Infantry blockhouse K-Bg-S 13 - Kraliky, Czech Republic - Military Installations on Waymarking.com

The Hurka Artillery Fort consists of five mighty bastions, which are connected by an extended (total length 1.75 km) system of tunnels and caverns deep inside the hill. These are two sophisticated designed infantry blocks, one artillery casemate, one artillery block with projected retractable gun turret and the entrance block.

The plan of the entrance blockhouse K-Bg-S 13

The infantry block K-Bg-S 13 (code name "U lomu") represents by the amount of used material the second-biggest infantry block of the Czechoslovakian fortifications. The two-sided block with two protection wings and four armored cupolas consists of three floors. The two combat compartments are equipped with one mixed weapon in each; two auxiliary embrasures and two armored cupolas are armed with a total of four light machine guns. A twin-machine gun was supposed to be installed into the armored cupola on the left side. This cupola with a weight of 65.5 tons was the heaviest armored element of the defense line concreted in up to then. The last armored element built in the roof of the installation was the artillery observation cupola, which was enormously important for the fire control of the offensive weapons. The more than 40 m deep elevator- and stairwell shaft (222 stairs) provides a connection with the tunnels of the fortification. There is an emergency exit in the right protection trench.
During the German occupation this installation served as target for testing the Czechoslovakian casemate gun, model 36, by German experts. This took place within the framework of complete tests concerning the neighboring infantry block K-S14 “U cihelny” (Brickworks) - today this installation is reconstructed and open to the public. The impacts of the anti-tank gun shells caliber 47 mm are dearly visible on the left side of the block. Later followed the employment of heavier artillery pieces induding test shellings with Röchling shells. The impacts can be seen in the overhanging beam above the embrasures on the right side of the block.
All armored elements (including the embrasures for mixed weapons) were tom out during the German occupation. They were used as precious sources of raw material respectively as construdion elements for German regular installations in particular at the Atlantic Wall.

Armament: 2 heavy machine gun, model 37, combined with anti-tank guns 47 mm, model 36,1 heavy twin machine guns, model 37,4 light machine guns, model 26,2 hand grenade ejection tubes
Armored elements: 1 cupola for a heavy twin machine gun, 2 infantry cupolas, 1 artillery observation cupola
Crew: 37 soldiers
Required ammunition: 7,232 anti-tank gun shells; 794,400 rounds machine gun; 375 hand grenades; 320 signal rockets and flares

Era: WW II Related web site: [Web Link] General Comments: Not listed

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