Tallboy and Grand Slam hits on Google Earth

[Navaleye]

If you type in Farge, Germany, in the top left and corner of the high res picture you the former U-Boat construction facility code named Valentin. This was the subject of a number of Grand Slam and Tallboy raids during the war and used as a target after. The back half is still used by the Bundesmarine, but the front half still displays much of its former past.

[SlipperySlappery]

Nice high-definition image but what exactly am I looking for?

[Navaleye]

That long rectangular building has a reinforced concrete roof 22ft thick. If you look at the picture, in the centre, you will see two round dark patches. Tallboy hits.

[akula]

I am having difficulties finding the facility:confused: :confused: , If you could post a Lat/Long it would be appreciated:ok:

ALWAYS assume NEVER check

[ShyTorque]

Whilst browsing about this, I found an interesting link.

http://www.gunnies.pac.com.au/gallery/grand_slam.htm

Is this really true? :eek:

[SirToppamHat]

Valentin Bunker 53°13'01.17N 008°30'11.54"E

I am not convinced that you can tell what the round dark shapes are - the imagery is not that good! However, if someone has been there and confirms it is the case, then I can believe it.

Edited to add that the Gate Guard explosive is an interesting story - I will ask around. Not sure it would have done quite as much damage as suggested, but it would not have been pretty! It would certainly have destroyed SHQ, thereby increasing the ops capability of the Station;) .

STH

[lamer]

google earth u-boat bunker (http://www.simpit.de/u-boat-bunker.kmz)

[Navaleye]

Hit by 13 Tallboys and Grand Slams.

Here (http://ww2panorama.org/panoramas/bunker-valentin)

[Onan the Clumsy]

Not sure it would have done quite as much damage as suggested, but it would not have been pretty!

[:8]

I thought the point of Grand Slam and Tallboy were that the fins produced a rotational motion so that it buried itself deep underground before detonation. The explosion created a siesmic effect that indirectly destroyed buildings and bridges so that, unlike a knoventionalbombenmitexplosives you didn't actually have to hit the target.

[/:8]

[Navaleye]

Onan,

That's quite true and it was the intention to use them as deep penetration bombs to create a localised earth quake. The decision was taken to use them directly against hardened targets such as U-boat pens as they were the only weapon capable of defeating them. The Tallboy actually proved more effective as the Grand Slam tended to detonate prematurely or breakup. In the case of the Valentin bunker, a direct hit by a Grand Slam (which did not penetrate) caused so much concussion that it brought down the internel crane and overhead gantries that it rendered the facility useless. A look at U-boat pens at Brest will deliver similar results. You can see where holes have been filled or simply covered up.

[ACW599]

Not wishing to hijack the thread, but were Tallboy and Grand Slam retained or developed for possible use post-1945? There's a lot of material on the internet about their wartime use but nothing post-war that I've seen.

[Gainesy]

IIRC the US dveloped a radio-controlled bomb from Tallboy, called Tarzan I think.

[supercarb]

ACW599, have a look here:

http://home.aol.com/nukeinfo2/

[ACW599]

Supercarb: many thanks for the QDM, fascinating stuff.

[Lord Snot]

Where is google-earth........

How do I download it?

[Navaleye]

Voila!

http://earth.google.com/

[EESDL]

http://www.bunkerpictures.nl/pictures/germany/farge/farge.html

[Navaleye]

These are the two hits as seen on Google Earth from above. Remember the roof at this point is 22 feet thick so the scale is deceptive. In some places it was over 30!

http://www.bunkerpictures.nl/pictures/germany/farge/Inside-08.JPG

[Onan the Clumsy]

I went to Eperlecques (http://www.bunkerpictures.nl/)once. That was interesting.

Click on Home>locations>France>Eperlecques

[Navaleye]

Also hit by a Tallboy. You can still see the chunk knocked out of the side. Who needs LGBs anyway?

[Onan the Clumsy]

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eperleques)says a Tallboy hit it, but IIRC, it was an earlier raid that knocked the chunk off the top and a later Tallboy missed, but the seismic shockwave moved the LOX tank off its mount and that's when they decided to abandon it.

[GeeRam]

The other preserved V-bomb site in northern France is an even better visit. That of the huge concrete dome roofed facilty at Wizernes, which was also successfully attacked with Talboys.

http://www.v2rocket.com/start/deployment/wizernes.html

[Trumpet_trousers]

This site was where the forerunner of the Iraqi 'supergun' (the V3) was built during WW2. This also received the attention of Tallboys and Grand Slams, and is well worth a visit. Not that far from Calais, IIRC.
BTW, the U-Boat bunker 'Valentin' is indeed very big - if I can remember how to post them, I will post some pics on here later. Half of it is abandoned, whilst the other half is still in use by the Bundesmarine for storage.

[Navaleye]

This was the "V3" site in Northern France. Amazingly a Tallboy hit and went down the shaft of one of the guns and detonated at its base. This caused a huge secondary explosion, killing hundreds of slave workers and wrecking the facility.