Kvarven Fort: an artillery battery that took part in a brief World War II combat

@ElentirENG ES 6·20·2023 · 23:45 0

In 1895, Norway began construction of a coast artillery position at Laksevåg, in order to defend the port of Bergen.

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At that time Norway was united to Sweden through a personal union established in 1814, when the Parliament of Norway recognized the King of Sweden as its sovereign. However, by the end of the century, the relationship between the two kingdoms had worsened and they feared it would lead to a war, given the Norwegian ambitions for independence.

The construction of Kvarven Fort was completed in 1899, being equipped with three 21 cm St. Chamond L/14 Mod. 1896 howitzers with a range of 16 km, to which was added a battery of torpedoes installed in 1902. Finally the war with Sweden did not come, but the First World War did in 1914. Despite the pressures, Norway remained neutral and Kvarven Fort had its garrison ready to defend the country of possible attacks. That war ended, and in 1939 World War II began, in which Norway once again declared itself neutral, something that did not prevent an invasion of the country.

That invasion arrived in Bergen on April 9, 1940, with a German amphibious force made up of the light cruisers Königsberg and Köln, the training ship Bremse, the mother ship Karl Peters, seven torpedo boats, two ships auxiliaries and 1,900 soldiers. The battery at Kvarven Fort was only able to get off a few shots from its now antiquated guns before the Germans sent a message in English to the position ordering a cease fire. The torpedo battery failed to fire due to fog, and Kvarven Fort surrendered at 7:00 a.m., after some fighting with the German landing forces.

Germany incorporated Kvarven Fort into its Atlantic Wall, the coastal defense line that ran through German-occupied territories from southern France to northern Norway. The 150 mm Krupp gun from 1914 was probably installed at that time and is still kept in the battery today. Kvarven Fort returned to Norwegian hands after the war, until its closure in 1961. On May 8, 1993, the battery reopened to the public, and has been managed ever since by a Laksevåg cultural and historical association. Last Sunday, WW2HistoryHunter posted an interesting video of a visit to this battery:

You can see here some captures of the video. This is the position of the Krupp gun, with the ammunition racks below.

The barrel is very well preserved, although it is not complete (the lock is missing).

The markings indicating the model and serial number of the barrel, the 1025L.

Behind the gun is a fire control bunker. You can see more parts of this battery in the video.