Air Ventilation Shaft Fort Barchon

This is the air ventilationshaft of fort Barchon.

As with al the fortresses the ventilationshaft would be out of strategic reasons at some distance of the fort itself. When approaching the fortress from the north ore east the ventilationshaft can not be seen. It is strategically located in a valley near the fortress.

For good reason this location had been selected. When Germany would launch an attack at Belgium, they would approach the fortress from the north ore east. The ventilation shaft therefore would not give away the position of the fort.

The ventilation tower was accessible through a tunnel from the fort, but also had its own exit through the bunker that is part of the tower. The entrance to the bunker is open. There is a gunopening for defences and a massive steel door prevents acces.The armor of the bunker was 1.5 m. thick reinforced concrete for the walls and 2 m. for the roof.

The tower itself was also of reinforced concrete and at the base 1.30 m and toward the top 0.80 m. The space on the inside was about 2.20 m in diameter and contained the stairwell.

The top itself is of between 0.60 m. and 0.70 m. thick concrete and contains gun hatches, observation holes and grenadegully's. From this position, soldiers could thus defend the tower on the one hand, and keep a close eye on the surrounding area on the other. The interior space was about 4 m. high and slightly wider than the diameter of the inside.

At the top of the ventilation tower, a metal tube, fitted with a gas filter, could be pushed out to draw in fresh air at the time of gas attacks. This was manually operated via pulleys and counterweights and could be extended 5 m. The tube was 0.60 m in diameter and comparable to those on the new forts like Battice and Tancrémont. See, for example, the outpost with the ventilation system at Fort Battice. The retractable tube will be similar to the one at this fort.

When there was no gas attack, the air was refreshed through the large hole panelled with steel on the side.

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Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski
• La position fortifiée de Liège, Les forts de la Meuse modernisés, Coenen & Vernier.