Photos and research by Dennis Agrafiotis, submitted to www.ww2wrecks.com and used by permission

An important condition for the proper functioning of the Metaxas line fortifications was their water supply.

This was achieved in some bunker complexes with the construction of underground pumping stations, which, due to their distance from the fort they served, were configured in small groups of active bunkers, presenting similarities with the advanced bunkers of the forts.

The usual layout of the underground pumping stations included the entrance hall next to which there were staff quarters and warehouses (for spare parts, lubricants, fuel, possibly ammunition, etc.), the engine room with the mechanical pumping equipment, the water tank, as well as a well with a vertical metal ladder, in which the pipeline that carried the water to the fort was placed.

At the top of the shaft there was an active bunker position for a machine gun emplacement.

A typical example of an underground pumping station of this type is the pumping station of the Arpalouki bunker complex, the location of which we located after research with our friend Panagiotis Savvidis on June 6th, 2020, as it was not known, because it was not recorded on any known map or layout.

On the surface of the machine gun bunker of the pumping station there are marks of shots.

The pumping station was not used post-WW2 nor was it reconstructed as part of the re-use of the forts.