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Origin and history

The Peyras battery is a defensive work built in 1879 in the context of tensions between the Third French Republic, the United Kingdom and Italy in the Mediterranean. Located 196 metres above sea level in the municipality of La Seyne-sur-Mer, it was designed to defend the space between the Isthmus of the Sablettes and the open sea, crossing its shots with those of the battery of Saint Elme. Its initial weaponry included 24 cm, 19 cm and 16 cm guns, intended to subject enemy ships to a particularly effective diver.

In 1912 his armament was modernized with 240 mm and 19 cm pieces, while an annex battery of six 95 mm guns was added in 1899. During the First World War, some of its equipment was transferred to the northeast front. In 1933 Peyras became an aircraft defence battery (DCA) equipped with 90 mm guns, then, under German occupation (1943), Flak 88 mm. After the Liberation, the National Navy installed 105 mm guns and made it a school of air combat until 1957.

The barracks, designed to withstand shelling, housed up to 97 men in 1880, with alveoles protected by thick masonry vaults. The powder shop, completely buried, and the 40 m3 tank testify to its autonomy. The upper floor, reworked before 1914, combines original shooting locations and subsequent modifications, such as the 105 mm gun cupolas. Today the museum, the site preserves four operational marine guns, unique in France.

The battery ceased its military activity in 1957, but served as a base for Commando Trepel until 1967. Its restoration, initiated in 1997 by the National Navy, entrusted its conservation to the GMC association. The site illustrates the evolution of coastal defensive strategies, from the 19th century dive shots to the 20th century DCA, while offering a panorama of the Toulon harbour.

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