A rather large box

We took a dip southward to visit a box. It was a nice country drive that included a brief period under the Weser river which suited the submarine theme of the last couple days.

Our destination was the Valentin submarine pens, a huge 'bomb-proof' submarine fabrication plant on the Weser river near Bremen. While it was quite a feat of engineering it was ultimately neither bomb-proof, nor ever fabricated a submarine. Indeed the reason it should be remembered is that it was a site where forced labourers were worked to death in huge numbers (~6000). The chief engineer went to his grave taking no responsibility for the use or abuse of these workers. He wasn't alone in that attitude - noone was ever even charged after the war. Almost all of the complex - camps, oil storage, railways, roads, even the inlet and wharves have been obliterated post-war. There are a couple of memorials around the campsites, and one outside the pen.

"Extermination by Labour"

First view of the pens

When you first see the inside you think it's big...

...and then you turn around!

This hole did for the entire project: made by a Tallboy bomb I think.

 Completed U-Boats would have left conducted submersion tests and then sailed from here.

Then into this bay, when it was one.

Moving on, we camped in Bremerhaven, for no reason  really. I had misremembered the Grimm fairy tale about the 4 musicians as being Bremerhaven rather than Bremen. 30 odd years ago I had seen the statue of these on my bike trip, and I had seen the story as a child in primary school!

Anyway, Bremerhaven  is where we stopped. We took the opportunity to do all our laundry and look like a mobile laundry mobile as a result. While it was on wash we took a dip in the lake as the day was stinking hot. Tomorrow another submarine - the Wilhelm Bauer,a type XXI u-boat.