Bunkerinfo
In Julianadorp, not far from Den Helder, you can find the remains of the German radar navigation system "Knickebein K3". This system was spread across Europe. Was it possible for the Germans to guide their bombers to a specific target. Via two Knickebein systems, a cross was formed, as it were, above the area to be bombed. The bomber followed the signal from one of the Knickebein's. And when it arrived at the point where the two signals crossed, the pilot saw this on his equipment and knew he could drop his bomb load. The radar is of course long gone, but the ring on which it rotated is still there. It is a ring about 15 cm wide and has a diameter of around 35 meters. Until recently, the roof of one of the adjacent bunkers was still used as a lookout point. But after restoration work, it disappeared completely underground again. During this work, the Aggregate building was also demolished, which was built by the German occupier as a power supply for the position.
A second Knickebein system that was installed in the Netherlands was located in Woensdrecht near Bergen op Zoom. It is suspected that the ring that is still present in Julianadorp is also still present in Woensdrecht, except that it is located a few meters underground. There are also some traces on the site in Woensdrecht, such as the generator building and the Machine Building.
The map above clearly shows how the German navigation system was spread across Europe. The map also gives an idea of how the system worked. A signal was sent from two locations. One of which was followed by a German plane or ship. When the aircraft then crossed the second signal, the pilot knew that the target had been reached. Below you will find an overview of the 12 built locations in Europe. Number 13 was never completed.
Number Diameter Location Country
K1 30 Klepp Norway
K2 95 Stollberg Germany
K3 30 Julianadorp Netherlands
K4 95 Kleve Germany
K5 30 Bergen op Zoom Netherlands
K6 30 Mont Viollete France
K7 30 Greny France
K8 30 Mont Pinçon
France
K9 30 Beaumont Hague France
K10 30 Sortosville-en-Beaumont
France
K11 30 Saint Fiacre
France
K12 95 Maulburg Germany
K13 30 Noto Italy
The Knickebein system was based on Morse code. A code of bars was broadcast at one location and a Morse code of dots at the other location. When the aircraft reached the correct location, the barcode changed to a continuous beep and the pilot knew he had reached the designated location. And if the pilot deviated from the route, the dot and dash codes became louder and the pilot could correct the aircraft back to the correct route. The Knickebein system had approximately a range of 500 kilometers. The English soon discovered that something was wrong and started "The Battle of the Beams". This was to disrupt the German system, which was codenamed 'Headache' (headache) by the English. England succeeded in developing a jammer and it was given the appropriate code name 'Aspirins'. This jammer sent a signal that kept sending out a Morse code, causing the pilot of the plane to try to correct the aircraft to the correct route, which of course was no longer correct. The Knickebein system was designed around 1939 by the German company Telefunken and that year the first three installations were built in Germany.
Julianadorp
A Knickebein position was built by the Luftwaffe in Julianadorp. Which consisted of several bunkers in addition to the antenna. A number of Küver bunkers were built, including one of the type 412. This bunker housed the operating staff who controlled the radar. And a number of Küvers of the type 441 were built. On the roof of these bunkers an open bed was built for light guns up to a caliber of 3.7 cm. All lighter guns were expected to be able to be positioned in the bed. A Küverbunker of the MG 35 type was built to store the ammunition for the Flak Beddingen. There was also personnel accommodation of the VF2a type. In addition to these bunkers, a bomb-proof bunker was planned which was never built. This would become a crew quarters of type 622. In addition to this bunker, another bunker was planned, of which nothing is known. Almost all of these bunkers are still present and have been under construction and are no longer passable. The ring on which the radar was running is still in the dune landscape, but it is so large that it is more visible from the air than from the ground. The position was referred to as W.N.134 L which fell under Baupunkt 45a. The full name of the position was "Lw.Nachr.-Anlage Knickebein". The occupation of this position consisted of 1 officer, 5 non-commissioned officers and 28 men and had the following weapons. There were 28 guns available for the crew of the position. The open beds on the Küverbunkers 441 were equipped with a piece of 2 cm flak artillery. There was also a light grenade launcher available, one heavy M.G. and 6 light M.G.s
Pay close attention to the circle at the top left. If you look closely you can see the iron here circle on which the radar rotated.
In the photo below you see a Knickebein as it was set up in the Netherlands. The photo comes from the Federal Archives. The position in Julianadorp was equipped with a "Fu SAn 721 Knickebein"