Group Shelter Type P Echolaan

Type: W15-21
Construction phase: completed
Markings: HM65
Front: Oostfront - Group: Naarden - Section: Muiden
National Monuments Register: 531316

After the First World War, there was a need to reorganise the defence of the Netherlands. The New Dutch Waterline, together with the eastern part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, was called the Eastern Front of the Holland Fortress. The Eastern Front ran from Muiderberg in the north to Werkendam in the south. In the south was the South Front, which stretched from Dordrecht to Hoek van Holland.

Group shelters of type P (also known as “pyramids” due to their distinctive shape) were built according to a more or less standard design (mainly) in 1939-1940 at various locations in the Netherlands.
The type P group shelter was part of a group nest occupied by ten to twelve infantrymen. A group nest consisted of a trench, a position for a cannon or heavy machine gun and a group shelter.
The bevelled edges on the outside were intended to deflect grenades and aircraft bombs and to facilitate the construction of earth cover.
The interior consists of an entrance, which is one metre above ground level, with a connecting passage at right angles to it and a waiting area. The waiting area has a firing hole to cover the soldiers entering the shelter. The entrance is located at the rear of the field of fire.
Type P shelters come in two different designs, the W15-21 and the W21-28. The difference lies in the thickness of the front wall and the side walls. The W21-28 was resistant to heavier shells.
A total of 772 Type P group shelters were built. Of these, 582 remain.

On a number of group shelters around Muiden / Muiderberg / Weesp, letters with a serial number can still be read.
HM = Hakkelaarsbrug Midden
H = Hinderdam
U = Uitermeer

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries + TracesOfWar
• Photos: Fedor de Vries