The JM cloche is an element of 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 ...

. It is a non-retractable non-rotating cupola of steel alloy like

GFM cloche The GFM cloche was one of the most common defensive armaments on the Maginot Line. A ''cloche'' (bell) was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant. By comparison, turrets could be rotat ...

s, but are armed with twin heavy

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

s, as opposed to the lighter

automatic rifle An automatic rifle is a type of autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally select-fire weapons capable of firing in semi-automatic and automatic firing modes (some automatic rifles are capable of ...

s associated with the GFM. There are 179 JM cloches on the

. JM is an acronym for ''Jumelage de Mitrailleuses'' (twin machine guns). While the MAC 31 heavy machine guns were of the same caliber (7.5mm) as those in GFM cloches, they had a longer practical range and a maximum range of , with a 500 round per minute rate of fire.Mary, Tome 2, page 109

Description

The JM cloche closely resembles the GFM cloche in size and construction. It exists in three versions, all designed Model 1930: small, large and two-man. JM cloches had a single

firing port A firing port, sometimes called a pistol port, is a small opening in armored vehicles, fortified structures like bunkers, or other armored equipment that allows small arms to be safely fired out of the vehicle at enemy infantry, often to cover v ...

, which was flanked on either side by trapezoidal observation ports. The blank rear was frequently backed by a concrete-covered embankment, which provided additional cover and reduced the prominence of the cloche.

AM cloche

The AM (''Armes Mixte'') cloche, Model 1934, could mount a 25mm anti-tank gun and paired machine guns in two separate ports. It lacked the JM's observation ports. Shutters could be put in place to close unused ports. The AM existed in both a large and a small version. 72 AM cloches were installed solely in the New Fronts fortifications.Mary, Tome 2, page 70

AM conversions

Ten JM cloches were modified to accept a shortened 25mm anti-tank gun in place of the twin machine guns. The modifications took place in 1940 in several ''ouvrages'' of the northeast.

References

Bibliography

*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001.

External links