Azeville

[Zuluneil]

This is my first post, Azeville 105mm bunker 13km from Utah Beach
Hit with a 16" shell from USS Nevada straight into the embrasure.

The shell went through into the crew room

It penetrated 2m of concrete, but failed to explode,killing the 13 occupants with the sonic blast, bouncing on the floor

Before exiting via the rear wall smashing through concrete and 2" steel armoured loop hole and ending up in the field beyond.

THE "Exit wound"

 

[Lost_In_Normandy]

Really like the style of your report, It's very hard to really understand the devastation and kinetic energy of these projectiles….especially if you’re on the receiving end of it. Like the way you’ve followed it’s progress!

Thankyou!

 

[TeeJF]

That's a big old chunk of concrete!!!

 

[smiffy]

As I recall the shell burrowed into the meadow out the back of the emplacement and was more or less forgotten about until the early 1980s??.....when someone I guess eventually thought to ask
" hey ! whatever happened to the unexploded shell?"
........cue a bit of digging by the French bomb disposal fellas and sure enough...
.............there it was still very much 'live'..

 

[flyboys90]

what an incredible bit of info with the shell thanks for sharing.

 

[V70]

Great report and set of photos. I bet it would have been devastating if the shell detonated correctly!