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Bunker Saint-Leu-d'Esserent

Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les carrières de pierre souterraines environnantes furent occupées par les Allemands pour l'assemblage et le stockage de missiles V1. En conséquence, lors de l'opération Crossbow, l'aviation alliée bombarda massivement le bourg et ses environs, détruisant Saint-Leu à 85 %.

During WW2, Saint Leu d'Esserent (in the Oise département, 45 kilometers north of Paris) was known as a stone quarry, which was used to store V1s and fuel, material for launching the V1 and various chemicals needed to launch it.

From October 1939, for fear of German bombing raids, the French company Brissoneau et Lotz, moved the production of the fuselages of the Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 bomber from Montataire to subterranean quarry "Carrière du Couvent" at Saint-Leu-d'Esserent. 3000 m² of galleries were developed to accommodate the fuselage production with heating, ventilation and accommodation facilities for the 1100 strong workforce.

The German name is "Felmulag" and there were 12 in France. This storage site was a vital hub for rail transport of the V1s between the Dora production site and the various sites in France. to the various launch sites. 70% of the V1s passed through Saint Leu d'Esserent.

The explosive charge was placed in Saint Leu before being sent to the various launch sites. 85% of the town and surrounding area was destroyed by Allied aircraft during Operation Crosbow.

During World War II, the caves were one of three major underground V-1 flying bomb storage depots. In addition to the caves, the facility included blockhouses, bunkers, flak emplacements and railway links. Allied intelligence firmly identified late in June 1944 that Saint-Leu-d'Esserent and Nucourt (49.16568°N, 1.85039°W) were V-1 storage depots. On 27 June 1944, Saint-Leu-d'Esserent was initially bombed by the US Army Air Force, then on 4/5 July 1944 by two RAF forces (the first unsuccessfully used Tallboy bombs in an attempt to collapse the limestone roof of the caves). Finally on 7 July 1944, an evening RAF raid successfully blocked the tunnels.

The storage dump at Thiverny was bombed in 1944 on 5 May, 11 July, 12 July and 19 July.

Photo: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205023573