In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. Fort York National Historic Site is a historic site of military fortifications and related buildings on the west side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Military Science is the process of translating National defence policy to produce Military capability by employing Military scientists including Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for It is intended to serve as a defensive strongpoint against any enemy which does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine If a fortification is intended to protect against such weapons as well, it is more likely to qualify as castle or, in modern times, a bunker. A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. A military bunker is a hardened shelter often buried partly or fully underground designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks
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Age of Exploration
Originally blockhouses were often constructed as part of a large plan, to "block" access to vital points in the scheme. But from the Age of Exploration to the nineteenth century standard patterns of blockhouses were constructed for defence in frontier areas, particularly South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. The Age of Discovery or Age of Exploration was a period from the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans explored The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Blockhouses may be made of masonry where available, but were commonly made from very heavy timbers, sometimes even logs arranged in the manner of a log cabin. Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar, and the term "masonry" can also refer to the units themselves Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or Logging is the process in which Trees are cut down for Forest management and Timber. A log cabin is a small house built from logs It is a fairly simple type of Log house. They were usually two or even three floors, with all storeys being provided with embrasures or loopholes, and the uppermost storey would be roofed. A floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many-layered surfaces using modern technology The term embrasure, in Military architecture, refers to the opening in a Crenellation or Battlement between the two raised solid portions or Merlons If the structure was of timber, usually the upper storey would project outward from the lower so the upper storey defenders could fire on enemy attacking the lower storey, or perhaps pour water on any fires. When the structure had only one storey, its loopholes were often placed close to the ceiling, with a bench lining the walls inside for defenders to stand on, so that attackers could not easily reach the loopholes.
Blockhouses were normally entered via a sturdy, barred door at ground level. Most blockhouses were roughly square in plan, but some of the more elaborate ones were hexagonal or octagonal, to provide better all-around fire. For other uses and for specific types of plans see Plan (disambiguation. Regular hexagon The internal Angles of a regular hexagon (one where all sides and all angles are equal are all 120 ° and the hexagon has 720 degrees Regular octagons A regular octagon is an octagon whose sides are all the same length and whose internal angles are all the same size In some cases, blockhouses became the basis for complete forts, by building a palisade with the blockhouse at one corner, and possibly a second tower at the opposite corner. palisade is a steel or wooden Fence or wall of variable height usually used as a defensive structure Many historical stone blockhouses have survived, and a few timber ones have been restored at historical sites. In New Zealand, a number of one storey timber blockhouses survive from the Maori Wars, while stone blockhouses from the Boer War are relatively common in South Africa. The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of conflicts that took place in New Zealand See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans:
Concrete blockhouses
During the First and Second World Wars many types of blockhouses were built, when time allowed usually constructed of reinforced concrete. The major difference between a modern blockhouse and a bunker is that a bunker is constructed mostly below ground level while a blockhouse is constructed mostly above ground level. A military bunker is a hardened shelter often buried partly or fully underground designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks
Some blockhouses like those constructed in England in 1940 were built for traditional fortification reasons, often hexagonal in shape and were called pillboxes. A military bunker is a hardened shelter often buried partly or fully underground designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks Between 20 and 30 thousand were built in Britain during WWII in preparation for a possible German attack. British anti-invasion preparations of World War II entailed a large-scale division of military and civilian mobilization in response to the threat of invasion
In London the Admiralty Citadel is one of the most sturdy above ground structures built during World War II. A number of military citadels are known to have been constructed underground in central London, dating mostly from the Second World War and the Cold War It was constructed in 1940–1941 as a bomb-proof operations centre for the Admiralty, with foundations nine metres deep and a concrete roof six metres thick. It too was intended to serve as a strongpoint in defending against the feared invasion.
In Berlin and other cities during World War II some massive blockhouses were built as air-raid shelters and anti-aircraft artillery platforms. Flak towers ( German: Flaktürme) were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses used by the Luftwaffe to prevent overflights of key areas in certain Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military Aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces They were called hochbunker "high bunkers" and those which functioned as anti-aircraft artillery platforms were also called Flak Towers. For the general article about fortified structures see Bunker. Flak towers ( German: Flaktürme) were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses used by the Luftwaffe to prevent overflights of key areas in certain Some were over 6 stories high. Several survive to this day because the cost of demolition would be prohibitive. The Pallasstrasse air-raid shelter Schöneberg has a post-war block of flats built over the shelter. Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. During the Cold War the shelter was in use as a NATO foodstore. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the [1]
Afghanistan 2006
Blockhouses and Sangars have become a feature of the 2006 conflict in Afghanistan, being used by the British coalition forces, amongst others, as strong points to control the contested Southern provinces. Sangar is a small temporary fortified position with a breastwork originally of stone now built of sandbags and similar materials These positions have served to draw out the Taliban, who have taken to attacking repeatedly in numbers.
See also
References
- ^ Lupin Pooter. A military bunker is a hardened shelter often buried partly or fully underground designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks A siege tower (or in the Middle Ages a Belfry) is a specialized Siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching Flak towers ( German: Flaktürme) were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses used by the Luftwaffe to prevent overflights of key areas in certain Martello towers (or simply Martellos) are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century from the time
External links
- Pillbox Study Group
- Royal Engineers Museum: Blockhouses during the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902)
- Berlin Air-raid Shelters, Flak Towers and Bunkers
- Pillboxes
- British World War 2 Fortifications
- Bunker Pictures: Pictures, locations, information about bunkers from WW2 and The Atlantikwall
Dictionary
blockhouse
-noun
- A sturdy military fortification, often of concrete, with gunports.
- A reinforced building from which to control hazardous operations, such as an explosion or a rocket launch.
- (dated) A temporary wooden fortification with a projecting upper story.
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