Rangefinder No.1 of the 23rd Shore Battery (1941)
Infrastruktūra
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The rangefinders (dating from 1941) are located in the pines of the dune, only 10m from the other tower, built in 1954. The 1st and 2nd gun emplacements of the shore battery are located on the seafront and partially eroded, while the 4th gun emplacement is best seen in the dunes. The reinforced concrete bunker of the personnel who manned the guns is now washed away by the waves and has a washed-out foundation, tilted and leaning seawards.
Liepaja Fortress Battery 2 was planned to be built further from the shoreline and protected by a high rampart. The armament of the battery was to be 16 11-inch (280 mm) mortars of the 1877 model. The mortars used steep trajectories and did not require direct aiming.
Following the 'base agreement' between the Republic of Latvia and the USSR, signed on 5 October 1939, a contingent of nearly 25 000 Red Army and Baltic Navy troops was to be stationed in Kurzeme. By March 1941, Baltic naval bases were established in Latvia in the defence sectors of Irbe Bay, Saaremaa and Liepāja, consisting of coastal defence batteries.
The Liepaja coastal defence sector included the 208th artillery division with two 130 mm B-13 gun batteries (No 23 and No 27) and one 180 mm rail gun battery. Construction of Battery 23 began in November 1939 and was completed on 17 May 1941, partly using the reinforced concrete fortifications of Battery No. 2 of Liepaja Fortress. Battery 23 consisted of four reinforced concrete gun positions on the seafront, a command post and an observation (range-finding) tower in the dune forest. The range-finding positions were located in reinforced concrete towers to ensure better visibility while maintaining concealment in the pine forest.
After the Second World War, Battery 23 was renamed Battery 636, armed with the same 130 mm B-13 guns, and a new range-keeping tower was built for fire control in 1954, adjacent to the 1941 tower. In 1963, all the Liepaja coastal defence guns were dismantled.
After the restoration of Latvia's independence, the area of Battery No 2 is in the use of the Ministry of Defence.
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Unikalaus karinio objekto Karostoje istorija
Jau daug metų nepastebėjau, kad Senosios Liepojos gyventojai domėtųsi unikaliomis vietomis, esančiomis vos aštuonių – dešimties kilometrų į šiaurę nuo miesto centro. Tačiau miško tankmėje, kopų pakrantėje ar pelkių takeliuose pasislėpusios Karostos istorinės vietos – ne mažiau įdomūs istoriniai faktai ir istorijos, vertos seniai pamirštų legendų. Viena iš jų – buvusi SSRS 23-ioji pakrantės artilerijos baterija – bus šios istorijos tema.