Bunker Open Day 20 August 2016

[@jhlogue]

I never realized how much I like post WWII Swiss bunkers and anti-tank traps.

[@RichardAHolt]

Thanks for showing the kids having fun learning history. How cool!

[@InfernoNinja111]

"So, right.....to the whoring" hehe. Mrs Chap sounds exactly like my aunt Gail, also a chocolate lover.

[@kevinsullivan3448]

How many of them were connected to larger complexes? I was stationed in Fliegerhorst, outside Hanau, in the lid 80s. The base had been a Luftwaffe base during WWII and all the buildings, including the hangers, were connected to each other by a rather large serier of tunnels. These tunnels were seled off in my time, but they were 'explored' in previous eras and found to be booby trapped. The underground bunkers, hangers, and store rooms were no longer accessable and many partially destroyed.

[@norman3605]

Appreciate this video and all the others, esp the K31 vids. Never competed with a K31, but did compete with a No. 3 rifle a few times. Maybe one day I might bring my K31 there to Switzerland and embarrass myself at a Weberschiessen? Ha! Well done, and keep all the interesting videos coming.

[@erikjohnson8971]

Such magnificent scenery over there. Absolutely breathtaking! If us, the damn over developing Americans had anything beautiful like that rest assured the tasteless developers would do away with those perfectly good standing ranch homes that are from the 18th & 19th century, torn down to build highrises, midrises and manchions on top of more ugly mc mansions with tall ugly oilander bushes built on every square inch of those mountains and littered with shopping malls. Oh and I can't forget, all that history would be garbage and discarded like everything else we like to screw up and thrown out. I just really wish we had more history to connect to over here like everyone over Europe has to expierence. If we do retain anything remotely old it's restricted to some form of government access only or someone with lots of money and again restricted and blocked off or torn down. I am so jealous that we can't leave well enough alone like everyone over there.

[@stefanforrer2573]

sadly, it is happening over here aswell.. every little parcel gets filled with rectangular concrete blocks containing apartments and most older buildings get torn down.. there are protected buildings, but those are mostly landmarks and the likes

[@Braun30]

1:42 - Next to the StG90 is a rifle grenade, the older model tank grenade. Shot a few with my StG57 in the 80s.

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

cheers bloke. very interesting.

[@michaelmulligan0]

You’d wonder how effectively camouflaged it was without all the trees around

[@rrich52806]

NICE THEY PRESERVED IT ALL.

[@dsg325]

I have a beautiful K-31 from 1942. Wonder which bunker it was in.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Most likely none of them.

[@j4ck3t]

These bunkers are looking better then the ones in the Netherlands. The german fortifications aren't to write home about, very small and they consisted mostly of outdoor fortifications (which no longer exist, spare the few concrete ones.) It's a shame the large bunker running under The Hague was closed for renovations. Have you visited a lot of bunkers? and any you would recommend in the UK?

[@ttrriiggeerrhhaappyy]

Uk Wartime bunkers aren't too great, some of the post war (mainly cold war) ones can be pretty good

[@flammenjc]

The face on the wall spooked me a bit at 8:23

[@faenrir11]

so how are you dealing with driving on the right side of the road? (pun intended). Those bunkers are cool!

[@KFADavis1]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. Subbed.

[@outlaw2shero]

Wow, great map!

[@loganholmberg2295]

" Too the whoring!" 😅😅😅😅 Now that'd be some interesting history to learn....What...."pastimes" and facilities that built up over the years to supply and entertain the troops. My Dad used to deliver chips and then sell cleaning supplies to some of the bases/armoires around where I lived. When school permitted I loved going with my Dad to those places.

[@rdbjrseattle]

Did private homes and buildings have required bunkers, safe rooms where any troops could seek shelter if need be Did every place have a function in the overall defense plan. I see everyone and everything mobilized in Switzerland.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Most of those built in the Cold War did, although you could pay a fee instead. Even now, every resident has a shelter place allocated, whether in their house or street, or in a communal shelter e.g. under a school or sports centre. Mine is built under the car port between us and the neighbours, and I believe it's for our group of 5 properties.

[@stevep5408]

Got to love any country that determined to be free! They we going to fight amongst their hearth and homes to deter enemies.

[@18robsmith]

A bunker is a sort of upside down castle.....

[@bluur101]

Interesting stuff. One hopes that, if these bunkers were in use until the end of the Cold War, there are now new and improved fortifications and emplacements to replace them?! I am assuming that the Swiss did not think that the dismantling of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact meant no more war, of course...

[@bluur101]

Oooooo, or at least not 'publicly' replaced . . . . If there is actually nothing hidden, artillery wise, would that imply that strong-points would be lost to an expected surprise air-assault? Which in turn suggests that Swiss air defence takes time to get running. An extrapolation too far, I hope. The bridges (etcetera) could well still have the voids to take replacement charges, if that should ever be considered wise. I know the NBC (or whatever it's called this week) shelters in houses were all downgraded last century, but had assumed that national defence infrastructure was not eliminated completely.

[@RealLuckless]

High precision long range weapons have rendered prepared defences like these almost useless. If conditions in the region deteriorated far enough for an armed conflict where such bunkers could be remotely useful could break out, then such bunkers would serve primarily as targets for very expensive missiles and the like. Deep bunkers still have a use, somewhere to hide out in for awhile and possibly get dug out after the fact, but not something to use as a fighting position. And of course leaving mines set is kind of a 'health and safety risk'. Any halfway competent military engineer can set and disable any of those bridges in a few minutes if given a 'reasonable' supply of explosives. ('reasonable' being 'as much as a few guys can carry, just to be sure.')

[@pommel47]

Static = Death

[@worldtraveler930]

Just ask the Ukraine what they think about demilitarization after the Soviet union collapsed!

[@Ganiscol]

@@RealLuckless Its not that simple. Most of these bunkers are not the fake building type but built into mountains, which makes their ceiling immune to any attack from above. You'd have to hit the loopholes directly, which isnt trivial, especially when you dont necessarily know where all of them are or which are fake. Swiss air defense is also not trivial to bypass anymore. There is still a decent number of active fortifications in Switzerland, even quite a few decommissioned bunkers are to this day classified in case they need to be reactivated. The whole situation in Switzerland can and should not be likened to mistakes like the Maginot line, the topography of the country lends itself to employ such defensive lines in order to slow down an invader so mobile units can engage or make any breakthrough attempt very costly on the ground as well as in the air.

[@Looser_23]

In der Schweiz schreibt man Straße "Strasse"?

[@Looser_23]

Bloke on the Range Komisch, diese Schweizer.

[@HungrigerHugo89]

Es wird auch immer mal wieder versucht es abzuschaffen, ich finde aber es hat seinen Platz.

[@whackyjinak4978]

Steffen Axmann Sprechen sie Deutsch

[@hans1993hans]

wir verwenden dass "ß" nie. wir haben unsere eigene rechtschreibung (auch in word und anderen programmen)

[@christianstaubli8541]

Da in der Schweiz auch im Deutschen zum Teil Französische Worte verwendet und geschrieben werden, benötigten wir ‚é‘ auf der Schreibmaschinentastatur. Also hat man ,ß‘ gekippt um Platz für ‚é‘ zu haben.

[@MarcusWolschon]

Where you trying to film with 30fps instead of 25fps in a country with a 50Hz power grid?

[@BlokeontheRange]

No idea. It's the old camera. It did whatever it did. Entirely possible it's 30fps.

[@Soupishome]

What do you all consider good chocolate?

[@EthanThomson]

wouldnt bloke junior be the Lad

[@worldtraveler930]

Considering the state of the rest of Europe, it looks like y'all have found a Great place to raise kids.

[@DeepPastry]

105 mm not a 10.5 mm

[@MrLarryC11]

Get yourself a stabilised camera!!

[@pgtmg624]

So very cool video. Is there any books detailing the bunkers of WWII in English? For the name I could send you chocolate from Hersey PA. Do not know how that rates for you.

[@shootsteel]

Hersey ain't chocolate!

[@xmanhoe]

He lives in Switzerland... best chocolate in the world😂😂

[@shootsteel]

Hersey or Hersey from Pennsylvania? The American stuff is complete rubbish.

[@pfdsmyth]

and cuckoo clocks

[@ATH_Berkshire]

Xmanhoe F .

[@GROHD]

Maybe that place is in germany or austria

[@BenjaminEmm]

Great video, it may not be my place to comment but I think bloke junior may have tics or a mild form of tourettes syndrome. I myself have the same tic, squinting my eyes, among others.

[@Ebolson1019]

I'm sad that we don't have fun stuff like this in the states, our bunkers were built by people who were scared of the Russians

[@deezynar]

I'm in the States. We have a Titan 2 intercontinental ballistic missile silo museum near where I live.

[@nesbitt615]

Bryan Olson what are you talking about? California, Marin side of the bay area. lots of old fortresses and missile emplacements

[@Ganiscol]

Thousands of swiss bunkers were active into the '90s because they were - like everyone else around them - scared of the russians. 😬