The submarine base and museum of Lorient, part II !!!

Posted in Bretagne, Europe, France

Lorient is really not well known off the beaten path even if has nice things to see especially as it relates to the sea. The city of Lorient means in breton An Oriant or the Orient as the companies that sail to the new world , the Americas were done here and across the bay at Port Louis (see post),It is a must to visit ! Let me tell you again as we were by there today for more of the submarine base and museum of Lorient, part II !!! Hope you enjoy it as I. 

Between February 1941 and January 1943, three gigantic reinforced concrete blocks were built on the Keroman peninsula by the nazis. The first block, K1, has a “slipway” that allows the submarines to get out of the water in about thirty minutes. K3 is home to wet docks. The method of protecting the roof differs from that of the other two buildings with a system of bursting chambers which prevents the propagation of shock waves during bombardments. With a sheltered capacity of around thirty submarines, the Lorient base is the largest on the Atlantic Wall.

Here you have first the submarine “La Flore” S645, the former submarine of the French Army ,with an interactive museum ending with a visit of the submarine.  The submarine  “La Flore” S645,  is a sublime visit for the lovers of history and seafaring ! The museum features a fine collection of films, archive images, scale models, eye-witness accounts and unusual objects recovered from the Lorient coast from the 40 or so ships that were wrecked or scuttled during WWII. The Flore submarine is an old submarine disarmed in 1989 which is kept for its heritage, and to tell a history of Europe.

Lorient la Base sub flore side aug23

Lorient la Base sub flore afar aug23

The official La Flore submarine museum: https://www.la-flore.fr/en

On the same blocks , there is an Underwater Museum of Lorient, presenting the underwater heritage of  WWII within the oldest rescue center for submariners built in 1942 by the Kriegsmarine (or nazi navy), then reused for 42 years by the National Navy of France. The entrance is by the Tour Davis – Keroman Submarine Base , Come and discover this fabulous installation, the only and oldest in the world accessible to the public. Hear the tragic story of the Battle of the Atlantic: films and archival photos. The Underwater Museum is the first that has been established internationally.

Lorient la Base sub flore entr aug23

Lorient la Base sub base hydrophone museum back aug23

Lorient la Base sub base hydrophone museum section aug23

The official submarine museum : http://www.musee-sous-marin.com/fr/

The association of friends on the submarine museum:  http://www.musee-sous-marin.com/fr/l-espace-de-visites/decouvrir-l-espace-de-visites

A French site U Boote on more detail of the history of this former submarine base: https://u-boote.fr/

And the Lorient south Bretagne tourist office on the visit of the submarine base: https://www.lorientbretagnesudtourisme.fr/fr/immanquables/lorient-la-base/visite-base-sous-marin-k3/

There you go folks, now I feel better! You have another wonderful huge monument near me on the history of France, Europe, and the World never to be repeated again. However, a visit to museum  is a must by all those who like us appreciated the effort.  Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Lorient submarine base and museum, part II !!! as I. 

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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