American Superfortress bomber has been in design since 1939, aiming for an operational range of 2,667 miles: allowing USA to bomb Nazi Europe if Britain fell to Germans. In theory, B-29 can fly higher (31,850ft) & faster (350mph) than almost any Axis fighter plane. https://t.co/UfWy7SBsda
The world's largest bomber has made its first test flight: Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" can carry its own weight, 20,000lbs, in bombs. https://t.co/2N7lVhYG0R
Improvised stronghold in Stalingrad’s grain elevator defies German infantry charges & artillery shelling; the stored corn within has caught fire. https://t.co/gH5yTQdLPl
Stalingrad's civic monuments have become fortresses- a few dozen Red Army men hold out in the city's concrete grain elevator. https://t.co/mljMURk0ga
Red Army General Vasily Chuikov is newly appointed commander of forces in Stalingrad, leading shattered remnants of two Soviet Armies: "I understand my orders just fine... I’ll either keep them out of Stalingrad or die trying." https://t.co/zLDpIXjdAm
Volga River is now a killing ground for Luftwaffe bombers- Red Army troops cross on slow, defenceless ferries, even rowboats, through a gauntlet of falling shells & strafing bullets. https://t.co/fyhYsmjSMC
Battle for the centre of Stalingrad is still raging- Soviets are hurling troops into city, trying to keep their fragile grip on the west bank of river Volga. https://t.co/KMPyLOBfFi
German "Laconia Order" tells submariners: "Stay hard! The enemy doesn't save women & children when bombing our towns". https://t.co/sgdorbz22b
As American bombs & bullets rip into survivors cowering on exposed deck, German U-boats are forced to crash-dive, fleeing US attack- leaving hundreds shipwrecked from Laconia adrift in Atlantic. https://t.co/VUxaLy5NuC
An American B-24 "Liberator" bomber spots two German submarines on a rescue mission, their decks crammed with British & Italian survivors of wrecked ship. Under radio orders, the US plane attacks the U-boats. https://t.co/EFeP8GPLjY
Immediately after sinking the Allied ship, German submarine U-156 scrambles to save Laconia's survivors, loading hundreds onto the U-boat's foredeck & radioing nearby Axis ships for a rescue mission. https://t.co/FzAEdwqwLS
A German U-boat has torpedoed & sunk British troopship RMS Laconia in the Atlantic, with over 2500 people onboard- 1793 of them are Italian prisoners of war. https://t.co/PkUcYhSz9C
The Site
The surface surrounding the bunker has changed considerably since the War. One of the major changes was the dismantling of the many Nissen Huts and water tanks that existed in the early 1940’s. The other was the erection of the DSS buildings in 1948 to house offices of the fledgling National Health Service.
The area actually on top did used to contain many shrubs and trees (as can be seen from the map) though today it is just grassed over. There is still some greenery that exists on the south side around the concrete mast plinths.
The bunker had two main entrances/exits, on the west and east side for obvious reasons (in case of attack, fire etc.).
The map below shows the site in 1948, as it was at the time.
There was also a generator hut with surrounding blast wall (not shown on map). It could be found at the west side of the compound, close to Ponteland Road just inside the fence.
FollowOne Response to The Site
- Dropped in to the bunker today for a routine dehumidifier check. All working well and bunker pretty dry now. Had a… https://t.co/QmRmX6v1Ra
- Not posted for a while - been busy elsewhere - found some interesting booklets though. Will, hopefully end up on di… https://t.co/GkOFdiHyOO
- Found another section of the Ejector room door skin and scraped the wimpey dark green off to reveal more original l… https://t.co/Ft7AoQXEWc
- Popped in this Sunday to check the dehumidifiers and decided to have a quick look at the pile of rubbish in the to… https://t.co/NCT130O8jr
- Another Sunday another clean up session and a bit of door sliding. Once again the Vacmaster donated by… https://t.co/giF5OZfChn
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