38 cm was placed on the cape of Hanstholm - The so-called Bismarck guns.
The guns should be emplaced in four big bunkers with a ground area of appx. 1.900 m2, and made of appx. 6.600 m3 steel concrete.
Every gun emplacement was equipped with its own power supply, living quarters, munitions depots, water supply etc. So every gun could be sealed off completely and operate independent of the other guns in the battery.
A common two-storey fire control bunker for the four guns were also build in the area, but every gun could in an emergency situation commence its own fire control.
Building the four emplacements began in November 1940 and was fully equipped and ready to fire in September 1941.
Picture of a 38 cm gun turret. Taken at the sister battery (VARA) in Kristiansand 2006. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 13 April 2009 22:32 |
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The bunkers for the 38 cm guns was placed on the outher cape with appx. 250 m distance between them.
The battery name was "Hanstholm II".
K1 = Gun #1, K2 = Gun #2, K3 = Gun #3, K4 = Gun #4, HI = Main Fire Control, RI = Reserve Fire Control
A = Munitions Bunker, AB = Munitions Railway, E = Power Station, AG = Loading Area for Munition.
Fortification area: Click here. |
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Last Updated on Saturday, 18 April 2009 01:25 |
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Technical Data
| Designation |
38 cm. 52 S.K.C/34 |
| Class |
Bismarck |
| Year of Design |
1934 |
| Year of Manufacturing |
1940 |
| Manufacturer |
Krupp |
| Gun Weight (Incl. Breech Mechanism) |
appx. 111.000 kg |
| Gun Weight (Incl. Turret) |
appx. 650.000 kg |
| Gun Length |
19,630 cm |
| Bore Length |
18,405 cm |
| Rifling Length |
15,982 cm |
| Chamber Volume |
319 dm3 |
| Barrel Life |
appx. 290 rounds |
| Rate of Fire |
2,3 to 3 rounds/minute |
| Velocity |
800 kg AP Shell: 820 mps
495 kg HE Shell: 1.050 mps |
| Elevation (min/max) |
-30o / +55o |
| Range |
800 kg AP Shell: appx. 42.000 m
495 kg HE Shell: appx. 55.000 m |
| Armor Penetration (800 kg AP Shell) |
4.572 m : 616 mm
10.000 m : 510 mm
18.000 m : 419 mm
22.000 m : 393 mm
27.000 m : 304 mm |
| Turret |
C/39 |
Source: Naval Weapons of the World
Cross Section of a Gun Turret
Inside the Turret
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Last Updated on Saturday, 11 April 2009 19:01 |
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The gun emplacements for the 38 cm guns were the biggest contructions in the Hanstholm area. The bunkers were more than 30 m wide, more than 63 m long and had a height of more than 10 m.
The bunker had an area of appx. 1.900 m2 where appx. 1.400 m2 were accessible. The construction consists of appx. 6.600 tons of steel concrete. The walls had a thickness of 1 to 2 m and the fundation of the gun had a thickness of more than 5 m.
The bunker was arranged with machinery and personnel in one end, the gun in the middle and munitions compartments in the other end. The munitions area was intersected with the railway to the munitions bunkers in the area. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 13 April 2009 22:27 |
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Firing the four guns was controlled from a two storey bunker placed in front of the battery.
Cross Section of the Fire Control Bunker
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Last Updated on Saturday, 11 April 2009 23:30 |
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Under "normal" circumstances were all guns in the battery supplied with power from the common power grid. Besides that, a power plant was build in the center of the battery area, to provide the necessary power in case of the common power disappears.
Entrance to the power plant in the battery area.
If this power plant, for numerous reasons, wasn't able to provide the battery with the necessary power either, every gun had its own internal power supply, that not only could supply itself with power, but it could also supply the other guns in the battery if necessary.
 
Internal Power Station placed inside the emplacement of the gun. Pictures is from MAA 118's sister battery in Kristiansand (VARA), but was equipped with the same machinery. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 13 April 2009 03:06 |
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Munitions for the guns were offloaded by beams and cranes and stowed away in the munitions bunkers.
When the gun battery was build, two munitions bunkers were also build in the area. And in 1943 additional four very heavy bunkers in two storeys were placed in the battery area.
The thickness of the walls and roof were 3,5 m and this bunker type was the heaviest in this area.
Entrance to the bunker.
Inside the bunker.
Floor plan of the bunkers build in 1941.
Floor plan of the bunkers build in 1943. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 13 April 2009 11:49 |
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For transport of munition in the battery area, a 3,6 km railway was layed down with small dollies and waggons.
All the gun emplacements and the munitions bunkers was constructed so they had rails through them and all the rails were connected with each other. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 13 April 2009 12:07 |
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When the munitions had been moved from the munitions bunkers in the area to the gun emplacement, it was stowed away in special munitions compartments. Each gun could hold appx. 160 shells and charges.
For handling the heavy shells there was a system of rails and hoists in the ceiling.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 April 2009 17:03 |
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When the shells and charges should be transported into the gun turret, it was first put into some special locks, which protected the munitions from shooting flames.
When shells and charges were delivered throught the flame lock, they were transported to the elevator in the turret on a small waggon which went all the way around the gun turret.
From the waggons the shells and charges were loaded into the elevator and hoisted up into the turret.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 April 2009 17:52 |
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