Sottevast V site relic, rocket shaped design marked with runes
Article about: Intially I was only going to post pictures of my find for help with idenitification. But it may help with this if I'd add a few photo's and history of the site including my visit 20 or so ye
Sottevast V site relic, rocket shaped design marked with runes
Intially I was only going to post pictures of my find for help with idenitification. But it may help with this if I'd add a few photo's and history of the site including my visit 20 or so years ago when the relic was recovered.
Sottevast is a few miles south of Cherburg in Normandy it was built for the launch of V rockets. Due to the distance from England around 100 miles only the V2 or later variants are believed to have been scheduled for use here. It is a larger than many other V2 sites and modern thinking now suggests it could have been prepared for the launch of Nazi atomic weapons, luckily for us this was never achieved.
Work on the site was first noticed by the allies late in 1943, a rail track being built to the site to aid transport of building supplies. The allies continued observation until early 1944 when bombing commenced which knocked out the work up to then. The site was never completed or operated and was overrun by the Americans in July 1944 who were advancing toward Cherbourg, later captured (following the D Day landings 6th June 1944).
The original photo's were taken by the US forces following the over running or the site. In the 1950's it was purchased by a local farmer who still owns the site today. He filled in the construction trenches with all the scrap lying around and then bulldozed the area including the closure of the bucker entrances and leveling of the land. The field has since been used for agriculture but the L shaped bunker still remains and approching the site a concrete guards post also still survives.
When I visited 20 years ago on a wet and cold November morning I wasn't as experienced in the battlefield archeology as now and couldn't have foreseen a website forum like War Relics, so unfortunately I only took three pictures that I've scanned here. But what was of interest is that the every year the ploughing of this field (site of the filled construction trenches) unearth's the construction relics for this site. This includes shovels, narrow gauge rail track, barded wire and even allied roadway used when the site was being investigated. All the farmer does with these is chuck them out of the way up onto the remaining bucker tops.
When I visited, I think may have kept a shovel head but my most interesting find and the one that I'm asking for help with identification is an aluminuim shaped item, embossed with a rocket like shape and inside that a rune shaped figure. May be it's just my wishful thinking but you'll understand after seeing it why I say that. For many years it's identification has haunted me and I've still not discovered what it was so maybe someone can help? The condition is not so good, understandable if it was first bombed then buried causing corrosion and then ripped out of the earth by a ploughed all causing damage. Due to its uneven shape it was hard to photograph so I have also included a sketch with its dimensions.
Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions.
LUCKYSTRIKE
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