new adventure with some pictures

[viper771]

Well, today I was going to vist a new site and check out the area. I was only armed with a camera, I didn't do any digging yet. This town was a 2nd Echelon town of the west wall. I found the area where a US tank was knocked out at a crossroads. I found a place to park, and I headed down the orig road to the town though the woods. While I was walking down the road, i came to a bunker, or what looks like part of a bunker tunnel system. It was right at a crossroads, where one road went down the slope, and the other continued into the woods. Behind it was the Orig concrete slab that covered the thing. It had a wood trap door on it, and so, being the curious type, I slowly opened it up. That sucker was DEEP. It was flooded at some time. I think there were a few dead squirles down floating in the water (eww). Right were I was standing ( I hope you appreciate the pictures , I had to crawl on my hands and knees to get on top of this thing, it was a little drop off the side of the hill), there were 2 pipes leading out of the ground, maybe to supply the tunnel with air?

So I kept walking and found a few fighting positions. The road I was on eventually lead up to the main road that now runs into the town. So I took the road back to the bunker, and went down that road. I found some more trenches (fighting positions), and that road lead to a road into the town. At least I found some closer places to park. I didn't get around to the other side of the woods, or the main areas where the dragons teeth are, and the intact bunker. I am going to try to this weekend though, and take picts. Hopefully I can get in a few digs out here before it rains more, or worse, snows! I hope you enjoy the pictures. I did find an old intact perfume? bottle. I will take a picture of it and post it. It was just laying on the surface.

Here is a picture of the bunker/tunnel entrance, the mossy thing on the right behind it is the thick concerte slab with hooks in it for attaching it to a crane, which would lift it and place the slab over the entrance


Picture of flooded entrance


View of bunker from lower road


Pict of fighting positon on hilltop, next to current road


Fighting position


orig road


fighting position

 

[Born2Dtect]

Viper, your post really make me regret not metal detecting while in Germany. I was in Hanau,Germany at Fleigorhorst (SP?) in 80-81. Looks like you are near there. Oh well I should not dwell on lost opportunities. Good luck and keep posting.

Ed D.

 

[viper771]

I would LOVE to hunt Hanau! It isn't far at all, maybe 2 hrs? There was a BIG battle there between napoleaons forces and the prussians. I even found a copy of the battlemap of where everything was placed on both sides. I haven't really worked my way out that far yet.. so much to explore here on this side of the rhine. I am going to try to hunt this weekend, and look around the intact bunker that is in the west wall town. PLenty of good stuff to find

 

[birdman]

Lets go Sunday afternoon. I will go back to Hanau.

 

[viper771]

I gotta clear it with the boss (the wife). I'll let ya know though. Bammer wanted to go to my town on sunday afternoon. We can work something out

 

[birdman]

bring him also

 

[Jagdpanther]

Viper,

What area exactly have you been detecting in. I just left there in May. I was working at Panzer Kaserne. There are some really interesting areas there. You should check out Donnersberg. Highest point in the Pfalz. Used by both sides during the war for observation and communitions. Place is crisscrossed with trails and roads. Another place is the small town of Sippersfeld just East of Sembach. There are large sandstone caves along Hauptstrassa that the Germans used for storage during the war.

I wish I was there and we would go swing a coil together but I do like being home in the States.

 

[viper771]

This place is Lambsborn, about 10 mins west of Landstuhl Army Hospital. Panzer does have some stuff id like to explore too! I know there are some palace ruins right behind there, as well as bunkers, flak battery sites, and other cool stuff.

I have also detected around the Kusel area, and areas around there. There are tons of places I have been doing research on. I just need more ppl to help map it out If you are ever here in the next 2 yrs let me know. Id be more than happy to take ya around.

 

[pgill]

Viper, those are great sites to search The area looks very beautiful... I love the picture you took of the road with the trees on both sides..... I could sit there and just vegitate for a long time wish I could be with you.... wish you all the very best on the hunts... please keep us updated with many more great pictures.

God bless
Peter

 

[viper771]

I will I went out today near Krottelbach to hunt around some areas I haven't mapped out yet. The area was hit HARD by arty or tanks. Not one bullet found.. just arty fragments. There was a HQ down the way, and it still stands. It is now a guest house. It looks like they retreated out toward that area.. i haven't hit it yet.. but from where I parked I could see some nice fighting positions to start checking.

Heading out to the west wall town tomorrow, and do some digging Id like to find some more medals, or even a panzerfaust tube. All my stuff is cleaning up really nice I think I hauled another 30 lbs of shrapnel out of the woods today. For small pieces, they sure are heavy.

 

[Jagdpanther]

You might want to check out the area around Zweibrueken. There were two posts there that were closed down in the 80s one airforce and one army. Both were taken over by the locals and being used for various things such as schools and small business. Both had housing areas that were in use since the end of WWII. Zweibrueken was leveled by the Canadians due to it's close proximity to the French border. That would be another area worth taking a look at. Large old military complex to the South in Bitch, France.

HH

 

[viper771]

ah thanks for the info! I know where the airfield is in zweibrueken, but I don't know where the army post was. I know people were pulling nazi medals out of there, and some old american silver coins out of there too. Its not too far, prob 45 mins away.. I may have to do a recon of that area too

 

[Jagdpanther]

ah thanks for the info! I know where the airfield is in zweibrueken, but I don't know where the army post was. I know people were pulling nazi medals out of there, and some old american silver coins out of there too. Its not too far, prob 45 mins away.. I may have to do a recon of that area too

Army base was Kreuzberg Kaserne. Sits above Zweibruecken to the North.

 

[viper771]

gotta use google earth and see whats still there of the post thanks for the info

 

[Salvager]

You really do have some exciting adventures viper.
Good to see your making use of all that history surrounding you.

Have fun and good luck,
Salvager

 

[viper771]

im going to try to hit a few more places before winter REALLY sets in. Its already getting dark earlier and cold Well, i do have a ton of stuff to clean in the garage I went out on Sat for a bit, and searched by the ammo dump area. They were hit REALLY hard with arty. I didn't find one bullet! I found a lot of HE round pieces, prob from an m8 greyhound scout car. The HQ still stands today as a guest house, and it down the dirt road from where I was today. I gotta follow the trail The germans were getting hit from the front, and the rear. So, I think they would of headed to the HQ, which is to the east of the location. According to the situation report I have from the 10th Arm. Div., they eventually fell back to Kaiserslautern, then went across the rhine toward manhein to defend there, blowing bridges as they went. The allies had no probs with K-town, since the allied bombers destoyed over 80% of the city. It gave up without a firefight. I should take pictures of the cemetery wall that is by Kleber Kasern. It still has pock marks from the bombs exploding by it.

actually, some of the houses in my town have bullet holes in the stone still. So there was some light action here, and a garrison of soliders were in Glan Muchweilier, a town less than 2k away..close to where the MG 42 nest was located.

There is still a b17 that went down 2K in the other direction. My neighbor actually saw it happen, and he will hopefully show me where the location is. I guess it went down in a creek.. they still find little incindary bombs now (like in mainz). the explosive part is gone, its just the metal rectangle full of White phos. I don't take stuff like that home since it can still light on fire, or the chemical can burn you. but, it would be cool to check that place out too