bomberflight wrote:
The original hangars at Duxford pre-date World War 2 and have listed building status because of their historical / architectural significance in British history.
They're commonly known as Belfast Hangars ( named after the Belfast Truss construction of the roof timbers ).
They form part of the "standard" RAF building designs used after WW1. ( Guard Room / Admin Block / Officers Mess etc )
The advantage of a common airfield design layout was when you first arrived at the main gate ~ you would recognize the buildings and understand the geography
Duxford's hangars and original surrounding buildings are indeed a classic example of a standardised late-WWI RFC aerodrome.
By 1917 the usual RFC layout was precisely as Duxford is today; viewed left to right seen from the flying field were two Coupled General Service Aeroplane Sheds (currently Hangars 5 and 4), then a single Shed (the one blown up during the filming of Battle of Britain) then another Coupled shed (now Hangar 3). The single Shed was usually the Aeroplane Repair Shed, and often had two Aeroplane Stores built on the rear wall. Behind the right-hand shed would be a pair of open-fronted buildings facing each other across a yard, this was the MT Section.
A
Hangar in RFC terms was normally a temporary wooden framed structure with a canvas covering, i.e. the Bessonnaux Hangar.
Below is a section of a 1920s Ordnance Survey map of RAF Weston-on-the Green showing the WWI buildings, the same image can be precisely overlaid onto many RFC/RAF aerodromes built between 1916 and 1918:
All the best,
PB
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