[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Hello Luc (and fellow researchers),

I am sorry to tell that LURCH was not the radar station at Nieuwerkerken/Belgium but a radarstation near Xhendremael with radars and Auswertung combined in one compound southwest of Liege/Luik, hence the codename LURCH. This station was manned by the 17./Ln.Rgt.211 indeed.

The radarstation at Nieuwerkerken was one of 3 radarstations in the former Kammhuber searchlight belt (Kammhuber Line) and called 6B (or '6 Berta'). 'Grossraum 6' - consisting of Helle (searchlight) and Dunkle (radar guided) Nachtjagd boxes - was established from at least the 'old' searchlight boxes 9C, 10A, 10B, 10C and 11A. Whereas the Gerätestellung (with 2 Würzburg-Riesen and 1 Freya) was errected just in front of the searchlight belt, the Auswertestellung was more or less a modified commandpost of a Flakscheinwerfer Abteilung and therefore more centrally positioned in the searchlight belt. The distance between the radars and command post ranges from 10-14 kilometers.

Whereas radarstation 6A (near Meeuwen-Gruitrode, 14./Ln.Rgt.211) was renamed in KÜKEN in the autumn of 1943, 6B (manned by 15./Ln.Rgt.211) was dismantled. 6C, manned by 16./Ln.Rgt.211 was renamed in GLÜCKE.

Best regards, Marcel Hogenhuis