U-Boat Bases and Bunkers 1941-45

Fortress 3
By Gordon Williamson
Illustrated by Ian Palmer
Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2003
ISBN 1-84176-556-2
64 Pages, Softbound

Reviewed by John Prigent

U-Boat bunkers may not sound much like fortresses, but they were built to withstand anything the Allies could throw at them or drop on them and were so strongly built that many can still be seen today. Here we have a look at all of them, from France to Norway via Germany.

The subject may be a touch esoteric, but as examples of 20th century fortification it would be hard to beat these enormous bunkers. The book describes each of them in turn, showing how the various design elements were combined to foil naval gunnery, torpedo attacks on their gates, and aerial bombing. There’s also a lot of information on how they were used, including their final fates after the war. Demolition was difficult, to say the least, and their usefulness was unquestionable so several of the French and Norwegian bases are still in naval use! Others are too dangerous to enter nowadays, but the book tells you which can be seen from outside.

The photographs show them in use, as well as some of those that can still be visited, and the colour plates include site layouts and interior views. All-in-all this is a very interesting book for students of the U-Boat campaign, making it very clear why the submarines had to be defeated at sea instead of in their bases.