Dover Strait coastal guns

Dover Strait coastal guns
Part of British coast defences/Atlantikwall
English Channel
Near Dover/Calais in Britain/occupied France
Strait of Dover
Coordinates51°00′00″N 01°27′00″E / 51.00000°N 1.45000°E / 51.00000; 1.45000
Site information
OperatorDover Command/Kriegsmarine
Controlled byBritish Army/German Navy
ConditionMuseum pieces or demolished
Site history
Built1940 (1940)
Built byBritish civilian contractors/Organisation Todt
In use1944 (1944)
MaterialsSteel-reinforced concrete
FateDefunct
Battles/warsChannel convoys
Channel Dash
Operation Undergo
EventsBattle of Britain
Normandy landings

The Dover Strait coastal guns were long-range coastal artillery batteries that were sited on both sides of the English Channel during the Second World War. The British built several gun positions along the coast of Kent, England while the Germans fortified the Pas-de-Calais in occupied France. The Strait of Dover was strategically important because it is the narrowest part of the English channel. Batteries on both sides attacked shipping as well as bombarding the coastal towns and military installations. The German fortifications would be incorporated into the Atlantic Wall which was built between 1942 and 1944.