Trondenes Fort is a
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
situated on the
Trondenes
Trondenes is an old parish and former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located along the western shore of the Vågsfjorden in what is now Harstad Municipality. T ...
peninsula in the municipality of
Harstad
( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland, ...
in
Troms og Finnmark
Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. It is located about north of the town of
Harstad
( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland, ...
. The fort has been the main base for the
Norwegian Coastal Ranger Command since 2002. The fort was built in 1943 by the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
occupying Norway during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
as a part of the
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...
.
Equipment
The fort was equipped with four of the world's largest land-based guns (). The guns were taken out of the Norwegian mobilisation plans in 1961, but are still in place and one is kept in working order for conservation purposes.
[http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_16-52_skc34.htm Germany 40.6 cm/52 (16") SK C/34] The guns are
40.6 cm Schnelladekanone C/34, sometimes known as ''Adolfkanone'' or Adolf Guns, and have a barrel length of . The standard shell weighed with a range of about , while the lighter shell had a range of about . As a part of the Atlantic Wall, the fort is unique in its original set up and high degree of preservation.
References
External links
Naval Gun Battery Trondenes
Royal Norwegian Navy bases
Forts in Norway
Harstad
Military installations in Troms og Finnmark
Military installations established in 1943
1943 establishments in Norway
{{Norway-mil-stub