Nose Dock Hangar At Former Raf Upper Heyford (Building 328)

Nose dock hangar at former RAF Upper Heyford (Building 328)

A nose dock hangar built in 1951 to designs made around 1950-1, almost certainly by the British Ministry of Works. It follows the form of a wartime hangar used to service Sunderland flying boats, but was constructed for the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command.

The hangar is constructed with aluminium cladding on an aluminium frame, with a corrugated steel roof. It has a stepped T-shaped plan with a long cantilevered front creating the extended opening necessary to accommodate American B50Ds, KB29Ps, and later B47 Stratojets stationed here. Folding doors of aluminium run along this long elevation. Internal bracing is also of aluminium.

RAF Upper Heyford was established as a bomber station in 1923 as part of the Home Defence Expansion Scheme. Following the Berlin Crisis of 1948 and the breakdown of East-West relations, it was identified in 1950 for use by the USAF Strategic Air Command as a permanent base. The existing hangars proved too small for the massive new bombers, so a specific hangar type was developed known as a nose dock. These hangars sheltered only the front section of aircraft, allowing work to be undertaken on the nose and engines under cover, while the rest of the aircraft had no roof protection.

Upper Heyford was served by squadrons of KB-29P refuelling aircraft from the end of 1951 and from June 1953 by the B47 Stratojet. Aircraft were deployed on 90-day rotations, requiring only routine maintenance and emergency repairs. By the late 1950s, a policy of "reflex alert" meant the base was used intensively. Upper Heyford became the centre for the F111-E in 1970 and remained the only European airfield for these aircraft until 1977 when Lakenheath was similarly upgraded.

The trio of Upper Heyford hangars represent the most complete survivals of this hangar type and are notable for being built of aluminium during the early stages of its use as a building material. They have historic interest as rare built survivals demonstrating the special relationship between Britain and the United States, and technical interest in their pioneering structural use of aluminium. The three hangars form a group with other related survivals, together demonstrating the phases of the American nuclear deterrent in Britain as found at no other base.