Bunker Belt Bruggenhoofd Gent - Advanced Bunker AV13

Belgian bunker, part of the Ghent Bridgehead. This defence position was constructed between 1934 and 1938, eight kilometres south of Ghent. Its construction was part of the fortification policy that Belgium pursued after the First World War.
The actual bridgehead consisted of two resistance nests – Betsberg and Muntekouter – and three strong points – Semmerzake, Eke and Astene.
The resistance nests and strong points were connected to each other via a curtain consisting of three defence lines.

There are a total of 19 bunkers on the Wetteren territory, eight of which have since been demolished.
The AV13 was an advanced bunker on the front line between the Ostend-Brussels railway line and the Ghent-Aalst road. It is located right next to the railway line between the A40 (140 m) and AV14 (638 m). It is positioned at an angle to the A40 so that together they had a larger field of vision and shooting range. The bunker consisted of two rooms connected at the back and an airlock, with a dome between the two rooms. One loophole looked in the direction of the field path, the second looked in the direction of the church of Kwatrecht.
The bunker was equipped as standard for the installation of Maxim machine guns. In addition, it also had facilities for the installation of Hotchkiss and Colt machine guns.
At the end of the war, on 19 September 1944, a Boeing B17 (better known as a Flying Fortress) made an emergency landing near the AV13.
The war clearly left its mark and severely damaged the bunker.

This bunker looked like a cattle stable. It now stands freely on a fenced-off area on a small horse pasture and can be seen quite well from the field path along the railway line.
This path ends at the Oosterzelesteenweg, just before the Mariagaard school.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck