Located in the forest near the village of Éperlecques in Pas-de-Calais, the Éperlecques Blockhouse is the biggest blockhouse in Northern France, standing 33 metres high, 95 metres wide and 216 metres long! Built on Hitler's orders in 1943, it was intended for the production of liquid oxygen and was meant to serve as a launch base for the autonomous V2 rockets that were due to be fired at London. But the site was spotted by the Allies, who bombed it 25 times between August 1943 and August 1944, delaying then cancelling the rockets' launch. Bomb impacts are still visible on one part of the building.
A true place of remembrance steeped in history, the blockhouse has many audio and visual exhibits. You can also see a genuine launch pad and a V1 rocket ready to take off.
