MG-Bunker "Marinepeilhauptstelle Brügge" - Kasteel "Ter Linden"

This is a bunker that reminds us of the bombing of the German naval base in Bruges on May 28, 1944 under the code name "Operation Ramrod 934".

This base numbered about 330 people and depended directly on the Oberkommando der Marine (OKM) in Berlin and was in the service of the Abwehr. The base was under the command of Corvette Captain Ernst Jäckel who, after his promotion in May 1942 to Chief of the Naval Intelligence Service, was succeeded by frigate captain Lothar von Heimburg. At the base, the Germans listened to and decrypted messages. Trigonometric radio soundings were also performed using an Adcock gauge. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz paid a visit there in 1943. The base consisted of the lost castle "Ter Linden", a number of bunkers, barracks and 2.6 km of trenches.

The bombing was done in preparation for the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944. The bombing killed 40 civilians and 19 Germans and injured dozens. The bombing took place in two raids, one around noon and one in the early evening on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 1944. It was during the second raid that the most civilian casualties (32 dead). The raids were conducted by the USAAF and the RAF with Douglas A-20 Havoes, Hawker Typhoons and Martin B-26 Marauders. 202 aircraft were used for this purpose, 155 of which reached the target and dropped about 192 tons of bombs. One of these bombs, which was found in December 2005 during excavations in the area, was placed next to the bunker. The German anti-aircraft defence only responded to the attack of the Typhoons in the afternoon.

Since September 2006, the bunker has served as a landmark. The current location of the machine gun nest is not its original location. This was a few dozen meters in the direction of the expressway. Nothing can be seen anymore of the naval base itself.

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Source

• Text: Luc Watelle
• Photos: Luc Watelle
• Dr. Carlos H. Vlaemynck - Ramrod 934