Last year I was lucky enough to be able to
visit Kravag Coastal Artillery Fort in the North of Norway near to Trondheim.
The location is on the Krakvag island, just in the inlet to the huge Trondheim
fjord. This area has been a key area for Norway since WWII. During WWII the
Germans knew this and positioned Tirpitz deep inside the fjords and mounted
several coastal artillery batteries along the coasts. The heaviest being the
tripple 28 cm turret at Austritt. Located nearby
Kravag was built to defend the inlet to the fjord with its three 12 cm m/70
guns, made by Bofors in Sweden. The three guns are controlled by a master and a
secondary "measuring station" . Each of these has multiple radars and range
finders, as well as optical TV/laser equipment. If this all failed or was hit
they could fire independently with help from a periscope and a laser channel
inside the turret.
To get to the fort, you get a ferry from the mainland, to an Island next to
Kravag and then drive round the island and across a bridge.
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Waiting for the ferry on the mainland |
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Instruction manual for the fort |
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Generator room emergency exit |
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Looking up side of outer bunker |
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© Dan McKenzie -2008
