Operation Switchback - Paulinapolder Monument

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Interesting! Let’s overlay that map on a modern one:

Switchback landing sites today (map).jpeg

And on an aerial photo:

Switchback landing sites today (aerial photo).jpeg

Interestingly, Green Beach is now some way into the sea, probably only reachable when the tide is very low. Amber Beach, though, is easy to locate in the model landscape: find the field full of solar panels, go to its northwestern corner and cross the dyke there.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Jakko Westerbeke

Interesting! Let’s overlay that map on a modern one:

Interestingly, Green Beach is now some way into the sea, probably only reachable when the tide is very low. Amber Beach, though, is easy to locate in the model landscape: find the field full of solar panels, go to its northwestern corner and cross the dyke there.

Hi Jakko, thanks for doing that overlay. I reckon the scaling of the hand drawn sketch is a bit off, as GREEN and AMBER BEACH are more to the left.

Switchback - Amber Beach.jpg Switchback - Green and Amber Beach.jpg

[Jakko Westerbeke]

I suspected as much, because the curve of the coastline on the left seems like it should fit the dyke to the west of the solar panels, but ends up east of that. But looking at it better, I noticed I got the size wrong: I thought I had everything lined up correctly, but didn’t because I made the Second World War map too small. Here are improved versions:

Operation Switchback 1940s.jpeg

Operation Switchback 2020s map.jpeg

Operation Switchback 2020s photo.jpeg