📌 WWII, FW3/28 Type 28 Anti-Tank Gun House, Nr Jude's Ferry Bridge, Worlington [TL 6777 7457]

Positioned along track to Church Farm, this FW3/28 Type 28 anti-tank gun house is sited facing north to defend the river crossing at Jude's Ferry Bridge. The gun emplacement was fitted with a pedestal and nine-bolt holdfast for a 6-pounder anti-tank gun.

 

 

The FW3/28 Type 28 is a rectangular shellproof gun house designed to house either a 2pdr or 6pdr Hotchkiss anti-tank gun. The smallest Type 28 gun house, is a single chamber design built to a shellproof standard, with external walls approximately 3ft 6in thick whilst the roof is 12in thick. Overall it approximately measures 20ft by 19ft and internally the chamber measures 13ft by 12ft. At the front of the Type 28 gun house is the low and wide embrasure for the 2pdr or 6pdr anti-tank gun. With the 2pdr gun in position the shield of the gun would have covered most of the embrasure, which measures 2ft 6in internally, stepping out to 3ft 2in by 11ft 6in on the outside, the maximum traverse of the 2pdr gun was limited to a 60° sweep.

 

Getting the 2pdr gun inside the gun house was through a rear opening of 6ft wide, which would be closed in with sandbags as there were no doors fitted. The large unobstructed entrance did allow the 2pdr gun to maintain it’s mobility, by allowing the gun to be moved in and out rapidly. Below the gun embrasure are three recesses in the floor, the 2pdr gun, would have been wheeled into position, then its wheels removed and the trail legs unfolded and located into the floor recesses. In cases were the Hotckiss quick fire anti-tank gun was used a pedestal with a nine bolt holdfast was added to mount the gun, in a more permanent position adding sandbags around the embrasure for added protection.

 

Normally each side wall has an infantry embrasure, to provide some limited protection from the enemy. However, the lack of all-round small arms fire meant that the gun house would be very vulnerable to enemy attack. The lack of forward-firing Infantry embrasures meant that it would not be possible to support the 2pdr gun with small arms fire. So to overcome the problem of the limited infantry fire support the FW3/28 gun house design was modified to produce the FW3/28a. This modification consisted of a second chamber being added to the anti-tank gun chamber, the second chamber was an infantry chamber with up to three infantry embrasures, firing to the front, rear and side. Generally, the gun houses were positioned to allow the gun to fire along fixed lines, such as enfiladingss an anti-tank ditch or a bridge. In these positions the limited traverse of the gun creates no real disadvantage and the small size of the embrasure provides greater protection for the gun and its crew.

 

 

Eastern Command: Corps and Command Stop Lines – One of three Eastern Command Corps stop lines, this one running from the River Colne in Essex via Wakes Colne and Bures, along the River Stour to Sudbury and Long Melford, and thence to Bury St. Edmunds and the River Lark at Mildenhall. Its final stretch (known now as the Command Line) was via Littleport along the line of the River Great Ouse to King's Lynn.

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