Brecourt Page 2
The Germans had in Brecourt an almost ready made site for their V Weapons,
there was a railway connection, and there was also a 24 inch narrow gauge
railway, which they extended to cover most of the tunnels. The railway tracks
are still in place. The two plans above give a better idea of the site.
The V1 facility was not completed, but enough of the structure is in place to
give an idea of the finished building. A better understanding of the site can be
gained from the sketch of the launch area, below. From photographs taken in 1945
and 1946, and from inspection, it is clear that there is an additional storey
(H) missing from the main building. There are the remains of vertical, steel
reinforcement bars, evident in the earlier photographs, and there are two large
rectangular openings, obviously intended for stairwells. This additional storey
was most likely intended for equipment associated with the launch.
A description of the facility is as follows. The V1 would emerge from the
workshops and service area at (A), where it would be given an initial pre-launch
check.
There would have been a concrete roof at this level which would have extended
right along the launch ramp. Some of the concrete beams are in place.
At position, (B), the flying bomb would have its compass set.
The exhaust gasses from the launch of a V1 would be very hot and toxic as the V1
was catapulted into the sky using a similar system found on aircraft carriers.
The propellant was hydrogen peroxide, a very corrosive chemical. The ramp and
launch area would have to be washed down after every launch. It is possible that
the Germans would have used the steam facility at Brecourt , this would have
made a launch in a confined space much simpler, and just left steam and V1
exhaust gasses to be channelled through the vents.
The gasses would be channelled through (C) and (D) although (D) is not
completed, this design was used by all the major rocket launching powers after
the war.
(F), This is the personnel access to tunnel number two. The launch would have
been started from the small room in the corner of the site, out of the way from
the direct blast of the launch (E).
One essential piece of equipment that is missing is some means of sealing off
the building opposite (C), to ensure that the exhaust gases were channelled
along the vent tunnel.
The slots at (G) were probably intended for a flexible steel curtain; the long
slot on the opposite side would have been able to accommodate a device like a
steel roller shutter which came right across in front of the launching pad.
Access to the V1 launch building is still possible and underground there is
extensive space, which is now flooded.
There was certainly ample scope for the preparation and storage of radioactive
material, both in the original tunnels and the later German additions.
The blast walls (K) would have been covered with a blast proof roof, this
explains the thickness of the walls.
The VI would be launched between the blast walls, with the ramp structure
attached to the slots at (L).
Apparently a second V2/V1 launch facility was planned.
This would have been connected by a tunnel to reservoir 1, but it was never
started.
