In Zalesie, south of Międzyzdroje on Wolin Island, the German army built experimental sites linked to the V-3 weapon during the Second World War. Concrete gun supports and a bunker in which an exhibition has been set up have survived. The dates and the type of weapon are described inconsistently in the available texts, which is why each version is given below with its author.

What the V-3 was

According to Wikipedia, the V-3 was one of three German retaliation weapons, alongside the V-1 and V-2. Unlike them, it was not a guided missile but a gun, in which the projectile was accelerated by charges fired in succession along the barrel. The codenames Hochdruckpumpe, meaning high-pressure pump, and Tausendfüßler, meaning millipede, are associated with this arrangement.

Wikipedia gives a calibre of 150 mm, a projectile mass of 140 kg, a muzzle velocity of 1,500 m/s and a planned range of 165 km. The entry gives the barrel length in its text as about 120 metres, and in the data box gives the length of the gun as 130 metres. The latter value is also given by the museum's website in Zalesie: according to it, the longest gun in the world, measuring 130 metres, was built here.

Zalesie as an experimental proving ground

According to the entry on the V-3, work began in 1943 at Hillersleben near Magdeburg and in Zalesie, where three V-3 guns were installed. The entry on Zalesie itself describes this differently: according to it, the German army began building the launch sites as early as 1942, the site was screened by a fence and strictly guarded, and by 1945 three launch sites had been built. The same entry says that from the end of 1943 the launch sites occasionally fired V-2 missiles in an easterly direction. The entry on the V-3, however, speaks of V-3 guns, so the type of weapon tested in Zalesie remains unclear in these sources.

According to Wikipedia, the target V-3 battery was to stand in an underground complex at Mimoyecques in France, with 25 guns of 150 mm, set up to fire on London. This complex was destroyed by British bombers on 6 July 1944 and, according to the entry, only test shots were fired from it. According to these descriptions, Zalesie was therefore a testing ground and not a combat position. The only combat use of the V-3 given by Wikipedia is two smaller guns at Lampaden in Germany: from 30 December 1944 to 22 February 1945 about 183 projectiles were fired from there towards Luxembourg.

The launch sites today

The V3 launch sites in Zalesie are the remains of this proving ground: concrete structures that served as gun supports, and bunkers. They are traces of a wartime installation, not a place of entertainment.

The V3 bunker as a museum

In the bunker where V-3 projectiles were stored, the V3 Bunker - Museum now operates. According to the museum's website, the exhibition has been open since 2004 and is the only exhibition of this German weapon in Poland. The museum shows military technology from the Second World War, offers guided tours with historical commentary and runs history lessons for groups. According to the website, it cooperates with Piotr Laskowski, the author of a book on German secret weapons on the islands of Wolin and Uznam, and descriptions of the proving ground also appear in a book by Marek Dudziak on the V weapons in Polish lands. Opening hours and visiting rules are given by the museum.

Next to the bunker there is a tourist information point of Wolin National Park, which, according to Wikipedia, presents the park's offer and natural history information. Near the bunker there are remains of firing positions of multi-chamber guns.