Artillery blockhouse K-Ba-S 22 - Orlicke mountains, Czech Republic
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ToRo61
N 50° 04.469 E 016° 40.999
33U E 620448 N 5548268
Artillery blockhouse K-Ba-S 22 is part of the Bouda Artillery Fort.
Waymark Code: WMMXTM
Location: Pardubický kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 11/21/2014
Views: 21
The Artillery fortification
Bouda is a cultural monument of the Czech Republic and an integrated part of the extended system of fortifications built to defend the former Czechoslovakia during the second half of the 30s. It consists of five mighty bastions - three infantry blocks (K-Ba-S 21, K-Ba-S 23,K-Ba-S 24), one artillery block (K-Ba-S 22) and the entrance block (K-Ba-S 22a).
The plan of artillery blockhouse K-Ba-S 22 - "Horymír"
The artillery blockhouse
K-Ba-S 22 - code name "Horymír"
The circular shaft (depth 11 metres, diameter 7 metres) should house the retractable gun turret. In the year of the crisis 1938 the first two turrets of this sophisticated weapon system were in the state of completion at the Skoda factories in Pilsen. All in all, the turret had the unbelievable net weight of 440 tons. 120 tons apportioned to the vertically movable parts, 120 tons to the ring-like counterweight on guiding rollers close to the bottom of the shaft, and 190 tons to the rest of parts, mainly to the so-called steel jacket case, which should be placed onto the upper free ring of the concrete shaft. The outer parts of the turret were made of highly compressed armour steel, which could resist the impact of the heaviest shells and aerial bombs. The turret (360 degree rotation per minute, 70 centimetres lift in 9 seconds) was armed with a twin 100 mm howitzer, range 11.950 meters). It was considered the most effective weapon of the fortification, which should dominate the valley of Králíky and support the two neighbouring fortifications of Adam and Hurka. One of the main targets was the strategically important train station of Mittelwalde (today in Poland: Miedzylesie). In 1938 the turret could not be built in any more, so that the fortification would not have been able to fulfil its destined combat mission if it had been really activated.
The facilities in the top floor of the block served for the preparation of the artillery ammunition and mainly as stand-by ammo storage M 3, where about 800 shells calibre 100 mm should be deposited. Right under it were the rooms for the stand-by crew, social facilities, filter installations, the billet of the commandant and storage rooms.