Power The
engine room took up two floors, the upper floor could only be entered through the engine room from below. The bottom of the upper floor consisted of steel beams and plates. For power generation, the bunker had two
diesel generators in the engine room. These were
water-cooled, four-cylinder,
four-stroke engines, generating 38 hp each. The
alternators each produced 28 kW of
three-phase,
alternating current at 380 volts. This powered the electric motors in the bunker, the electric heaters in the accommodation and the boilers and hobs in the kitchen. The main lighting was supplied at 220 volts. Sensitive areas were operated by
accumulator batteries to ensure continuity of power available in case the generators failed. This delivered a 24 volt power supply to light the battle positions and the optics as well powering the emergency lighting. The radio room of the bunker had its own separate 24-volt batteries. Today, the generators have been removed.
Air filter system and ventilation An important aspect of the bunkers of the Siegfried Line was their ability to operate under
gas attack. The bunkers could be
hermetically sealed and supplied with purified air from outside. Because of their importance, the
B-Werke had the most elaborate filter systems designed and built into the facilities. A constant
overpressure prevented the penetration of gases in the event of minor leaks and allowed the removal of stale air and exhaust gases from the battle positions. One or more spaces were combined to form gas-tight cells. Pressure relief valves in the rooms or cells regulated the pressure. The air sucked in from outside was passed through a pre-filter, which cleared the air of dust and water vapour. Then it flowed through four, parallel, room filters, which filtered dangerous gasses out using active carbon inserts. If required, the air for heating the bunker could be warmed using a
heat exchanger before being blown into the bunker. The capacity of the central fan was 40 m3 / minute. To ensure the ventilation of the plant even in the event of the central fan failing, individual rooms or cells had hand-operated HES ventilators (army unit protection ventilators) with 1.2 m3 or 2.4 m3 capacity per minute. The central fan and its filters was located above the engine room but is no longer in place.
Communication facilities The bunker had a sophisticated array of communication facilities. Three underground cables of the fortress telephone network were terminated in a separate
radio room, where there was a
switchboard. Its inputs included slots into which field cable could also be connected either to provide additional cable connections or to bridge damaged underground cable. Telephones were installed in the most important room or at least connections for portable telephones were available. The turrets were connected independently of the central exchange in the radio to the associated battle preparation rooms with separate telephone lines.
Voicepipes were used to link the inner entrance defence rooms and the flank fire position.
Water supply The bunker had its own well. In the well chamber was a pump that pumped the water into a tank. From there water was pumped into a pressure vessel in order to provide the necessary water pressure to the taps. There were take-off points in the
kitchen, the
sick bay, the
command post, the hallways and the
washroom. The bunker only had
wash basins, there were no
showers, in the toilets and in the engine room. In addition to the need for
drinking water, water was needed to cool the diesel generator sets and there was also an
automatic sprinkler system in the
ammunition store.
Waste water was collected in a pit from where it was pumped to the surface by an electric pumping system activated by a float. == Manning during the Second World War ==