Brécourt
Brécourt was a Nazi Germany V-1 launching pad in Équeurdreville-Hainneville near Cherbourg, in Manche of Normandy, northern France. It was by far the largest V-1 launch complex ever built by the Luftwaffe, and the only one to feature two launching pads from the outset: one protected, the other underground. It was also the only large site to have been successively assigned to two different V-weapons: from July to December 1943 to the V-2 rocket, and from January 1944 to the V-1 flying bomb.
| Brécourt | |
|---|---|
aliases: Équeurdreville, Martinvast | |
| Part of Nazi Germany | |
| Équeurdreville-Hainneville, Manche, Normandy, France | |
Rear view of the incomplete launching ramp for German V-1 flying bombs, at Brécourt, Cherbourg, 12 July 1944. Note the camouflage netting suspended over the site. | |
Brécourt | |
| Coordinates | 49°39′7″N 1°40′12″W |
| Type |
|
| Site information | |
| Owner | French Navy |
| Open to the public | No |
| Condition | ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built |
|
| Built for | V-1 launch facility |
| Built by | Organization Todt |
| In use | never used |
| Materials | Reinforced concrete |
| Battles/wars | Operation Crossbow |
| Events |
|
| Designations | Monument historique |
Monument historique | |
| Official name | Rampe de lancement de V1 de Brécourt |
| Type | Launching pad |
| Designated | 23 February 1995 |
| Reference no. | PA00135509 |
Originally built by the French Navy as underground fuel oil storage tunnels, the Brécourt facility was repurposed during World War II by the German Army to store V-2 rockets. At the end of 1943, the Luftwaffe took over the site and used it as a launch pad for V-1 flying bombs to attack the Bristol harbour. The launch pad, though not fully completed, was captured by American forces in July 1944.