Coastal Battery 2./517 Petsamo Neu (Nemetsky Peninsula)

The German coastal battery 2./517 Petsamo Neu is an unfinished World War II fortification on the Nemetsky Peninsula (Nurmensätti) near the village of Liinakhamari, in the Pechengsky district of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is a rare example in Russia of a coastal battery armed with naval 15 cm SK C/28 turret guns: one turret still stands on its concrete base above Pechenga Bay.

History

The battery was part of the German coastal defences of Petsamo (naval artillery battalion MAA 517) and was meant to protect the port of Liinakhamari, which supplied the troops on the northern flank of the front. The port and the entrance to the bay mattered strategically to Germany, so the peninsula was fortified with batteries, anti-aircraft positions and anti-landing works.

The design called for two twin naval turrets with 15 cm SK C/28 guns. These guns, developed in the late 1920s, served on Kriegsmarine ships and in coastal defence; according to researchers, the turrets were originally intended for warships that were never built.

By October 1944 the battery is estimated to have been about 20% complete: only one turret had been mounted, and its guns never fired a shot in combat. During the Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive the Germans tried to ship the second turret out by sea, but on 12 October 1944 the transport Sudmeer carrying it was sunk by Soviet torpedo bombers. The crew was evacuated on 13 October, and Soviet troops soon took Liinakhamari. After the war the peninsula lay in the Soviet border zone; some structures were dismantled, others stayed in military use.

What to see

The main sight is the surviving turret on its concrete base. Pieces of the cut armour base plate lie around it, and the barrels remain roughly where they were in photographs taken in 1944. Inside the turret structure, on the middle level, are four vertical shell hoist shafts, two for each barrel.

The rocks of the peninsula hide casemates and underground rooms on several levels: command posts, ammunition stores and crew quarters. Remains of other German fortifications around Liinakhamari are nearby.

Getting there

An old military road built by the Germans leads to the battery, about 10 km from the village. Liinakhamari and the Nemetsky Peninsula are in the border zone: a permit must be arranged in advance, and the road passes border checkpoints.

Good to know

The structures are abandoned, not a museum: shafts, openings and underground passages are dangerous, so bring a torch and do not go alone. Weather on the Barents Sea coast changes quickly, so warm and waterproof clothing is needed even in summer.