Standing in a housing estate on the northern edge of the coastal town of Wimereux you’ll find one of the largest bunkers ever built by occupying German forces in Northern France.
Stp208 Gabelweihe is the location of what is known as a Dombunker, or cathedral bunker, and this structure measures 80 metres long bunkers with a roof constructed from 2.5 metres of reinforced concrete.
They were designed to protect a K5 railway gun (like the one on display at the Batterie Todt Museum in Audinghen) which operated in this area during WW2.
Wn208 is a well spread site but a couple of streets away from the Dombunker you can find a personnel shelter while in gardens north there’s a ringstand for a 5cm KwK anti-tank gun. The nearby golf course houses a storage shelter which formed part of the site too.
Across the railway line on the outskirts of Wimereux and the Gabelweihe site you can find a Luftschutz air raid bunker.
K5 railway guns were positioned here from 1940 onwards originally to provide fire support for Operation Sealion (the German invasion of Britain) and later to fire 28cm shells across the English Channel to Dover.
There were three Dombunkers built in the area and all three survive today. Today the Wn208 Dombunker is used for local industry and access is with permission only.
The second one is in a working railway yard to the east of the town of Marquise, and this one even has its original doors still in place. This bunker is not accessible to the public for safety reasons due to its position near to a quarry.
The third Dombunker can be seen at Strongpoint Stp89 Fulda in the western outskirts of Calais and that site also features a large ammunition storage bunker and personnel shelter for those operating the gun.