Footsteps of WWII · Western France
Brest: the U-boat base and the Naval Museum
Museum · 1941–19 Sep 1944
The story
German troops entered Brest on 19 June 1940. From 1941 the Organisation Todt built a U-boat base of 15 basins, its roof thickened to 6.1 m, for the 1st and 9th U-boat Flotillas. It survived 82 raids; Tallboys from 617 Squadron pierced the roof but did little damage inside. After D-Day the city became Festung Brest under General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke. US VIII Corps besieged it from 7 August to 19 September 1944, taking about 38,000 prisoners; the old city was razed and the port wrecked. On 9 September an explosion in the Sadi-Carnot shelter killed 371 French civilians.
What to look for
The medieval château, still the seat of the Maritime Prefecture, houses the National Naval Museum, with ship models, paintings and the harbour's naval history. Its ramparts look over the military port; the U-boat base lies inside the naval zone and cannot be visited. The Sadi-Carnot shelter, with its memorial, is in the city centre.
Plan your visit
Naval Museum: 1 Apr–30 Sep daily 10:00–18:30; 1 Oct–31 Mar 13:30–18:30, closed Tuesdays. Adult €12, reduced €10; online booking available. The U-boat base is not open to the public.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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