Bengtskär

- The lighthouse island of Bengtskär is located in open sea. The distance from Hanko, which is located in north-east from Bengtskär, is about 28 kilometers. The distance to the Fort of Örö, which is located in north-west and which was the closest place from where the defenders of Bengtskär could have received help during the Battle of Bengtskär, is about 14 kilometers.

- There is really no vegetation in Bengtskär. Hay is the biggest plant, which one kind find from the rocky island. The elevation difference is also nearly non-existent. During a storm the waves will hit over the island, from which the numerous ponds in the middle of the island and the fish in these are a visible evidence. When visiting the lighthouse island, one cannot be but amazed how the Battle of Bengtskär lasted nearly 18 hours in such a small island!

- The easiest way to get to Bengtskär is by the liner, which sails Hanko - Bengtskär route every day during the summer time. Of course there is a weather reservation for understandable reasons. It is possible also to go to Bengtskär with your own boat. However there are a limited number of good places to land in, which might mean, that when there are many boats in Bengtskär, you might not find a place to anchor from a place, which is protected from the wind. Anchoring into Bengtskär with your own boat, requires also that the weather has been decent for a several days, as the waves might be still quite big even after days after a storm.

Patrol boat and the guns of armoured ship

- From the structures, the lighthouse building and the lighthouse tower of Bengtskär of course date from the time of Hanko Front. Additionally some of the outbuildings have stood there during the Battle of Bengtskär. In practice you can count the lighthouse as a one defensive structure, as its sturdy walls protected the Finnish defenders effectively. Without the sturdy granite walls the result of the battle might have been different.

- The gun position, bunker and the several separate gun bases however have been built after the Hanko Front ceased to exists. I have however included these structures as a part of this presentation, as they clearly show how important place Bengtskär has been militarily.

- I can recommend Bengtskär as a place to visit, even when one would not be interested about the Hanko Front or the Battle of Bengtskär. The lighthouse is a bit over hundred years old (The Bengtskär lighthouse was constructed in 1906) and it is also the tallest lighthouse in Nordic countries. It is a rather unique place to visit in the southern Finland. On the other hand, getting familiar to the Battle of Bengtskär in the place where it happened, does give you a rather different perspective, than just reading about the battle from the books.

Battle of Bengtskär 26.07.1941

Structures in Bengtskär (Blue squares in the map)
Number of the structure in the map	Note
The lighthouse building and the lighthouse tower
Structure No. 1	Gun position and a bunker.
Structure No. 2	Observation and fire control nest.
Structure No. 3	A base for a gun.
Structure No. 4	Position, which has progressed to the mining stage.
Structure No. 5	A base for a gun. There is photographs from the base.