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In 1944 the Third Reich began work on the construction of a partially underground bunker factory codenamed Weingut I (English: Vineyard I) in the forest known as the , slightly to the west of Mühldorf am Inn in Upper Bavaria. Plans for the bunker called for a massive reinforced concrete barrel vault composed of 12 arch sections under which Messerschmitt Me 262 jet engines would be manufactured in a 9-story factory. Upon completion these were to be sent to a similar installation in the area of Landsberg am Lech (codename Weingut II), where the final assembly of the planes was to take place. This network of underground factories was intended to ensure the production of the Me 262 at a time when the Allies had already gained control of the German airspace.〔Peter Müller: ''Das Bunkergelände im Mühldorfer Hart : Rüstungswahn und menschliches Leid''. 4. Auflage. Heimatbund; Mühldorf a. Inn: Kreismuseum, Mühldorf a. Inn 2006, P. 11f.〕 Despite it being increasingly clear to the organizers of the project that it would never be finished in time to make a difference in the war,〔''„Dennoch war es nicht so schwer vorauszusagen, daß diese sechs riesigen Bunkerwerke in den versprochenen sechs Monaten nicht fertigwerden, ja, daß sie überhaupt nicht mehr in Betrieb genommen werden können.“'' in Albert Speer: ''Erinnerungen''. 9th edition, Frankfurt am Main 1971, p. 348.〕 the construction of Weingut I was approved on a 6 month time-line. Of a total of 10,000 workers who worked on the project, 8,500 were forced laborers and inmates of the Mühldorf concentration camp network. Of these more than 3,000 would die of overwork, underfeeding, and SS brutality.〔Müller (2006), p. 10〕 By the war's end, only 7 of the planned total of 12 bunker sections had been built, and construction of the factory itself had not begun. After the liberation of the area and its associated camps in May 1945, control of the construction site fell to the US Army, which made extensive studies of its innovative construction techniques before demolishing all but one section of the main bunker in 1947. Today the bunker grounds are a listed monument. Occasional tours of the site are offered by a Catholic nonprofit group in Mühldorf. == Background == In early 1944, the Allied air war began to focus primarily upon the destruction of the Luftwaffe in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Plans for the so-called "Big Week", which was intended to permanently smash the German capacity to produce fighter aircraft through targeted airstrikes on final assembly factories, were already underway in 1943. Between February 20–25, 1944, approximately 10,000 American and British aircraft, including about 6,000 bombers, attacked strategic targets all over Germany. Following these attacks, which seriously damaged German aircraft production, the production quota fell drastically. In response the (Fighter Staff) was founded in March 1944 with the task of ensuring the preservation and growth of fighter aircraft production. It superseded the Ministry of Aviation in this jurisdiction. At the head of the Jägerstab was armaments minister Albert Speer, as Deputy the Secretary of State Erhard Milch, as Chief of Staff Karl Saur. Their plan to protect the aircraft industry, especially the manufacture of the jet-powered Messerschmitt Me 262, entailed the relocation of assembly plants into underground bunkers. This idea was not entirely new, as a similar (but never realized) proposal had already been considered in October 1943.〔Edith Raim: ''Die Dachauer KZ-Außenkommandos Kaufering und Mühldorf – Rüstungsbauten und Zwangsarbeit im Letzten Kriegsjahr 1944-45''. Dissertation, Landsberg 1992, p.46〕 The Jägerstab's plan included six locations in which partially underground bunkers were to be built, and at first called for the bunkers to be encompass a minimum area of 600,000 to 800,000 m2 apiece.〔''Protokoll der Führerbesprechung vom 5. März 1944'', Bundesarchiv Koblenz, R 3/1509, p. 12〕 However, by the time of the Jägerstab meeting of 17 March 1944, the projected size of the each building had sunk to 60,000 m2.〔''Protokoll der Jägerstabssitzung vom 17. März 1944'', Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, RL 3/2, p. 677〕 By June 1944 the invasion of the allies had forced the Jägerstab to focus in the end on two locations in Upper Bavaria. Three bunkers were to be built at Kaufering in the Landsberg am Lech district under the codename "Ringeltaube" (common wood pigeon), while the codename "Weingut I" (Vineyard I) was chosen for the factory in the . According to the testimony of Franz Xaver Dorsch, who was responsible for the construction, the fighter factory would be completed in five to six months at best.〔Raim (1992), p. 43〕 Speer later wrote in his memoirs that at the time it was already not difficult to foresee that the project would not be completed within the planned time.〔〔''Für den gesamten Absatz:'' Raim (1992), p. 28ff.〕 The location in the area of Mühldorf fulfilled all of the important requirements. There was an adequately solid gravel bed beneath the terrace of the Inn and the water table was adequately deep. Strategically the important railway juncture of Mühldorf was advantageous, and the wide-ranging forest of the Mühldorfer Hart would offer excellent camouflage for the completed bunker.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Weingut I」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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