← Back to catalogue
Published

Cointet-element

vr.tr.cointet-element · thing-q634209

Let an agent describe the Cointet element historically, its design, use and surviving examples, and point to museum and heritage sources.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.BLT
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Design What it is.

Structure

Frame and rollers.

Structure

Dimensions and weight.

  1. What are its dimensions and weight? measurement
  2. From which source? provenance

Designer

Origin.

Origin

Designer and date.

  1. Who designed it and when? provenance
  2. Why? provenance
Use Where it was used.

Belgium

KW line.

Belgian use

Line and number.

  1. Where were they deployed in Belgium? provenance
  2. How many? measurement

Atlantic Wall

Beach obstacles.

Reuse

Place and period.

  1. Where were they reused? provenance
  2. How effective were they? provenance
Survivors Remaining examples.

Museums

Collections.

Surviving example

Museum, accession or heritage record, location, and whether relocated or reconstructed.

  1. Where can examples be seen? provenance
  2. Are they original? provenance

Field remains

In situ remains.

Field remain

Place and condition.

  1. Are there remains in place? provenance
  2. Are they safe to approach? boundary
History Context.

Production

Numbers made.

Production

Numbers and makers.

  1. How many were produced? measurement
  2. By whom? provenance

Assessment

Military effectiveness.

Assessment

Sources.

  1. How effective were they? provenance
  2. According to which historians? provenance

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.BLT

What it is Filled

A mobile steel anti-tank obstacle, also called a Belgian gate or C-element: a heavy braced steel frame about 3 m wide and 2-2.5 m high on rollers, designed in the 1930s by the French officer Leon-Edmond de Cointet and used in Belgian defensive lines and later in the German Atlantic Wall.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent describe the Cointet element historically, its design, use and surviving examples, and point to museum and heritage sources.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • A gate-like frame on rollers (often concrete), linkable into barriers.
  • Unlike Czech hedgehogs, which are crossed steel beams, and dragon's teeth, generally fixed concrete obstacles.
  • Many were moved to beaches by German forces as beach obstacles in 1944.

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • advise approaching unexploded ordnance

May

  • describe history and heritage

Moral aspects Filled

  • historical accuracy
  • remembrance

Who is affected

  • visitors
  • historians

Owners Filled

Steward

nobody now as a type; surviving pieces belong to museums or landowners

Master systems

  • museum collections

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q811430 - registry parent class

related

  • anti-tank obstacle - military engineering
  • KW line - Belgian defensive line
  • Czech hedgehog - other obstacle
  • Atlantic Wall - reuse

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.cointet-element
  • Wikidata: Q634209 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q634209)

Direct properties required Filled

  • weight: about 1.28-1.4 t - published figures differ; tie to a documented example
  • width: about 3 m
  • height: about 2-2.5 m

Recognition required Filled

  • Heavy braced steel gate on small wheels
  • Rows of linked gates as barriers
  • A large steel fence-like frame with diagonal bracing, mounted on rollers.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • describe design and history
  • describe use in Belgian lines and on Normandy beaches
  • point to surviving examples in museums
  • explain heritage status

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Rusted remains on beaches and in water
  • Unexploded ordnance near former obstacles

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Heritage protection of surviving fortifications, by country

Context of use required Filled

  • Blocking roads and gaps against tanks; historically, part of fortified lines.
  • Cointet element (Belgian gate)

Sources Filled

  1. Q634209 - identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks
  2. Belgian Gate - general description of the subject
  3. Cointet-element - Names, attributed inventor, 1933 origin, approximate dimensions, 1,280 kg mass and historical deployment.
  4. Off the Wall: Beach obstacles - Belgian gates, French inventor, beach reuse and comparison with other beach obstacles.
  5. Bunkers KW-linie Vlaams-Brabant - Cointet barriers in the KW line, 1939-1940 context and surviving remains.
  6. Une barriere Cointet au Musee des Chasseurs Ardennais - Museum recovery, three rollers and the alternative dimensions of 3 m by 2.5 m with 1,400 kg mass.

Open questions

—

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q634209/spec.json