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Bellman Hangars
A small group of aviation history buffs would like to collect information and pictures relating to the 300 odd Bellman hangars that were built during WWII and moved about since. I recall the ones at Moorabbin were moved, I am told from Tocumwal and there are many others still about and in use.
Any history, locations and pictures appreciated. Cheers:ok: |
Cogwheel, From more recent GA trips, there's one at YTEM. (It's used as a gliding club hangar.) Also one at YPIR and another at YBKE.
The Bellman hangars used similar technology to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. They were built out of many small components like a Meccano Set. |
One out at Cunderdin in WA. Was used by Dunn Aviation a few years back
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The one at Kingaroy is actively used by the gliding club there.
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Just a very quick response, will do better another time. I haunt Moorabbin and will be at Tocumwal next week.
10 or 11 Bellman hangars at Moorabbin - you can see some at Moorabbin | Moorabbin Airport One at TOCUMWAL AVIATION Not sure if you can access the following photos from Facebook - try opening in a new tab? https://www.facebook.com/Ozaeros/pho...type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/Ozaeros/pho...type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/30960196588...type=3&theater Also 3 of these very big old hangars at Toc: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater Been a while since I was at Ballarat, a few Bellmans there too. |
Don't forget the Werribee airfield which was part of RAAF Williams at Laverton and the B24 project.
Well worth having a look at this big bird and the other exhibits this small band of volunteers has assembled. Kaz |
cogwheel,
While I don't put too much store in what I see on Wiki, there's a surprisingly detailed rundown on Oz Bellmans on there. Much of what's said there was pretty right the last time I looked, anyway. Worth a check-out, perhaps? |
Bellman hangars at the following locations,
Mildura, RAAF Point Cook, Mount Gambier, Wynyard(relocated from Western Junction after WW2), Devonport(relocated from Western Junction after WW2), Launceston(RAAF EFTS base WW2, then post WW2 hangar taken over by Tasmanian Aero Club and later used by Airlines of Tasmania), TAA air freight hangar at Launceston, Essendon(near the old Vic Air Ambulance base), Narromine, I have seen one or two used in industrial areas as well. |
There's definitely one at Toowoomba
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There was a Bellman Hangar at Goroka in PNG but recently demolished for Terminal extensions.
There was a Bellman Hangar in Madang in PNG, guess it is still there? djpil You can't link Face Book images to PPRuNe (or any other web site I suspect?) as they are not in a photo file format. |
Good subject for a history study Cogwheel.
Australian aviation, military, airlines, GA and Sport and Rec owe a lot to the legacy of the Bellman hangar. There is a good deal of stuff in Vol 1 of a book about ComEng by John Dunn ISBN 1877058424. Can be viewed on line at the following link. Look at pages 67 to about 70. Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 1: 1921-1955 There is also some info at http://www.asha.org.au/pdf/newslette...r37-2_2007.pdf Several of the Bellman Hangars at East Sale appear to have been joined end to end in pairs to make longer hangars. There is a Bellman at Waikerie, which DCA "gifted" to the gliding fraternity to facilitate the holding of the World Gliding Championships there in the 1970s. Seems Sir Donald Anderson, then director General of DCA was an old Waikerie lad. I understand that it was brought from Mount Gambier. |
Charter company in Kalgoorlie has a Bellman Hangar. Seen a photo of a Boomerang flying through it.
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Yep, we've got one here in Toowoomba. Darling Downs Aeroclub owns it. Not sure how up to date this is but:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellma...s_in_Australia |
Does anyone know of the older hangers at Camden are Bellmans? Often wondered but had no one to ask :-}
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Camden hangars
Styx,
the green hangar at the end of the driveway predates ww2 i believe. The next 5 leading upto Curtis Aviation and Gostner's are bellmans. the rest are new build. |
There's still Bellman hangars at RAAF Richmond and the former RAAF Laverton. As kaz3g correctly identifies, the latter is now part of RAAF Williams.
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I'm pretty confident that Southwest Aviation's hangar at Cootamundra is a Bellman. You've seen it first hand a few times, GIII. Thoughts?
I'm less confident on this one, but my recollection is that one of the hangars at Cobar is a Bellman. I was depressed to see the condition of the strip of Bellmans on the southern side of Point Cook a while ago. Absent preservation action in the interim, I reckon the salt air would have just about eaten them by about now. |
I agree with you Clinton. That certainly is a Bellman at YCTM.
From Wiki: "Four imported UK manufactured examples on the Southern Tarmac at Point Cook (RAAF Williams) These are believed to be the only examples supplied from the UK surviving in Australia." |
Originally Posted by catseye
(Post 9557403)
Styx,
the green hangar at the end of the driveway predates ww2 i believe. The next 5 leading upto Curtis Aviation and Gostner's are bellmans. the rest are new build. 1. Airborne op's hangar 2. Airborne aircraft storage hangar 3. Camden Aviation 4. Air League / Ray + Jay Ekinci 5. Delta AV/Curtis Op's 6 Curtis aircraft storage hangar |
Yep, we've got one here in Toowoomba. Darling Downs Aeroclub owns it Sir Donald Anderson ran the Department, and on a visit to Toowoomba, the then President Jack Kelly pointed out to Sir Donald that the Aero Club needed a hangar on the southern side of the newly constructed runway; and it so happened there were plenty of hangars at Oakey. The Department owned the Oakey Airport which had been a major RAAF Base during the War. In the mid sixties, Sir Donald arranged for the sale to the Aero Club, for the price of 1 pound; one of the Bellman hangars at Oakey, on condition that the Aero Club pay for the removal and reconstruction. Jack Kelly was a builder and arranged just that. The Aero Club constructed the Bellman hangar on the southern side of the Airport in the new Mutze Street, off Greenwattle Street. Not long after the money was found to build a small brick building for its Club rooms on the eastern side of the hangar, having already constructed a lean-to on the western side which contained office space and instructors' rooms. |
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