#Landmark
Queue de Lambresson - V1 launch base
This V1 site is located in the commune of Saint-Riquier-en-Rivière in the south-east of the Forêt d'Eu massif, near the famous Poteau Maître Jean crossroads. Built in the winter of 1944, this is a first-generation ‘modified’ or ‘light’ site. Compared with ‘heavy’ sites, this base has fewer buildings, particularly concrete structures. Its layout has been simplified to make construction faster, less material-intensive and more economical. Thanks to the cover provided by the trees, the work is carried out in relative discretion. Most of the Russians required to take part were housed in the forest houses adjacent to the site. Active at the beginning of the summer, the base suffered several failed firing attempts. The surrounding villages, particularly Saint-Riquier-en-Rivière, sometimes suffered damage from falling V1s. 19 August 1944: The explosion of a V1, which probably left the site, caused carnage. According to one witness, a V1 that took off from Hauts-Buisson crashed on the border between Rieux and Dancourt on an undetermined date. The unexploded device remained on site. On 19 August, this V1 exploded while a large number of people were gathered around it. 1.596266
It was the deadliest accident ever involving a V1 exploding on the ground. The Neufchâtel gendarmerie wrote a succinct report: ‘At around 6.30pm, the explosion of a V1 in unknown circumstances killed three German soldiers, 13 Russian prisoners and one civilian. If the device had taken off from the ‘Queue de Lambresson’ base, the detonators had not yet been armed because the flight time was too short. This seems the most plausible hypothesis. The target of the fire was London, 214.6 kilometres away.
Located by the British aircraft at the end of June, the site was bombed from the beginning of the following month. A series of raids failed to neutralise it. At the beginning of August, it was still active. Although some bombs fell not far from certain buildings, the damage was not severe enough to prevent flying bombs from being deployed and fired. Finally, at the end of August, fearing the Allied land advance following the D-Day landings, the German forces evacuated the base, taking their equipment with them, in particular the launching catapult.
You will find a map showing the remains of the V1 launch base at Queue de Lambresson (Carrefour du Poteau Maître Jean), as it existed in 1944.
Created by Mr. Yannick DELEFOSSE using IGN maps, field surveys, and archival documents, this detailed map makes it possible to identify the various structures of the base (reception platforms, launch ramp, technical shelters, etc.) as they existed in 1944, as well as their precise location within the current landscape.