Kerbonn is a village in the commune of

Camaret-sur-Mer Camaret-sur-Mer (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department in northwestern France, located at the end of Crozon peninsula. Sights Camaret-sur-Mer is home to the '' Tour Vauban'' or ''Tour dorée'' (lit. "Golden Tower"), a historic fortifi ...

in France, between the pointe de Pen-Hir and the pointe du Toulinguet, on the

Crozon Crozon (, ; , , ) is a commune in the department of Finistère and the administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. As well as the town of Crozon, the village of Morgat is part of the commune. Crozon is located on the Crozon penin ...

peninsula. As well as its fortifications, the site also houses the ruins of the manor of Coecilian.

Kerbonn batteries

Kerbonn's many fortifications form part of the defences of the

goulet de Brest The Goulet de Brest (; ) is a 3-km-long strait linking the roadstead of Brest to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 1.8 km wide, the is situated between the Pointe du Petit Minou and the Pointe du Portzic to the north and the îlot des Capucins and t ...

. The first fortification on the site is a mortar battery dating to 1889-1891, with its underground magazine. The Fort de Kerbonn is a side battery, designed to fire on ships in the

roadstead of Brest The roadstead of Brest (, ; ) is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² (70 sq mi). The po ...

. Another French battery was built in 1932, and between 1942 and 1944 the Germans built four

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s on the site to house French 164mm guns, 6 air-raid shelters, one fire-direction post and three anti-aircraft-gun positions. One of these German casemates now houses a memorial to the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

Notes

External links

Position de Kerbonn
(inventaire général)
Batteries of Kerbonn
(photos)
Manor of Coecilian
(photos) {{authority control Fortifications of Brest, France Villages in Brittany