Hangar 2 at former RAF West Raynham

Hangar 2 at former RAF West Raynham is a Type-C Aircraft Hangar with annexes, constructed between 1936 and 1939 to Air Ministry drawings 5053/36 and 5054/36. It is built principally of 14-inch reinforced concrete walls with a steel roof structure covered in asbestos slates.

The building has a long side elevation facing the flying field. At each end are full-height steel doors running to external gantries. Side elevations house annexes on the flying field side for squadron offices, and on the other side for workshops and stores.

The roof is concealed behind a parapet with a later metal balustrade. It comprises a series of transverse ridges with hipped ends, covered in asbestos cement slates. The long side walls are built of plain concrete with a slightly bush-hammered surface. At mid-height are 10 large window openings separated by concrete piers, fitted with late-20th-century glazing which replaced the original Crittall multi-pane casements. One bay at each end, in concrete, is slightly brought forward in a 'Moderne' manner with a higher parapet and a tall single light with horizontal bars centred to the bay. Facing the flying field, a large painted number 2 appears centrally at parapet level.

The end elevations have six full-height and full-width steel doors with replacement glazing at the top, under a deep projecting rail carrying the rolling headgear. Beyond the opening, a light steel lattice beam projects outward, carried by light steel strutted support with ground-stops for the doors. Above the doors, contained by wing walls of the first bays, there is a deep apron with hanging asbestos-cement slates.

The annexes on the long side elevations have steel casement windows. The southern office annex has a two-storey central section. A small external concrete porch has been added to the office annex at the eastern end, labelled 'Lecture Room 1'. The northern workshop annex has an additional post-war storage area added at the eastern end. A covered porch and walkway connects the workshop annex to a late-20th-century toilet block built to the north of the hangar. A small external concrete porch has been added to the workshop annex at the west end. The central entranceways through the north and south annexes have been infilled to create small doorways.

The principal interior space, the hangar itself, is twelve bays long with no structural subdivisions. The complex lattice of roof girders is clearly visible, along with the roofing boards above it. There are four gantry cranes with surviving mechanisms at bays 2, 6, 7 and 11, capable of carrying either 1.5 tons or 6 tons as indicated by surviving signage. The steel structure supporting the roof is buried in the reinforced concrete walls except for additional structural support in each of the end bays. The floor is formed of plain concrete.

Access to the annexes is gained through multiple doorways on the north and south sides of the building. Centrally on each side are massive metal fire doors which originally led directly outside and now lead to enclosed spaces.

The northern annexes originally housed workshops, stores and storage tanks. They have undergone various other uses since, but retain much of their original layout as well as heavy metal doors, radiators and windows. The southern annexes, facing the flying field, were originally intended to house squadron offices. Late-20th-century speaker systems survive in these parts. Some historic partition walls survive, along with retained doors, windows, tiled cills and original radiators. Signage indicates earlier military uses. The upper storey of the office annex is reached via a concrete staircase with a steel balustrade and oak handrail, similar in design to the 'Moderne' balustrades found in the Station Headquarters and Officers' Mess. On the south side of these upper rooms, one window has massive metal hinges suggesting a pair of large shutters once hung there. The gun cabinets have been removed.