The LG cloche was a defensive element common to many
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the Minister of the Armed Forces (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, F ...
''ouvrages''. The fixed cupola was deeply embedded into the concrete on top of a combat block, with only the top surface visible. The opening permitted the ejection of
grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...
s from the interior of the cloche, providing a means of close defense against enemy troops on top of the bunker. 75 units were installed in the Maginot Line.
LG refers to ''Lance-Grenade'' (
grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mo ...
). Unlike other cloches such as the
GFM or the
JM, the LG cloche was effectively "blind", possessing a single shuttered orifice in diameter in its flat crown. It had no observation ports at all, as it did not project appreciably above the surrounding surface. The LG cloche came in three models: a small version, high, a large version, and a cloche for two persons, tall. All were in diameter. LG cloches were usually found in the vicinity of an entrance block.
The LG cloche was armed with a grenade launcher that could fire at an angle from 45 degrees to vertical in all directions. The original 60mm mortar/launcher was not satisfactory. A 50mm mortar, the same used in the GFM cloche, was used as a replacement, but was not much more successful.
See also
*
VDP cloche
The VDP cloche was an element of the Maginot Line fortifications. A ''cloche'' (bell) was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant. By comparison, turrets could be rotated and sometimes lo ...
, observation cloche
References
Bibliography
*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001.
World War II weapons of France
LG
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