V1 site No 623 Wallon-Cappel
One of the most complete V1 sites in Northern France
V1 site No 623 Wallon-Cappel location
What to see
This site is located in woodland on the edge of the D138 road between Wallon-Cappel and Morbecque in the Nord department of France, around 50km south of Dunkirk.
Constructed in early 1943, as with many V1 sites in the area it received a lot of attention from Allied bombers, however, it remains one of the most complete, early-type launch facilities in the area.
The main structures you can see are the three storage buildings for assembled V1s - ski-shaped brick and concrete constructions where semi-assembled V1 flying bombs would be stored prior to making their way through the site's workshops to finally reaching the launching process.
The site here also features a rare, almost complete pair of blast walls which ran alongside the 49m-long Walter ramp which was pointed in the direction of London.
But there's more to discover in the woods too. Taking a few steps off the track running through the trees brings you in contact with personnel shelters, the remains of fuse storage bunkers, and water storage and pump house. There is also the remains of the large, non-magnetic building where the V1's gyroscope would be set, the wings attached, and the flying bomb would be loaded onto a special trolley which allowed it to be mounted onto the ramp.
The fire control bunker - normally close to the launch ramp - is present but overgrown.
As with many other sites in the area, the early detection and bombing of the location meant that it was unable to launch any V1s towards England and you can see many craters from bombing raids throughout the forest and around the destroyed non-magnetic building - a key target along with the ramp.