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Old 8th Apr 2020, 09:50
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pr00ne
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: London/Oxford/New York
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Hangar 9,

OK, this has woken up the geek in me, so sorry for what is about to follow but hope that you find it useful!

The answer to your question depends upon how you define a C Type hangar.

I was first entranced by the beautiful symmetry and attractive appearance of the typical mid thirties expansion period RAF station when as a child I was taken to an Open Day at RAF Finningley. That graceful arch of C Type hangars backed up by neat Georgian style buildings had an immediate impact and was, in a strange way, partially responsible for my 1st career choice of joining the RAF when older. This first visit was in the early 50's when the UK was still a pretty grim and grimy place, especially in London where I lived before the post war reconstruction began that ultimately led to the beautiful capital city we have today. It was a bit different in 1953! So this beautiful arch of these impressive buildings made an impression, an impression that has stayed with me to this day. I still think that the classic early C type hangar is the ONLY building that somehow manages to look right in the background of an aircraft picture if that aircraft be an F-35 Lightning, a Typhoon, or a Handley Page Heyford or a Hawker Hind. They are simply timeless.

Now, to your question.

Those C Type hangars, the classic pre austerity Hipped Type built of brick, concrete, glass and steel, first appeared in the mid thirties on a few existing stations such as Mildenhall, Cranwell, Hornchurch, Abingdon, Wittering, Sealand, Bicester etc as additions to the existing buildings. Then they began to appear as the only hangar accommodation on the expansion period new build airfields; Finningley, Dishforth, Benson, Thorney Island, Linton On Ouse, Leconfield, Driffield, South Cerney, Thorney Island, Little Rissington, Odiham, Wattisham, Watton, Debden, Wyton, West Raynham etc. This was the early 1935 period. Then, to begin to get a little nearer the answer to your question (!) the austerity type C Type hangar appeared as both budgets and timescales began to bite. These outwardly similar, but cheaper in both materials and time, hangars began to appear on the later permanent expansion period airfields such as Binbrook, Topcliffe, Kinloss, Lossiemouth, Bramcote, Lindholme, Newton, Leeming etc.

As the war drew inexorably nearer things changed on the remaining permanent expansion period airfields remaining to be built. A REAL austerity version of the C Type appeared, the largely all metal J type hangar. These appeared on the remaining expansion period airfields; Coningsby, Swinderby, Swanton Morley, Lyneham, Waterbeach, Oakington etc.

After that there were no more expansion period permanent stations built, all the rest were wartime temporary dispersed builds, with some having a J type appear but the vast majority had the temporary wartime expedient T2 and B1 type.

So, to crawl agonizingly slowly around to answer your question (sorry!) I think it fair to say that if there had been no budget or timescale pressures then the second group of stations I listed; Topcliffe, Binbrook, Lindhole etc, would all have had the original type of brick, hipped C Type hangar as had appeared at Dishforth, Brize Norton, Odiham etc.

Again, the third group, those chosen to have the J Type; Coningsby Swinderby, Lyneham etc, would also have been equipped with the Brick built hipped classic C Type had time and money allowed.

I think it fair to say that all the rest were never destined to be permanent and would never have had the C Type, of any kind.

One typical example is that of Middleton St George, which is a sort of half-way house as it has 1 J Type and 1 C Type, and there were rumours that at one time it was destined to have SIX C Type, had not timescales and budget interfered, and would so have joined Thorney island as the ONLY RAF station ever to have been equipped with six C Type hangars as the only hangar accomodation, thus becoming a strange companion to Upper Heyford that in its time was the only RAF station ever to be equipped with 6 of the old A Type hangars, which is another story....

Hope that was of SOME help?
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