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Wn434 Le Mesnil-au-Val

Searchlight bunker and platform south east of Cherbourg

Wn434 Le Mesnil-au-Val site overview

What to see

Located to the south east of the port city of Cherbourg near the village of Le Mesnil-au-Val, this small building at Wn434 once housed a searchlight and generator.
Close inspection of the site reveals a 50metre length of concrete track along which the searchlight would have been wheeled to a 6m x 6m square platform where it would be able to sweep through a full 360 degrees out in the open.
The building itself measures around 13m x 9m but is inaccessible due to the vegetation which has grown inside. Around the edges there are several small concrete structures, and one gives the impression that there was an underground part of the site, possibly directly under the storage building itself.
The site stands on private agricultural farmland and can only be accessed with permission.
Across the road from Wn434 is an early V1 flying bomb launch site – Number 18 – which featured around a dozen supporting buildings and a launch ramp. This is now largely covered by farm equipment and other agricultural materials although the concrete pathways through the site can still be clearly seen.

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