RAF Wittering: nuclear bomb store buildings Vw16, Vw17, Vw18, Vw20, Vw21 and A22

RAF Wittering features six nuclear bomb store buildings, designated Vw16, Vw17, Vw18, Vw20, Vw21, and A22, constructed from reinforced concrete for the floors, walls, and roofs, all covered by natural earth mounds. Each bunker has its own access road that connects to a central spine road leading to the fissile core stores. The entrances of the bunkers either face the side wall of a neighboring bunker or open land to reduce the risk of blast damage in the event of an explosion.

The exterior of the bunkers consists of earth mounds with a single entrance set back into the mound, sheltered by a deep concrete overhang and flanked by concrete side walls that extend to the ground at the mound's perimeter. Tubular handrails surround the entrances. Recesses in the concrete outer walls house the electrical switchgear and air-conditioning rooms for each bunker, leading to further concrete walls with doorways. Bunkers Vw16 and A22 retain their original double timber folding doors on horizontal top and bottom runners, which include an integral pedestrian entrance and original light fittings. The other bunkers feature 1980s steel vertical roller doors and plain pedestrian doors on one side.

Inside, the bunkers have rectangular layouts with reinforced concrete roof joists and side pilasters that support wide horizontal rails on the walls. These rails were used for a manually-operated five-ton steel top-running bridge crane, complete with an upper running trolley and hoist made by Herbert Morris Ltd. of Loughborough, which remain intact in bunkers Vw18 and Vw21. Bunker A22 has a similar motorized crane manufactured by Matterson of Rochdale in 1958. The end wall features two square ventilation grilles for the forced-air ventilation system, which is powered by compressors located in recesses within the outer walls.