La Coupole
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La Coupole, also known as the Coupole d'Helfaut-Wizernes and originally codenamed Bauvorhaben 21 or Schotterwerk Nordwest, is a Second World War bunker complex in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Saint-Omer, and some 14.4 kilometers south-southeast from the less developed Blockhaus d'Éperlecques V-2 launch installation in the same area. It was built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944 to serve as a launch base for V-2 rockets directed against London and southern England and is the earliest known precursor to modern underground missile silos still in existence.
View of the dome of La Coupole
1944 conjectural reconstruction of the rocket preparation chamber and tunnels (on the assumption that A4 rockets were to be handled)
The Ida railway tunnel, where V-2s and supplies would be brought in by train and unloaded
Cross-section of the dome
Saint-Omer
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Saint-Omer is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
The theater « le moulin à café » (the coffee grinder)
Cathedral
19th century Cavaillé-Coll organ in the cathedral
Main square and theater (the old town hall)