Former RAF Faldingworth atomic bomb store: BD Fissile Core Storage Building

A Type B nuclear fissile core storage hutch dating to the early 1950s and built to the designs of the Air Ministry.

MATERIALS: the hutches are built of reinforced concrete walls standing on a brick plinth, with an asphalt covered roof. The door is composed of metal-plated timber boards.

PLAN: the hutch is rectangular on plan.

DESCRIPTION: the hutch is a small single-storey structure with an overhanging flat roof. It is near square, being 3 metres by 2.5 metres. The single leaf metal-plated door is located in the north elevation and is reached by a low concrete rampway which joins to the remains of a concrete pathway which interconnected the hutches. The walls are rendered internally with gritless plaster, with four small ventilators inset at the sides and to the rear. The doors are of wood protected externally by a steel sheet, and are secured by a combination lock and internal, vertical locking bar operated by an external handle. The cores themselves were stored in two key-hole shaped holes in the ground which have since been filled in with concrete, but are still discernible. There is a radiator against the rear wall. Electrical fittings, including the automatic door lock which allowed opening and closing from the control, remain in situ but are not functional.