Buildings 7, 8, 9 And 13 (Airmen'S Barracks)

A group of four barracks buildings dating to 1933, designed by the Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings (Drawing Numbers 7651/32 for Buildings 7, 8, and 9, and 461/32 for Building 13).

The buildings are constructed in stretcher bond red brick with cavity walling and slate roofs on steel trusses, with concrete floors throughout. They are arranged as two-storey blocks with a central entrance and staircase hall. Flanking the staircase are small rooms for corporals, with larger dormitory spaces beyond. The smaller units (Buildings 7, 8, and 9) accommodate 4 non-commissioned officers and 56 airmen each. The larger block (Building 13) houses 4 non-commissioned officers and 64 airmen. All four buildings feature a slightly lower hipped service wing to the rear and centre.

The front elevation is the most prominently detailed. The central three bays are slightly stepped forward and crowned with a closed pediment containing a small barred oculus. Below this are 8:12:8-pane sashes with a central pair of panelled doors beneath a plain over-light, surrounded by a stone pilaster frame with cornice and blocking course. The date 1933 is carved above the doors. On either side of this central section are single 8-pane windows at ground level. The main range to either side features two 12-pane windows per floor (three to each side on Building 13). The end gables display closed pediments with oculi and 8:12:8-pane windows to each floor. The rear elevation has three 12-pane windows to each floor on either side of the service wing (four on Building 13), with a vertical 8-pane window adjacent to the main range and two small 6-pane windows to each floor (8-pane on Building 13) at the outer end. The service wing has a large louvred door to a battery room with a small light above. All windows are wood glazing-bar sashes set into brick voussoirs with cast stone sub-sills.

Gabled end walls feature rusticated quoins created by recessing one course in every five for two brick widths. A small flat eaves soffit runs around all elevations, finished with a small fascia and cornice mould or ogee-gutter to regulate cast-iron downpipes.

Some original doors and joinery survive internally, including the central staircase. However, the interiors have been substantially remodelled for storage purposes.

The careful detailing and proportioning of these buildings reflect the Air Ministry's consultation with the Royal Fine Arts Commission, which became involved in airfield architecture and design from November 1931 onwards. The architectural treatment is economical in detail yet carefully considered and executed, with particular attention paid to overall grouping and proportions. The buildings remain externally unchanged and are positioned one block to each side of the parade ground (Buildings 8 and 9) and one each side of the Institute (Building 6). Duxford represents the finest and best-preserved example of a fighter base of the period up to 1945 in Britain, with an exceptionally complete group of First World War technical buildings in addition to technical and domestic buildings typical of both inter-war Expansion Periods of the Royal Air Force. The site has important associations with the Battle of Britain and American fighter support for the Eighth Air Force.