Bunker MM 16 Thimister-Clermont

This is bunker MM 16 of the PFL 1, the 1st line of defense of the 'Position Fortifiée de Liège'.

MM refers to the sector 'Manaihant-Les Margarins-' where it is the 16th of a total of 20 bunkers.

This bunker is located in the middle of a meadow. Whether the bunker is still accessible is not clear. In front of the entrance was a large pile of hay, blocking the view of the entrance.

The holes above and below the gun opening served for ventilation. When both bunker doors were closed and the machine gun was firing, the smoke had to get out quickly and fresh air had to be brought in. That is what these ventilation holes, in addition to the gun opening, served for. They are laid out in the concrete in such a way that they do not have a straight connection from outside to inside. They run through the concrete in the shape of a periscope, so to say.

As general information it can be mentioned that this bunker like most bunkers of the PFL are made of reinforced concrete and were built in the early 1930s. The walls and ceiling are 1.30 m thick. They had to withstand shelling with 150mm shells. Only the walls at the rear are slightly less thick, because in principle they were not exposed to enemy fire.

When the bunkers lost their strategic value for the defense of Belgium after the war, the metal of the hatches and doors was sold as scrap metal. Also, most of the plots on which they were situated were sold, so many bunkers are now on private plots. Like bunker MM 16.

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Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski
• La Position Fotifiée de Liège, Coenen & Vernier.