Jump to content

User:Afernand74/sandbox 5

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bunker Saint-Leu-d'Esserent

In the 19th century, the Saint-Leu d'Esserent quarries were very active. They were the third-largest source of employment, after agriculture and the inland waterway shipping.

The stone extracted was of excellent quality, and was used in the construction of the Château de Versailles and several other Parisian monuments.[1] At the end of the 19th century, the quarries were transformed into mushroom beds.

During the Second World War, the quarries of Saint-Leu d'Esserent were used to assemble and store the V1 flying bombs defended by the Germans. These underground installations, used to organize the transport of the V1 bombs by train to the launching pads, were prime targets for Allied bombing raids.

Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les carrières de pierre souterraines environnantes furent occupées par les Allemands pour l'assemblage et le stockage de missiles V1.[2][3] En conséquence, lors de l'opération Crossbow, l'aviation alliée bombarda massivement le bourg et ses environs, détruisant Saint-Leu à 85 %.[4]

During WW2, Saint Leu d'Esserent (in the Oise département, 45 kilometers north of Paris) was known as a stone quarry (), which was used to store V1s and fuel, material for launching the V1 and various chemicals needed to launch it.[5][6]

From October 1939, for fear of German bombing raids, the French company Brissoneau et Lotz, moved the production of the fuselages of the Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 bomber from Montataire to subterranean quarry "Carrière du Couvent" at Saint-Leu-d'Esserent. 3000 m² of galleries were developed to accommodate the fuselage production with heating, ventilation and accommodation facilities for the 1100 strong workforce.[7][8][9][10]

The German name is "Felmulag" and there were 12 in France.[11][12] This storage site was a vital hub for rail transport of the V1s between the Dora production site and the various sites in France. to the various launch sites. 70% of the V1s passed through Saint Leu d'Esserent.[8]

The explosive charge was placed in Saint Leu before being sent to the various launch sites.  85% of the town and surrounding area was destroyed by Allied aircraft during Operation Crosbow.

During World War II, the caves were one of three major underground V-1 flying bomb storage depots. In addition to the caves, the facility included blockhouses, bunkers, flak emplacements and railway links. Allied intelligence firmly identified late in June 1944 that Saint-Leu-d'Esserent and Nucourt (49°9′56.46″N 1°51′1.42″E / 49.1656833°N 1.8503944°E / 49.1656833; 1.8503944) were V-1 storage depots.[13] On 27 June 1944, Saint-Leu-d'Esserent was initially bombed by the US Army Air Force,[14][15] then on 4/5 July 1944 by two RAF forces (the first unsuccessfully used Tallboy bombs in an attempt to collapse the limestone roof of the caves).[13][16][17] Finally on 7 July 1944, an evening RAF raid successfully blocked the tunnels.[18][19][20][21]

The storage dump at Thiverny was bombed in 1944 on 5 May,[22] 11 July,[23] 12 July[24][25] and 19 July.[26][27][28][29]


Saint-Leu-d'Esserent suffered at least 18 bombings between March 17 and August 28, 1944, the two heaviest on the night of July 7-8 and August 5, 1944. For its courage and determination, the town, 85% destroyed, was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with citation.[30]

Photo: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205023573

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lefèvre-Pontalis, Eugène (1924). "La pierre de Saint-Leu". Bulletin Monumental (in French). 83 (1): 157–160. doi:10.3406/bulmo.1924.11769.
  2. ^ Bailleul, Laurent (2000). Les sites V1: en Flandres et en Artois. L. Bailleul. ISBN 978-2-9515840-0-6.
  3. ^ Bailleul, Laurent (2006). Les Sites V1 en Picardie. L. Bailleul. ISBN 2-9515840-1-6.
  4. ^ "Saint-leu-d'Esserent V1 Carrière, France". TheTimeChamber. 2019-05-30. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  5. ^ "Blog de grotteur60 - Saint Leu d'Esserent". web.archive.org. 2014-08-24. Archived from the original on 2014-08-24. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  6. ^ Zaloga, Steve (2008). German V-weapon sites 1943-45. Fortress. Oxford: Osprey. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-84603-247-9. OCLC 154760186.
  7. ^ COUDERCHON, Philippe. "Les carrières souterraines de Saint Leu d'Esserent". Campix (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  8. ^ a b "SAINT-LEU-d'ESSERENT (Oise) - Croix de Guerre 1939-1945" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  9. ^ Bonnard, Jean-Yves. "Saint-Leu-d'Esserent durant les combats de 1940". www.resistance60.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  10. ^ "Leopold the underground base". web.archive.org. 2010-01-19. Archived from the original on 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2023-11-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ Delefosse, Yannick. "stockages". V1 arme du desespoir. Archived from the original on 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  12. ^ Bonnar, Jean-Yves (2016). Les communes décorées de l'Oise Croix de Guerre 39/45. ISBN 978-2-11-151411-9.
  13. ^ a b Collier, Basil (1976) [1964]. The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944-1945. Yorkshire: The Emfield Press. pp. 68, 82, 84. ISBN 0-7057-0070-4.
  14. ^ "8th Air Force 1944 Chronicles". Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  15. ^ Taylor, Graham. "Leopold". Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  16. ^ Irving, David (1964). The Mare's Nest. London: William Kimber and Co. pp. 168, 220, 245, 246.
  17. ^ "Bombardement de Saint-Leu-d'Esserent". patrick.serou.free.fr. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  18. ^ Richards, Denis (1994) [1964]. The Hardest Victory - RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. p. 241. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  19. ^ "Eté 1944 - Saint-Leu-d'Esserent dans la tourmente". asaapicardie3945.fr. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  20. ^ "Le stockage des V1 dans les carrières de Saint-Leu-d'Esserent, par Jean-Pierre Besse". www.resistance60.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  21. ^ "Bomber Command vs the V1 – 7/8 July 1944 – Steve Darlow". Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  22. ^ "tbd". tbd. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  23. ^ "tbd". tbd. Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  24. ^ "July 1944". Bomber Command 60th Anniversary. RAF. Archived from the original on 2007-06-11.
  25. ^ "tbd". tbd. Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  26. ^ "tbd". tbd. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  27. ^ "tbd". tbd. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  28. ^ "tbd". tbd. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  29. ^ "tbd". tbd. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  30. ^ Association nationale des croix de guerre et de la valeur militaire (September 2021). "SAINT-LEU-d'ESSERENT (Oise) - Croix de Guerre 1939-1945" (PDF). N° 345 (in French).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Afernand74/sandbox_5&oldid=1239597758"