Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 38.68633927242101, -9.30876699992933

The Bataria da Lage in the Municipality of Oeiras, opposite the Bugio Lighthouse, is an exception in the panorama of the old Coast Artillery Batteries that for centuries defended the bars of the ports of Lisbon and Setúbal. It has been preserved thanks to the work of a non-governmental organization, the Associação de Comandos, which officially received it on July 12, 2002 after a long process. It gives pleasure to see the results achieved, the improvements that continue to be made.

Officially handed over to the Associação de Comandos in 2002, the former Bataria da Lage do Regimento de Artilharia de Costa, located in Oeiras between Praia da Saisa and Praia de Santo Amaro, facing the Tagus and the Atlantic, is a good example of the use and conservation of historical and military heritage.

Historical-Military Heritage of Coastal Artillery

Operacional has published several articles dedicated to Coastal Artillery, both in Portugal and abroad, mainly because in our country this is a historical heritage that has been very badly treated. A significant part is even abandoned and the solutions insist on not appearing. In this sense we have shown over the years – and there are now 10! – the best that is done abroad in this field – Spain, Gibraltar, Malta are some countries where we find good examples and here we already show them. Today we present a good example in Portugal!

Fortunately, there are still other good examples, such as Fort Bom Sucesso in Belém, handed over to the Liga dos Combatentes, which set up the Museu do Combatente there, and there are cases in which there may still be a good solution without major investment, such as the former 6th Battery of the Coastal Artillery Regiment (Fonte da Telha); other batteries/fortifications are relatively preserved because they are occupied by official institutions – but very difficult or impossible for a visitor to access – such as the Fort of Alto do Duque (Public Security Police), the Fort of Almada (National Republican Guard), or the Fort of São Julião da Barra (Ministry of National Defense); there are others where the state of degradation that has been reached will require huge investments to save what is still possible, two of the most glaring cases are the old 2nd Battery of the RAC in Parede and the 7th in Outão.

In the Military Museum of Madeira (Funchal) there are preserved and visitable pieces of the coast, a subject to which we hope to return, another good example to record.

In the Azores, the Municipality of Ponta Delgada and the Military Museum intend to transform the old barracks and Bataria da Castanheira into a garden and viewpoint over Ponta Delgada, as well as, at a later stage, to musealize the underground complex that will be the responsibility of the Military Museum of the Azores. In 2017, Horta City Council launched a competition for ideas aimed at streamlining and managing the former Battery of Costa in Espalamaca, which has already been decommissioned but still maintains an underground complex. This year the subject was discussed publicly again but there are no developments.

The 15cm/40 CTR m/902 Krupp pieces of the 3rd Battery of the RAC fired until 1995.

With the extinction of the RAC in 1998, the Army abandoned the facilities and a long process of transferring the old unit to the Command Association began.

From Bataria Rainha Dona Maria Pia to Bataria da Lage

In this place an artillery battery was built in 1887 and 1889 prepared to be equipped with 3 pieces of 28 cm Krupp but ended up being equipped in 1902 with pieces of the same German manufacturer, but with 15 cm rapid fire: 15 cm/40 CTR m/902 Krupp.

On February 3, 1903, it was integrated into the so-called Campo Entricheirado de Lisboa, which was commanded by Infante D. Afonso de Bragança, brother of King D. Carlos, who were present at the act and the night exercises with the support of the Battery Projector. Here you can see the importance given to this fortification at that time, having been executed there for the first time in 1904.

The years continued with exercises and the battery experienced some operational activity in 1936 in the process of preventing rebellious ships from leaving the Lisbon bar that intended to head to Spain in order to support the “Bando Republicano”. This battery will have participated in the joint action with the Forts of Almada and Alto do Duque. In 1942, during the 2nd World War, the 3 pieces were removed and sent to Mozambique.

Portugal would remain neutral during the conflict but, just in case, a Luso-British commission was set up, which resulted in a report prepared by the British Major-General F.W. Barron (or Barrow?) and Commander Vaughaun, on coastal defense in the Lisbon region, the needs of the time and the acquisition of new materials. From here took place the last major reorganization of Coastal Artillery in Portugal, implemented in stages – almost entirely – and provided for: a Coastal Defense Command; two Coastal Counterbombardment Artillery Groups (Lisbon and Setúbal) and two telemetry and observation networks; two Close Defense Coastal Artillery Groups (on the Tagus and on the Sado) and two defenses against small naval units, two lighted areas, two discovery searchlight areas, a commanded mine strip, a barrier on the river to protect the interior of the port, berths and anchorages for inspection. In 1948 the first battery of this “Plan Barron” (or Plan B), as it became known, was operational and in 1960 the last one, at Fonte da Telha. This, with its 23.4cm material, is today the only one in the world with these weapons that is in good condition – this was mentioned on site by visitors from the Fortress Study Group in 2015. We hope that it is still possible to save this heritage!

In November 1946, Lage received the pieces that are today in the Bataria (the 15cm/40 CTR m/902 Krupp), then new projectors, the infrastructures were modernized and it integrated the “Plan B” in 1951. After the end of the Overseas War (1961-1975) it became the 3rd Bataria do Regimento de Artilharia de Costa, or Bataria da Lage. It performed the last real shooting session in 1995 and in 1998 the RAC was extinguished. It must have been around this date that it was “worded” to the Commando Association, a process that was neither easy nor quick, and during which, in the face of the Army’s abandonment of the installations, the Battery was vandalized!

Lage Battery and Command Association

The current images that we present speak for themselves. It is necessary, however, to remember that the Battery at Lage was completely abandoned and degraded, the parts all full of graffiti and… finally, the panorama that several other Batteries present. The Commandos Association got to work, former Commandos lost many nights to keep people of all kinds away from the perimeter of the “unit”, but little by little the work and persistence of the Commandos bore fruit: “… Anti Aérea n.º 1 in Queluz in which the Army officially hands over to the Associação de Comandos the Bataria da Lage.

Bataria da Lage is not a military museum, it is an old unit that was adapted for its intended purpose.

The Krupp parts that were installed there in 1946, when the battery underwent the last major remodeling, even though demilitarized remain well preserved.

To see this model of artillery pieces, there is currently no other place in Portugal where the public has relatively easy access, and is properly maintained, if not here.

The fire tables predicted data up to 7,500m range.

The elevators for transporting ammunition from the magazines, on the lower floor, to the weapons are “operational”.

In his times, seen from the sea, it would not have been very easy to locate these weapons, much less hit them.

The Fire Control Post building has not yet been repaired, but is in very reasonable condition.

The Battery of Lage in 2019

Bataria da Lage, of course, is not a museum and should be viewed as such by anyone visiting it. While it is true that I have been to much weaker military museums, it is also true that this is a military installation adapted to be what it is, an Association. Thus, the conditions were created for members and their guests to be there, spend some time together, have lunch, and also to meet the needs of an association with suitable places for meetings and ceremonies as well as leisure activities. However, and this is naturally very significant for anyone visiting Lage, there are three interior spaces that we can say constitute historic rooms: one dedicated to Coastal Artillery, another to the Commandos of the Portuguese Army and a last one to the Association of Commandos.

The bust of Colonel Commando Gilberto Santos e Castro (1928-1996), who was Honorary President of the Association of Commandos and one of its founders, has outstanding honors next to the memorial to the dead.

At Lage, two Chaimite V-200s are on display. One of them, the MX-57-37, is the one that the then commander of the Commando Regiment, Colonel Jaime Neves, used on November 25, 1975.”...were given to the Command Association by the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Frederico José Rovisco Duarte and were placed in this location on November 25, 2016”.

Statue of Colonel Vicente Nicolau de Mesquita (a Macanese hero, 1818-1880) who was at Largo do Senado in Macau from 1940 to 1966...”. In this photo in the background, cables from the runway for “extreme” activities can also be seen."

Miniature of “Uma Lulik” (Sacred House) characteristic of the region of Los Palos, in Timor-Leste,”...offered to the Commando Association by the President of the Republic of Timor-Leste General Taur Matan Ruak on June 29, 2017, Commando Day”.

>Espigueiro, Canastro or Caniço, “…this one originates from Serra de São Macário and Serra da Gralheira, and was offered by partner E n.

All of reasonable dimensions, recently opened, are in very good condition and have a lot of information. I imagine that for the associates the most significant one will be that of the Commands, which is really well conceived, is highly symbolic and deals in a very detailed way with the History of the Commands; that of the Association is an excellent repository of memories of what this NGO has been, with an extraordinary role in defending the interests of the Commands as a military body of the Portuguese Army; the Artilharia de Costa being the most discreet, it has information that you cannot find in any other museum (as far as I know!), a good collection of photographs and documents from this and several other batteries and from different eras.

As already mentioned, Lage was adapted for the purpose for which it was intended and so we can see various elements that aim to honor the heroes of the Commands and the visits of former units or courses, but also large gifts that were delivered to the Association.

Picnic Park, well prepared to receive a lot of people and prepare meals!

Track for carrying out “radical” activities.

Another important component of Lage is the occupation of free time – especially for entities that do not belong to the Association but who have agreements with it – and in this sense, in addition to rest areas where tents can be set up, and food preparation – the Merendas Park – also has equipment to practice “extreme activities”. This is an area where, as we were told, in addition to some former Commandos who hold their meetings here, Lage receives thousands of scouts throughout the year to carry out their activities.

The restaurant is widely used by associates and their guests and will undoubtedly be one of the “anchors” of the place. This type of equipment – ​​the Battery – is justifiable, it can only be maintained, if it has life, At Lage, in addition to naturally associative meetings, it is the free time activities and the restaurant that make the space dynamic. Its location facing the ocean and the pine forest that covers part of the land create a very pleasant natural environment.

Museum space dedicated to Coast Artillery.

Museum space dedicated to the Commando Units of the Portuguese Army.

Museum space dedicated to the Commandos Association

Conclusion

On the walls of Lage as well as inside and even in the large elements on display, the devotion to the Commandos and Portugal is well expressed.

As a result of the influence and joint efforts of some, the Commandos Association managed to sponsor the patrons and the daily and uninterested attention of a handful of others who work there in favor of the common objective, to keep Lage as it is. An example for any association.

But not only that, Lage is a good example of how the Army and, in essence, the Ministry of National Defence, the Portuguese State, can hand over to an Association of former soldiers a degraded installation, of no use either for the Branch or for anyone else, and today, be proud of what was done there. No cost to the taxpayer!

Bataria da Lage is a space of the Associação de Comandos, an NGO. Members, their guests, people involved in activities such as those mentioned above – there are thousands of them – have access to the site and it has been the Association's practice not to prevent anyone from visiting it. Naturally, it is always advisable for the visit to take place in the best conditions and with access to all rooms, a prior request.

Full list of Geochaching below:

https://mirror.xyz/madeinpt.eth/I5tjF3sn6ugnUw3nBnKOpOUr2DEh_g6cTN-0hivKCgc

Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 38.68633927242101, -9.30876699992933

The Bataria da Lage in the Municipality of Oeiras, opposite the Bugio Lighthouse, is an exception in the panorama of the old Coast Artillery Batteries that for centuries defended the bars of the ports of Lisbon and Setúbal. It has been preserved thanks to the work of a non-governmental organization, the Associação de Comandos, which officially received it on July 12, 2002 after a long process. It gives pleasure to see the results achieved, the improvements that continue to be made.

Officially handed over to the Associação de Comandos in 2002, the former Bataria da Lage do Regimento de Artilharia de Costa, located in Oeiras between Praia da Saisa and Praia de Santo Amaro, facing the Tagus and the Atlantic, is a good example of the use and conservation of historical and military heritage.

Historical-Military Heritage of Coastal Artillery

Operacional has published several articles dedicated to Coastal Artillery, both in Portugal and abroad, mainly because in our country this is a historical heritage that has been very badly treated. A significant part is even abandoned and the solutions insist on not appearing. In this sense we have shown over the years – and there are now 10! – the best that is done abroad in this field – Spain, Gibraltar, Malta are some countries where we find good examples and here we already show them. Today we present a good example in Portugal!

Fortunately, there are still other good examples, such as Fort Bom Sucesso in Belém, handed over to the Liga dos Combatentes, which set up the Museu do Combatente there, and there are cases in which there may still be a good solution without major investment, such as the former 6th Battery of the Coastal Artillery Regiment (Fonte da Telha); other batteries/fortifications are relatively preserved because they are occupied by official institutions – but very difficult or impossible for a visitor to access – such as the Fort of Alto do Duque (Public Security Police), the Fort of Almada (National Republican Guard), or the Fort of São Julião da Barra (Ministry of National Defense); there are others where the state of degradation that has been reached will require huge investments to save what is still possible, two of the most glaring cases are the old 2nd Battery of the RAC in Parede and the 7th in Outão.

In the Military Museum of Madeira (Funchal) there are preserved and visitable pieces of the coast, a subject to which we hope to return, another good example to record.

In the Azores, the Municipality of Ponta Delgada and the Military Museum intend to transform the old barracks and Bataria da Castanheira into a garden and viewpoint over Ponta Delgada, as well as, at a later stage, to musealize the underground complex that will be the responsibility of the Military Museum of the Azores. In 2017, Horta City Council launched a competition for ideas aimed at streamlining and managing the former Battery of Costa in Espalamaca, which has already been decommissioned but still maintains an underground complex. This year the subject was discussed publicly again but there are no developments.

The 15cm/40 CTR m/902 Krupp pieces of the 3rd Battery of the RAC fired until 1995.

With the extinction of the RAC in 1998, the Army abandoned the facilities and a long process of transferring the old unit to the Command Association began.

From Bataria Rainha Dona Maria Pia to Bataria da Lage

In this place an artillery battery was built in 1887 and 1889 prepared to be equipped with 3 pieces of 28 cm Krupp but ended up being equipped in 1902 with pieces of the same German manufacturer, but with 15 cm rapid fire: 15 cm/40 CTR m/902 Krupp.

On February 3, 1903, it was integrated into the so-called Campo Entricheirado de Lisboa, which was commanded by Infante D. Afonso de Bragança, brother of King D. Carlos, who were present at the act and the night exercises with the support of the Battery Projector. Here you can see the importance given to this fortification at that time, having been executed there for the first time in 1904.

The years continued with exercises and the battery experienced some operational activity in 1936 in the process of preventing rebellious ships from leaving the Lisbon bar that intended to head to Spain in order to support the “Bando Republicano”. This battery will have participated in the joint action with the Forts of Almada and Alto do Duque. In 1942, during the 2nd World War, the 3 pieces were removed and sent to Mozambique.

Portugal would remain neutral during the conflict but, just in case, a Luso-British commission was set up, which resulted in a report prepared by the British Major-General F.W. Barron (or Barrow?) and Commander Vaughaun, on coastal defense in the Lisbon region, the needs of the time and the acquisition of new materials. From here took place the last major reorganization of Coastal Artillery in Portugal, implemented in stages – almost entirely – and provided for: a Coastal Defense Command; two Coastal Counterbombardment Artillery Groups (Lisbon and Setúbal) and two telemetry and observation networks; two Close Defense Coastal Artillery Groups (on the Tagus and on the Sado) and two defenses against small naval units, two lighted areas, two discovery searchlight areas, a commanded mine strip, a barrier on the river to protect the interior of the port, berths and anchorages for inspection. In 1948 the first battery of this “Plan Barron” (or Plan B), as it became known, was operational and in 1960 the last one, at Fonte da Telha. This, with its 23.4cm material, is today the only one in the world with these weapons that is in good condition – this was mentioned on site by visitors from the Fortress Study Group in 2015. We hope that it is still possible to save this heritage!

In November 1946, Lage received the pieces that are today in the Bataria (the 15cm/40 CTR m/902 Krupp), then new projectors, the infrastructures were modernized and it integrated the “Plan B” in 1951. After the end of the Overseas War (1961-1975) it became the 3rd Bataria do Regimento de Artilharia de Costa, or Bataria da Lage. It performed the last real shooting session in 1995 and in 1998 the RAC was extinguished. It must have been around this date that it was “worded” to the Commando Association, a process that was neither easy nor quick, and during which, in the face of the Army’s abandonment of the installations, the Battery was vandalized!

Lage Battery and Command Association

The current images that we present speak for themselves. It is necessary, however, to remember that the Battery at Lage was completely abandoned and degraded, the parts all full of graffiti and… finally, the panorama that several other Batteries present. The Commandos Association got to work, former Commandos lost many nights to keep people of all kinds away from the perimeter of the “unit”, but little by little the work and persistence of the Commandos bore fruit: “… Anti Aérea n.º 1 in Queluz in which the Army officially hands over to the Associação de Comandos the Bataria da Lage.

Bataria da Lage is not a military museum, it is an old unit that was adapted for its intended purpose.

The Krupp parts that were installed there in 1946, when the battery underwent the last major remodeling, even though demilitarized remain well preserved.

To see this model of artillery pieces, there is currently no other place in Portugal where the public has relatively easy access, and is properly maintained, if not here.

The fire tables predicted data up to 7,500m range.

The elevators for transporting ammunition from the magazines, on the lower floor, to the weapons are “operational”.

In his times, seen from the sea, it would not have been very easy to locate these weapons, much less hit them.

The Fire Control Post building has not yet been repaired, but is in very reasonable condition.

The Battery of Lage in 2019

Bataria da Lage, of course, is not a museum and should be viewed as such by anyone visiting it. While it is true that I have been to much weaker military museums, it is also true that this is a military installation adapted to be what it is, an Association. Thus, the conditions were created for members and their guests to be there, spend some time together, have lunch, and also to meet the needs of an association with suitable places for meetings and ceremonies as well as leisure activities. However, and this is naturally very significant for anyone visiting Lage, there are three interior spaces that we can say constitute historic rooms: one dedicated to Coastal Artillery, another to the Commandos of the Portuguese Army and a last one to the Association of Commandos.

The bust of Colonel Commando Gilberto Santos e Castro (1928-1996), who was Honorary President of the Association of Commandos and one of its founders, has outstanding honors next to the memorial to the dead.

At Lage, two Chaimite V-200s are on display. One of them, the MX-57-37, is the one that the then commander of the Commando Regiment, Colonel Jaime Neves, used on November 25, 1975.”...were given to the Command Association by the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Frederico José Rovisco Duarte and were placed in this location on November 25, 2016”.

Statue of Colonel Vicente Nicolau de Mesquita (a Macanese hero, 1818-1880) who was at Largo do Senado in Macau from 1940 to 1966...”. In this photo in the background, cables from the runway for “extreme” activities can also be seen."

Miniature of “Uma Lulik” (Sacred House) characteristic of the region of Los Palos, in Timor-Leste,”...offered to the Commando Association by the President of the Republic of Timor-Leste General Taur Matan Ruak on June 29, 2017, Commando Day”.

>Espigueiro, Canastro or Caniço, “…this one originates from Serra de São Macário and Serra da Gralheira, and was offered by partner E n.

All of reasonable dimensions, recently opened, are in very good condition and have a lot of information. I imagine that for the associates the most significant one will be that of the Commands, which is really well conceived, is highly symbolic and deals in a very detailed way with the History of the Commands; that of the Association is an excellent repository of memories of what this NGO has been, with an extraordinary role in defending the interests of the Commands as a military body of the Portuguese Army; the Artilharia de Costa being the most discreet, it has information that you cannot find in any other museum (as far as I know!), a good collection of photographs and documents from this and several other batteries and from different eras.

As already mentioned, Lage was adapted for the purpose for which it was intended and so we can see various elements that aim to honor the heroes of the Commands and the visits of former units or courses, but also large gifts that were delivered to the Association.

Picnic Park, well prepared to receive a lot of people and prepare meals!

Track for carrying out “radical” activities.

Another important component of Lage is the occupation of free time – especially for entities that do not belong to the Association but who have agreements with it – and in this sense, in addition to rest areas where tents can be set up, and food preparation – the Merendas Park – also has equipment to practice “extreme activities”. This is an area where, as we were told, in addition to some former Commandos who hold their meetings here, Lage receives thousands of scouts throughout the year to carry out their activities.

The restaurant is widely used by associates and their guests and will undoubtedly be one of the “anchors” of the place. This type of equipment – ​​the Battery – is justifiable, it can only be maintained, if it has life, At Lage, in addition to naturally associative meetings, it is the free time activities and the restaurant that make the space dynamic. Its location facing the ocean and the pine forest that covers part of the land create a very pleasant natural environment.

Museum space dedicated to Coast Artillery.

Museum space dedicated to the Commando Units of the Portuguese Army.

Museum space dedicated to the Commandos Association

Conclusion

On the walls of Lage as well as inside and even in the large elements on display, the devotion to the Commandos and Portugal is well expressed.

As a result of the influence and joint efforts of some, the Commandos Association managed to sponsor the patrons and the daily and uninterested attention of a handful of others who work there in favor of the common objective, to keep Lage as it is. An example for any association.

But not only that, Lage is a good example of how the Army and, in essence, the Ministry of National Defence, the Portuguese State, can hand over to an Association of former soldiers a degraded installation, of no use either for the Branch or for anyone else, and today, be proud of what was done there. No cost to the taxpayer!

Bataria da Lage is a space of the Associação de Comandos, an NGO. Members, their guests, people involved in activities such as those mentioned above – there are thousands of them – have access to the site and it has been the Association's practice not to prevent anyone from visiting it. Naturally, it is always advisable for the visit to take place in the best conditions and with access to all rooms, a prior request.

Full list of Geochaching below:

https://mirror.xyz/madeinpt.eth/I5tjF3sn6ugnUw3nBnKOpOUr2DEh_g6cTN-0hivKCgc