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View Full Version : Cardington Hangers - Bedford - April 2011



nelly
17-04-2011, 11:15 PM
The Cardington aircraft hangers (or more correctly termed as ‘sheds’) dominate the surrounding countryside landscape of Bedfordshire for miles where they can be spotted looming out from the horizon.

Shed no.1 was constructed in 1917 and no2 was completed a few years later in 1928, both hangers contain their own micro-climates and if you are lucky enough to find yourself inside one of these on a dry day out you may find it raining on the inside.

The front sliding doors weigh over 80 tonnes of metal each and the hangers in length extend to over 247m and rise to just over 59 metres, both sheds still remain the largest in Western Europe and could house 2 Wembley Stadiums with leftover space for a hooligan bar.

These sheds which were designed and built by hand required vast space to house an aircraft significantly large enough to compete with the monstrous Zepplins, so steel portal frames were used with pin joints to hold up the crown and all side walls of the structure.

The death count during their assembly remains vague however inevitably dozens did fall to their deaths during the construction period.

Hanger no.1 was home to the famous R101 which crashed on its maiden voyage in Beauvais, north of France killing hundreds of passengers flying over to India.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/r10108a.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/r101_mast.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/R101.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_016001.jpg

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http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_025022.jpg

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http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_017005.jpg

You can just see my 15 year old daughter standing to the left of the gap in the doors.
This gives you some idea of the scale of the place

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_017407.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_017106.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_018008.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_016303.jpg

Yeah right!!!
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_019010.jpg

My mate P7 can be seen down on the floor
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_019813.jpg

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http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_018609.jpg

These are the blocks that the Airships were tethered to.
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_024019.jpg

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http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_024320.jpg

This is the outside of the doors. The door operator sits
in the shed and operates the motors, the cog wheels pull the
doors along the giant "bike chain" that lays on the ground.
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_027128.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_025625.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_026226.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_027027.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n630/nellyurbex2/Cardington%20Hangers%20-%20Bedford/IMG_025224.jpg

MJS
17-04-2011, 11:31 PM
Fuckin 'ell! What a mint place!!!

Nicola
18-04-2011, 12:11 PM
Fecking nora that place is bloody huuuge - fab shots! :thumb

GeoVDUB
18-04-2011, 02:41 PM
Love it.

BB
18-04-2011, 03:02 PM
Oh hell yeah! That is super! :thumb

coops
18-04-2011, 03:14 PM
BIG :thumb

Clough
18-04-2011, 09:44 PM
Beast!!! Massive is too smaller word! You could have a rave in there!

Krypton
18-04-2011, 09:51 PM
WOW Fantastic?!!! By any chance, is this place near a village called Cotton End? its just i have family there and i vaguely remember driving past something that resembled this!

nelly
18-04-2011, 11:33 PM
WOW Fantastic?!!! By any chance, is this place near a village called Cotton End? its just i have family there and i vaguely remember driving past something that resembled this!

Thats the place mate. Just down the road from Cotton End :)

scottj
19-04-2011, 04:00 PM
Me and the wife saw these on the way to Luton Airport a few months back and went..."WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY" Now we know;-) Great pics, thanks for sharing/enlightening:-D

blinkscott182
21-04-2011, 08:14 PM
these are huuuuuuuuge! iv only seen them from the motorway, i swear i saw a program about them and it said there so big theyve got there own micro-climate.

Krypton
21-04-2011, 08:17 PM
Thats the place mate. Just down the road from Cotton End :)

Good lord i cant believe that. Now i have somewhere to go when i visit them as they are the most boring people ever lol!

nelly
21-04-2011, 10:00 PM
these are huuuuuuuuge! iv only seen them from the motorway, i swear i saw a program about them and it said there so big theyve got there own micro-climate.

Yep they do mate, read my intro on page one ;)

nelly
21-04-2011, 10:01 PM
Good lord i cant believe that. Now i have somewhere to go when i visit them as they are the most boring people ever lol!

Quality, I can just imagine you dropping the Mrs off at Nigel and Davinas house and then nipping off to the hangers ;)

Krypton
21-04-2011, 10:22 PM
I fell out with Davina years ago over Christmas dinner lol

SaltGeorge
22-04-2011, 10:15 AM
Shed 2 is a Norfolk escapee from Pulham, relocated and enlarged (the Norfolk Chapter has claims to everything). Shed 1 looks like a magical space with the light coming through the perforations in the cladding. I believe there are plans to refurbish shed 1, so some of that magic might be lost - although hopefully with the benefit of better preservation.

Very good shots Nelly.

blinkscott182
24-04-2011, 12:45 PM
haha sorry dude, missed that part. :D

nelly
26-04-2011, 08:12 PM
This is a clip of the construction of the hangers, when I done the research and read about the many deaths during the build, I thought they were exaggerated. When you see the Health and Safety employed in modern construction you forget that workers used to operate like this.

An amazing film clip

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=24632

(The film is silent and there is a small ad before it starts)

blinkscott182
27-04-2011, 01:53 PM
cool video.

dunglass
19-05-2011, 05:23 PM
Really great pics, love the blocks.I used to pass these often ,so brings back memories