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A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to
blockhouse
A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
s which are mostly above ground. They were used extensively in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
for weapons facilities, command and control centers, and storage facilities. Bunkers can also be used as protection from
tornadoes
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
.
Trench bunkers are small concrete structures, partly dug into the ground. Many artillery installations, especially for
coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...
, have historically been protected by extensive bunker systems. Typical industrial bunkers include mining sites, food storage areas, dumps for materials, data storage, and sometimes living quarters. When a house is purpose-built with a bunker, the normal location is a reinforced below-ground bathroom with
fiber-reinforced plastic
Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass fibre, glass (in fibreglass), Carbon fib ...
shells. Bunkers deflect the blast wave from nearby
explosion
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
s to prevent ear and internal injuries to people sheltering in the bunker. Nuclear bunkers must also cope with the underpressure that lasts for several seconds after the
shock wave
In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...
passes, and block
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
.
A bunker's door must be at least as strong as the walls. In bunkers inhabited for prolonged periods, large amounts of
ventilation
Ventilation may refer to:
* Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation
** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing
*** Ventilator, a ma ...
or
air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
must be provided. Bunkers can be destroyed with powerful explosives and
bunker-busting warhead
A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
* Explosiv ...
s.
Etymology
The word ''bunker'' originates as a
Scots word for "bench, seat" recorded 1758, alongside shortened ''
bunk'' "sleeping berth".
[ Online Etymology Dictionary] The word possibly has a
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n origin:
Old Swedish
Old Swedish (Swedish language, Modern Swedish: ) is the name for two distinct stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1225 until about 1375, and Late Old Swedish (), spoken fro ...
''bunke'' means "boards used to protect the cargo of a ship".
In the 19th century the word came to describe a
coal store in a house, or below decks in a ship. It was also used for a
sand-filled depression installed on a golf course as a hazard.
In the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the
belligerents
A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning ...
built underground shelters, called
dugouts
Dugout may refer to:
* Dugout (shelter), an underground shelter
* Dugout (boat), a logboat
* Dugout (smoking), a marijuana container
Sports
* In bat-and-ball sports, a dugout is one of two areas where players of the home or opposing teams sit whe ...
in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, while the Germans used the term ''Bunker''. By the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the term came to be used by the Germans to describe permanent structures both large (
blockhouse
A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
s), and small (
pillboxes), and bombproof shelters both above ground (as in ''
Hochbunker
Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...
'') and below ground (such as the ''
Führerbunker
The ''Führerbunker'' () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters ( ...
'').
The military sense of the word was imported into English during World War II, at first in reference to specifically German dug-outs; according to the
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
, the sense of "military dug-out; a reinforced concrete shelter" is first recorded on 13 October 1939, in "A Nazi field gun hidden in a cemented 'bunker' on the Western front".
[''War Pictorial'', cited after ] All the early references to its usage in the Oxford English Dictionary are to German fortifications. However, in the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
the term was also applied to the earth and log positions built by the Japanese, the term appearing in a 1943 instruction manual issued by the
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
and quickly gaining wide currency.
By 1947 the word was familiar enough in English that
Hugh Trevor-Roper
Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford.
Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...
in ''The Last Days of Hitler'' was describing
Hitler's underground complex near the
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...
as "Hitler's own bunker" without quotes around the word bunker.
[
]
Types
Trench
This type of bunker is a small concrete structure, partly dug into the ground, which is usually a part of a trench system. Such bunkers give the defending soldiers better protection than the open trench
A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches result from eros ...
and also include top protection against aerial attack. They also provide shelter against the weather. Some bunkers may have partially open tops to allow weapons to be discharged with the muzzle pointing upwards (e.g., mortars and anti-aircraft weapons).
An archival look at World War I
'' from the Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to:
*Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
**Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950)
**Queen's University of Belfast ...
Archives, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Accessed 2008-02-10
Artillery
Many artillery installations, especially for coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...
, have historically been protected by extensive bunker systems. These usually housed the crews serving the weapons, protected the ammunition against counter-battery fire, and in numerous examples also protected the guns themselves, though this was usually a trade-off reducing their fields of fire. Artillery bunkers are some of the largest individual pre-Cold War bunkers. The walls of the ' Batterie Todt' gun installation in northern France were up to thick, and an underground bunker was constructed for the V-3 cannon
The V-3 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 3, ("Vengeance Weapon 3") was a German World War II large-caliber gun working on the multi-charge principle whereby secondary propellant charges are fired to add velocity to a projectile.
The Germans plan ...
.
Industrial
Typical industrial bunkers include mining sites, food storage areas, dumps for materials, data storage, and sometimes living quarters. They were built mainly by nations like Germany during World War II to protect important industries from aerial bombardment
An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offici ...
. Industrial bunkers are also built for control rooms of dangerous activities, such as tests of rocket engines or explosive experiments. They are also built in order to perform dangerous experiments in them or to store radioactive or explosive goods. Such bunkers also exist on non-military facilities.
Personal
When a house is purpose-built with a bunker, the normal location is a reinforced below-ground bathroom with large cabinets. One common design approach uses fibre-reinforced plastic
Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass (in fibreglass), carbon (in carbon-fib ...
shells. Compressive protection may be provided by inexpensive earth arching. The overburden is designed to shield from radiation. To prevent the shelter from floating to the surface in high groundwater, some designs have a skirt held down with the overburden.[ NOTE: Kearny recommends stockpiling materials for a blast or ]fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War.
During ...
and constructing it only if war appears very likely. It may also serve the purpose of a safe room
A safe room or panic room is a fortified room that is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break in, home invasion, tornado, terror attack, or other thr ...
.
Munitions storage
Munitions storage bunkers are designed to securely store explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
ordnance
Ordnance may refer to:
Military and defense
*Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment.
**The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...
and contain any internal explosions. The most common configuration for high explosives
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
storage is the igloo
An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow.
Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only b ...
shaped bunker. They are often built into a hillside in order to provide additional containment mass.
A specialized version of the munitions bunker called a Gravel Gertie
A Gravel Gertie is a type of bunker designed to provide containment during the nuclear weapons design, nuclear weapons assembly process, when the plutonium or highly enriched uranium "pit" is mated with the high explosive components and wired i ...
is designed to contain radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...
debris from an explosive accident while assembling or disassembling nuclear warhead
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s. They are installed at all facilities in the United States and United Kingdom which do warhead assembly and disassembly, the largest being the Pantex
Pantex is the primary United States nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located in the Texas Panhandle, Panhandle of T ...
plant in Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
, which has 12 Gravel Gerties.
Design
File:Hill 60 illowra battery port kembla.jpg, Inside the Hill 60 Bunker, Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia. One of many bunkers south of Sydney
File:Project-131-tunnel-door-9791.jpg, In a Project 131 tunnel under the hills of Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
File:Objekt 17 5001 toegangsdeur 02.JPG, Object 17/5001 Prenden, Germany
File:Harparskog Line Bunker 2.jpg, Bunker of the Harparskog Line in Raseborg
Raseborg ( fi, Raasepori) is a town (administrative area) and municipality of Finland. It was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Ekenäs, Karis and Pohja were consolidated into a single town. Of these, Ekenäs now serves as t ...
, Finland
File:Bunker-Mule (1995) by Bill Woodrow, Blåvand-Oksby, Denmark - 20040527-02.jpg, Beach bunker with improvised art in Blåvand, Denmark
File:Used_Bunker_in_Singapore.jpg, Bunker in Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
File:Maginot line 1.jpg, The entrance to Ouvrage Schoenenbourg
Ouvrage Schoenenbourg is a Maginot Line fortification. It is located on the territory of the communes of Hunspach, Schœnenbourg and Ingolsheim, in the French ''département'' of Bas-Rhin, forming part of the Fortified Sector of Haguenau ...
along the Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...
in France.
File:Albania bunkers.jpg, Bunkers in Albania
Concrete military bunkers are a ubiquitous sight in Albania, with an average of 5.7 bunkers for every square kilometre (14.7 per square mile). The bunkers ( sq, bunkerët) were built during the Stalinist and anti-revisionist government of E ...
File:German single person bunker.JPG, German single person bunker for reconnaissance personnel in the field
File:Brandenburg_Kirchmoeser_bunker.jpg, Bunker of type Winkel in Brandenburg an der Havel
Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417.
With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the H ...
File:Possum_Park_Bunker_8a.jpeg, Munitions bunker at Possum Park
The Adelaide Park Lands are the figure-eight of land spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton and separating the City of Adelaide area (which includes both Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide) from the surro ...
, Queensland, Australia.
File:Gravel_Gertie_-_PANTEX_Plant_-_1981.jpg, Gravel Gertie
A Gravel Gertie is a type of bunker designed to provide containment during the nuclear weapons design, nuclear weapons assembly process, when the plutonium or highly enriched uranium "pit" is mated with the high explosive components and wired i ...
at the Pantex
Pantex is the primary United States nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located in the Texas Panhandle, Panhandle of T ...
nuclear weapons plant, Amarillo, Texas.
File:Bunker 2.jpg, Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
bunker from World War I in West Ukraine
Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian ...
Blast protection
Bunkers deflect the blast wave from nearby explosion
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
s to prevent ear and internal injuries to people sheltering in the bunker. While frame buildings collapse from as little as of overpressure
Overpressure (or blast overpressure) is the pressure caused by a shock wave over and above normal atmospheric pressure. The shock wave may be caused by sonic boom or by explosion, and the resulting overpressure receives particular attention when m ...
, bunkers are regularly constructed to survive over . This substantially decreases the likelihood that a bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
(other than a bunker buster
A bunker buster is a type of munition that is designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground, such as military bunkers.
Armor piercing shells
Germany
Röchling shells were bunker-busting artillery shells, developed by ...
) can harm the structure.
The basic plan is to provide a structure that is very strong in physical compression
In mechanics, compression is the application of balanced inward ("pushing") forces to different points on a material or structure, that is, forces with no net sum or torque directed so as to reduce its size in one or more directions.Ferdinand P ...
. The most common purpose-built structure is a buried, steel reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
or arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
. Most expedient blast shelters are civil engineering structures that contain large, buried tubes or pipes such as sewage or rapid transit tunnels. Improvised purpose-built blast shelters normally use earthen arches or vaults. To form these, a narrow, , flexible tent of thin wood is placed in a deep trench, and then covered with cloth or plastic, and then covered with of tamped earth.
A large ground shock can move the walls of a bunker several centimeters in a few milliseconds. Bunkers designed for large ground shocks must have sprung internal buildings to protect inhabitants from the walls and floors.
Nuclear protection
Nuclear bunkers must also cope with the underpressure that lasts for several seconds after the shock wave
In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...
passes, and block radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
. Usually, these features are easy to provide. The overburden (soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
) and structure provide substantial radiation shielding, and the negative pressure is usually only of the overpressure.
General features
The doors must be at least as strong as the walls. The usual design is now starting to incorporate vault doors. To reduce the weight, the door is normally constructed of steel, with a fitted steel lintel and frame. Very thick wood also serves and is more resistant to heat because it chars rather than melts. If the door is on the surface and will be exposed to the blast wave, the edge of the door is normally counter-sunk in the frame so that the blast wave or a reflection cannot lift the edge. A bunker should have two doors. Door shafts may double as ventilation shafts to reduce digging.
In bunkers inhabited for prolonged periods, large amounts of ventilation
Ventilation may refer to:
* Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation
** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing
*** Ventilator, a ma ...
or air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
must be provided in order to prevent ill effects of heat. In bunkers designed for war-time use, manually operated ventilators must be provided because supplies of electricity or gas are unreliable. One of the most efficient manual ventilator designs is the Kearny Air Pump. Ventilation openings in a bunker must be protected by blast valve
A blast valve is used to protect a shelter, such as a fallout shelter or bunker, from the effects of sudden outside air pressure changes. A nuclear weapon creates a shock wave, which may produce sudden pressure changes of more than an atmosphere (a ...
s. A blast valve is closed by a shock wave, but otherwise remains open. One form of expedient blast valve is worn flat rubber tire
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...
treads nailed or bolted to frames strong enough to resist the maximum overpressure.
Countermeasures
Bunkers can be destroyed with powerful explosives and bunkerbusting warheads. The crew of a pillbox Pillbox may refer to:
* Pill organizer, a container for medicine
* Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim
* Pillbox (military), concrete dug-in guard posts
* Pillbox affair
The Pillbox affair, also known ...
can be killed with flamethrower
A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
s. Complex, well-built and well-protected fortifications are often vulnerable to attacks on access points. If the exits to the surface can be closed off, those manning the facility can be trapped. The fortification can then be bypassed.
Famous installations
Famous bunkers include the post-World War I Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...
on the French eastern border and Czechoslovak border fortifications
Czechoslovakia built a system of border fortifications as well as some fortified defensive lines inland, from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany. The objective of the fortifications was to prevent t ...
mainly on the northern Czech border facing Germany (but to lesser extent all around), Fort Eben-Emael
Fort Eben-Emael (french: Fort d'Ében-Émael, ) is an inactive Belgian fortress located between Liège and Maastricht, on the Belgian-Dutch border, near the Albert Canal, outside the village of Ében-Émael. It was designed to defend Belgiu ...
in Belgium, Alpine Wall
The Alpine Wall (''Vallo Alpino'') was an Italian system of fortifications along the of Italy's northern frontier. Built in the years leading up to World War II at the direction of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the defensive line faced Franc ...
on the north of Italy, World War II Führerbunker
The ''Führerbunker'' () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters ( ...
and in Italy, industrial Marnate's Bunker
Marnate's Bunker is a military monument of World War II, with the purpose of being used as an industrial bunker. It is located in Valle Olona (Varese), Italy, between the boundaries of Marnate, Olgiate Olona and Gorla Minore.
Built by the Ger ...
, the V-weapon installations in Germany (Mittelwerk
Mittelwerk (; German for "Central Works") was a German World War II factory built underground in the Kohnstein to avoid Allied bombing. It used slave labor from the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp to produce V-2 ballistic missiles, V-1 flyin ...
) & France (La Coupole
''La Coupole'' ( en, The Dome), also known as the ''Coupole d'Helfaut-Wizernes'' and originally codenamed ''Bauvorhaben'' 21 ('Building Project 21') or ''Schotterwerk Nordwest'' (Northwest Gravel Works), is a Second World War bunker complex in the ...
, and the Blockhaus d'Éperlecques
The ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' ( en, Bunker of Éperlecques, also referred to as "the Watten bunker" or simply "Watten") is a Second World War bunker, now part of a museum, near Saint-Omer in the northern Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, ...
) and the Cold War installations in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(Cheyenne Mountain Complex
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities of ...
, Site R
The Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC), also known as Site R, is a U.S. military installation with an underground nuclear bunker near Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, at Raven Rock Mountain that has been called an "underground Pentagon". The ...
, and The Greenbrier
The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States.
Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to "take the waters" of the ...
), United Kingdom (Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
), Sweden (Boden Fortress
Boden Fortress ( sv, Bodens fästning) is a modern fortification, fortress consisting of several major and minor forts and fortifications surrounding the city of Boden, Sweden, Boden, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden. The fortress was originally int ...
) and Canada (Diefenbunker
The Diefenbunker, formerly known by its military designation, Canadian Forces Station Carp (CFS Carp), is a large underground four-storey reinforced concrete bunker and nuclear fallout shelter located in the rural area of Carp, Ontario approximate ...
). In Switzerland, there is an unusually large number of bunkers because of a law requiring protective shelters to be constructed for all new buildings since 1963, as well as a number of bunkers built as part of its National Redoubt military defense plan. Some of Switzerland's bunkers have since become tourist attractions housing hotels and museums such as Sasso San Gottardo Museum.
The Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
maintained huge bunkers (one of the secondary uses of the very deeply dug Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first unde ...
and Kyiv metro
The Kyiv Metro ( uk, Ки́ївський метрополіте́н, Kyivskyi metropoliten, ) is a rapid transit system in Kyiv that is owned by the Kyiv City Council and operated by the city-owned company Kyivsky Metropoliten''.'' It was initi ...
systems was as nuclear shelters). A number of facilities were constructed in China, such as Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
's Underground City
An underground city is a series of linked subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or drainage channels; or several of thes ...
and Underground Project 131
Underground Project 131 () is a system of tunnels in Hubei province constructed in the late 1960s and the early 1970s to accommodate the Chinese People's Liberation Army command headquarters in case of a nuclear war. The facility was never full ...
in Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
; in Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
dotted the country with hundreds of thousands of bunkers. In the United States, the Presidential Emergency Operations Center
The Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC, ) is a bunker-like structure underneath the East Wing of the White House. It serves as a secure shelter and communications center for the president of the United States and others in case of a ...
underneath the East Wing
The East Wing of the White House is a two-story structure that serves as office space for the First Lady and her staff, including the White House social secretary, White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office and correspondence staff. The East Wi ...
of the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
serves as a secure shelter and communications center for the President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
in case of an emergency.
See also
*Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip
Hamas, the governing authority in the Gaza Strip, has constructed a sophisticated network of military tunnels since it seized control of the Strip in 2007. The tunnel system branches beneath many Gazan towns and cities, such as Khan Yunis, ...
* Air raid shelter
Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...
* Bomb shelter
A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb.
Types of shelter
Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives.
Air ...
* Underground hangar
An underground hangar is a type of hangar for military aircraft, usually dug into the side of a mountain for protection. It is bigger and more protected than a hardened aircraft shelter (HAS).
An underground hangar complex may include tunnels cont ...
* Submarine pen
A submarine pen (''U-Boot-Bunker'' in German) is a type of submarine base that acts as a bunker to protect submarines from air attack.
The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and ...
* Fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War.
During ...
* Pillbox (military)
A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, normally equipped with loopholes through which defenders can fire weapons. It is in effect a trench firing step, hardened to protect against small-arms fire and grenades, an ...
* ''Regelbau
The ''Regelbau'' (German for "standard design") were a series of standardised bunker designs built in large numbers by the Germans in the Siegfried Line (german: Westwall) and the Atlantic Wall as part of their defensive fortifications prior to ...
''
* Continuity of government
Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war.
COG was developed by the British government bef ...
* Civil Defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
* Paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
1
abmm.org
Australian Bunker And Military Museum
2
BunkerBlog
All about German fortifications 1933-1945
3
Bunkersite.com
About bunkers built by the Germans during 1933–1945 in the whole of Europe
4
German bunkers in Poland
Fortified Front Odra-Warta rivers, Boryszyn Loop
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