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Fort Bramafam is a fortress in Val di Susa, near Bardonecchia, and is the largest fortification of the late nineteenth century in the Hautes Alpes. It was built between 1874 and 1889 to protect the railway line from Turin to Modane, and the Fréjus railway tunnel. Partially disarmed during the First World War, the fort was used as a prison camp for Austrians who were working on the maintenance of the Fréjus tunnel. In September 1943 it was occupied by a small German garrison, for fear of surprise attacks by partisans from the surrounding area, but was abandoned by the retreating Germans in April 1945. Following the end of hostilities the fort was abandoned. It is now managed by the ‘Associazione per Gli Studi di Storia e Architettura Militare’ (Association for the Study of Military History and Architecture, ASSAM) which is restoring the buildings and making the fort accessible to the public.
Exhibits at Bramafam include an interesting artillery collection. Many of these artillery pieces are on loan from the “Museo dell'Artiglieria” in Torino, which has been closed for many years. Not far from Bramafan there are two further exceptional fortifications, Forte Di Exilles and Forte Di Fenestrelle. (Source: M. Foti).
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1556
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Large hole in centre of mantlet for armament.
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This M15/42 came from Alice Castello at Vercelli and has had the hull machinegun and turret main gun removed (source: M. Foti). When emplaced the two Breda 38 machine guns were moved to the turret mantlet in place of the Breda 47/40 gun and a steel plate used to close the opening produced in the superstructure (source: C. Clerici).
It was originally emplaced beside a road outside the ammunition store at Alice Castello and is believed to have been removed in the 1990s. It consisted of just the upper hull and turret fixed in concrete, with the entire lower hull, including engine compartment and running gear, removed. When seen there it retained its side door, and the mounting and inner mantlet for its machine-guns, but these are no longer fitted. It is generally in a poor and rusty condition.
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