View Full Version : U-boat pens La Spezia
Matador.es
06-25-11, 03:55 PM
Hi there, haven't been online for a while since I am on holiday in Ilaty. At the moment I'm about 1/1.5 hours south of La Spezia. In vada. We have quite some trips in our agenda and already done some of them.
I wonder if any of you guys can tell me anything on the pens in La Spezia. Are they still there? Is it worth a day visit? Is there a museum or anything worth paying a visit. Maybe there are so e Italians on the forum, or maybe some have visited the pens.
Aye,
Matador
Onkel Neal
06-25-11, 03:59 PM
Having fun? :rock:
Matador.es
07-05-11, 06:29 AM
I do. But I just spend 2 hours I the car, 15 euros of toll to find the U-boat pens to be GONE. There are no pens nor does anyone know of it's existence. A naval officer, rank unknown but sure no dumm ass, who enjoyed our quest for the sub base helped us, but came back with empty hands.
So RTB, back to the camping in Vada.
Feuer Frei!
07-05-11, 06:45 AM
Firstly, good to see you online.
The pens Gone? Did they destroy them?
And no-one is saying anything? Maybe a sensitive part of history?
In fact, wasn't the 29th U-Flotille based there? And it was a training base.
mookiemookie
07-05-11, 06:54 AM
There were no hardened bunkers in La Spezia as there were on the coast of France. I guess why you didn't see any was that there was never any there in the first place.
http://www.uboataces.com/articles-uboat-bunker.shtml
Feuer Frei!
07-05-11, 07:01 AM
Matador.es, do you have a chance to see any of the sub pen bases, Brest, Lorient, Saint Nazaire, La Rochelle or Bordeaux?
Providing the still exist and are/or are open to limited access, ie tours etc.
I'm not overly familiar with French geographics. Are you near any of these locations?
I'm not overly familiar with French geographics. Are you near any of these locations?
No he's not.
And none of these bunkers can still be visited nowadays.
Jimbuna
07-05-11, 07:40 AM
Linky linky:
http://www.uboat-bases.com/
Feuer Frei!
07-05-11, 07:53 AM
And none of these bunkers can still be visited nowadays.
Seems to me Bordeaux is:
The bunker is today in private use. A permission to visit is possible without problems.
SOURCE (http://www.uboat.net/flotillas/bases/bordeaux.htm)
Usually, I don't speak without full knowledge of the facts. But well, it's up to you to believe you can visit it of course.
Matador.es
07-09-11, 04:02 AM
There were no hardened bunkers in La Spezia as there were on the coast of France. I guess why you didn't see any was that there was never any there in the first place.
http://www.uboataces.com/articles-uboat-bunker.shtml
Thanks to you all for the info and links.
If you see google maps you will immediately understand there is no bunker and likely there never has been one. So I feel the need of a minor correction in the SH 5 layout of La spetzia :)
The u-boat man must have had a super stay over there when on leave. The centre of the city is pritty much the harbor. Even nowadays. There is a small (compared to Rotterdam) harbor for container shipping right in the city.
Matador.es
07-09-11, 04:10 AM
Matador.es, do you have a chance to see any of the sub pen bases, Brest, Lorient, Saint Nazaire, La Rochelle or Bordeaux?
Providing the still exist and are/or are open to limited access, ie tours etc.
I'm not overly familiar with French geographics. Are you near any of these locations?
Yes I am close, always am. Just got home from italiy, 13 hours by car non stop (exept for fuel, which went quite fast when cruising around 160/170 KM/ hour in Germany).
I have been near the sub base in Brest, when I was delivering a 40 foot sailboat to San Sebastian (Spain) from Amsterdam. One of the crew had to leave the boat back home so we made a stop in Brest and sailed in front of the bunker.
This year I intend to go to Wilhelmshaven, Kiel and Normandy in weekend trips. In Germany there is one type VIIand a type XXI. I want to visit these with my father in law.
If anybody has any intel on what to do and what not I am all ears.
(we should raise a subsim flag in each u-boat museum!)
Feuer Frei!
07-09-11, 04:17 AM
Yes I am close, always am. Just got home from italiy, 13 hours by car non stop (exept for fuel, which went quite fast when cruising around 160/170 KM/ hour in Germany).
I have been near the sub base in Brest, when I was delivering a 40 foot sailboat to San Sebastian (Spain) from Amsterdam. One of the crew had to leave the boat back home so we made a stop in Brest and sailed in front of the bunker.
This year I intend to go to Wilhelmshaven, Kiel and Normandy in weekend trips. In Germany there is one type VIIand a type XXI. I want to visit these with my father in law.
If anybody has any intel on what to do and what not I am all ears.
(we should raise a subsim flag in each u-boat museum!)
Sounds like a great time.
If the opportunity of taking pictures presents itself, maybe you could post some pics here.
Would love to see them. :salute:
danasan
07-09-11, 05:18 AM
Thanks to you all for the info and links.
...
There is a small (compared to Rotterdam) harbor for container shipping right in the city.
Well, almost any harbour in the world will look small compared to the one in Rotterdam...
If there were any pictures taken, we would be glad to see them. Very interesting stuff. :)
Matador.es
07-10-11, 09:12 AM
I dont have any pictures of La Spetzia, since there was nothing to be seen. But when I go to the other placed I will take my good camera (5D) with my wide angle and report myself in advance via email that I would like to make some photos. I have experienced that this work very well :) and yes, they will be posted or linked here!
If you are not afraid of making a trip through France (and I mean yes, you can be afraid, most of us still not speaking English), I'd tend to say the best base to visit for you would be St Nazaire.
It's the one I like least, since a part of it got completly "freshed up" (part of walls demolished, little shops created inside the bunker) but at least you can get full access to it, including the roof.
The only problem I have with this one is that it's no more the original one as it was during the war.
Other than that, don't expect to be able to visit others. The Brest bunker is a military base of some military section of the navy, Lorient bunkers are the home of some companies related to maritime construction, La Rochelle is no more accessible to the public due to risks of roof collapse rising recently, Bordeaux got closed to the public for some reason related to the protection of its inner walls (a bunch of idiots came in and got some walls graffiti-scabbed, therefore the mayor of the city decided that was enough to close it indefinitely).
But still, you can take pictures of absolutely everyone from outside of them if you like.
Have a good journey !
Hi there, haven't been online for a while since I am on holiday in Ilaty. At the moment I'm about 1/1.5 hours south of La Spezia. In vada. We have quite some trips in our agenda and already done some of them.
I wonder if any of you guys can tell me anything on the pens in La Spezia. Are they still there? Is it worth a day visit? Is there a museum or anything worth paying a visit. Maybe there are so e Italians on the forum, or maybe some have visited the pens.
Aye,
Matador
Bugger, that's dissapointing, I will be in Italy end of May and will be spending 3 days in La Spezia.
Sailor Steve
05-09-12, 11:27 PM
You do realize you're responding to a post made almost a year ago?
You do realize you're responding to a post made almost a year ago?
Its OK Steve, Sandgropers are 3 hours and 12 months behind everyone else.:D
JK mate. Necro threads are frowned upon here unless dug up by the OP or for a really good spamming reason.:03:
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