Building a 1/48 Hangar...HELP!

[Blue Yonder]

Hello all!
Haven't been on in a while and must say I missed checking out the site/various projects that everyone has been building.
My workbench has been covered in dust for several months, welcomed my daughter into the world and since she has been here I have had little time to do anything else (but I'm nothing but thrilled to have her-she watches me build pieces of equipment and a Spitfire mk. 1 for my hangar idea). Due to this, however, I have taken my much loved hobby and condensed it into working from a tv tray in the corner of the bedroom and find that I only have enough time to work for a few minutes at a time.

Diorama will consist of at least two Spitfire Mk. 1 or 2's sitting in a hangar (light /maintenance servicing being done) with a third in the back ground being serviced (cowling panels open, engine compartment exposed, etc.) and a fourth (just the fuselage) serving as a hangar queen. I have already started work on the various tool cabinets, shelves, work benches and other accessories that would be found within the hangar; as well as purchasing the Airfix kits so that I can provide enough spare parts to litter the hangar with. (Still trying to find a used 1/48 Spit on eBay to use as the hangar queen so I don't have to chop up a brand new kit)

So my question for today, or this month depending on how you look at it:
I'm in the process of scratch-building a 1/48 scale World War 2 RAF hangar, I already have the idea of what aircraft will call it home, but I'm having difficulty coming up with accurate dimensions. Browsing around online I have come across the Laser Cut cardboard hangar, but I must say I'm not a fan of the price and thought I could build one much better! At this point I believe the measurements I have found would make the hangar 100 feet by 70 feet with a height of 40 feet. Does this sound okay or can anyone provide better measurement/ ideas for filler for the hangar?
I know this project will be my biggest and most ambitious yet; and all the help I can get would be appreciated!

-Pete

 

[Airframes]

First off, very few fighter airfields had hangars when the Spitfire Mk1 was in service, that is, in 1940. Those that did, were mainly the pre-war 'Expansion Period' permanent airfields, which, depending on the specific airfield, would have one of two main types.
You're fairly close with your dimensions, but they were slightly bigger, again, depending on type. I can post some diagrams giving dimensions and style, but you do realise that, in 1/48th scale, a hangar of this type is going to be around 24 inches by almost 30 inches by around 12 inches?

 

[Wurger]

Here is a nice doc with pictures of the RAF WW2 hangars. It can come in handy.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives....829C-18AB-4CAD-9248-42A67CDBCF44/0/tb0202.pdf

Also I found the info....

"Basically the pre-war expansion period permanant hangars were designed to have a usable 150 x 300ft
C type brick, concrete, and austerity hangar, D type concrete are all 150 x 300ft. Long type C (ASUs etc) is 375 ft long. C type 150 x 35 ft door opening, D type 150 x 30ft door opening.
The curved E, L, and Lamella sheds are 167 (across the widest outside span) x 300 ft
J and K type 194 x 150, the extra 44 ft span coming from the designed in annexes, the main storage part is still 150 ft wide. Door height 30ft.
General Service Sheds, many of which utilise a 'Belfast' truss roof construction.They were 170 ft long by 100ft wide or about 210ft on the more common coupled version."

Of course each dimension has to be divided by 48 for your scale.

 

[Airframes]

Great stuff my friend - saved me scanning a lot of photos!
I have the dimensions and works general arrangement drawings for most of those shown in the MoD link, and there was also a small, one to two 'fighter size' blister hangar, open ended at both ends, with tarpaulin 'curtains', sometimes dotted around the perimeter of fighter airfields, but these were later in the war., and not on all fields.

 

[Wurger]

Glad I could help Pal.

However there is one thing that makes me confused. Somebody has mentioned the Belfast type hangar. I have found that there wasn't a such one and it was the General Service Shed. What do you think?

 

[Airframes]

Yes, it's generally called the 'Belfast' hangar, due to the design and shape of the roof trusses, known as Belfast Truss. It's rather like people calling any small, four-wheel drive vehicle a 'Jeep', even when it's a Land Rover, Suzuki, Gaz or whatever!
As far as I remember, they were first used on hangars at Belfast, possibly Short Brothers, but I'd need to check the history.

 

[Wurger]

OK. THX for the explanation my friend. I grasped.

 

[Airframes]

You're welcome my friend. Have a 'T-Stoff'.

 

[Blue Yonder]

I'm aware that it will be HUGE, but I prefer working in the 1/48 scale so I have the ability to fill the hangar up with appropriate materials. I suppose my idea was born from watching the 1969 classic, Battle of Britain; specifically where you see the Skipper (Robert Shaw) walking through a hangar where at least three Spitfires are undergoing maintenance. I've read that this hangar is located at Duxford, however, I was thinking of making one of the single hangars found at Tangmere.
I also scratch-built a dispersal hut and will be working on a second one from the BOB movie as well. Like I said in the post, its ambitious, but I'm thinking it will culminate countless techniques and ideas into one large diorama.
Which type of hangar design would you recommend for a Battle of Britain diorama, Airframes?

 

[Blue Yonder]

Wow! That's a lot of measurements...I forgot that the hangars were also known as General Service Sheds, are there any surviving hangars of the J and K type?
Thanks Wurger for the reading packet too!!!

 

[Wurger]

Glad I helped Mate.

 

[Airframes]

The hangars at Duxford are the Belfast Truss type, a double-fronted, long hangar. This was the main filming base for the classic 'Battle of Britain' movie, and was a real BoB airfield, although further north of London, in 12 Group. Later in WW2 it was home to the USAAF 78th Fighter group. Today, there is a huge gap, with just a concrete floor, where one hangar was actually blown up for the movie!
The other main airfields with hangars during the BoB were Tangemere, Kenley, Biggin Hill, Hornchurch, Debden, North Weald and Middle Wallop, all of which had large hangars, a mix of the various types used at that period.
Most, if not all of the other fields did not have any hangars, and these were the main defence fields, were Squadrons or Flights would fly to at dawn, ready for action, and return to their main bases at dusk. As with over 90% of all RAF aircraft, of all types, throughout WW2, servicing and repair, and parking, was dispersed around the field, in the open. Hangars, if available, were used only for major, deep servicing.
The easiest type to build for a diorama would be the type seen at Kenley, for example - one of the metal-framed, corrugated iron clad structures, but even the smaller type will be a good size in 1/48th scale.

 

[Blue Yonder]

Airframes,
Do you have any schematics for one of the smaller hangar types at Kenley?

 

[Airframes]

Leave it with me, and I'll scan and post the general arrangement works drawings for all types, later tonight (UK time). Use these in conjunction with the MoD web-site info posted by Wojtek.

 

[Wurger]

The Kenley airfield in 1926 ... the pic source: Kenley Aerodrome, Kenley, 1926 | Britain from Above

The Kenley airfield in late 30'... the pic source: Plans and Photos of RAF BoB Airfields. Updated 25 8 11: Gravesend. - SimHQ Forums

The Kenley airfield in late 60' ... the pic source: RAF Kenley - PPRuNe Forums

The Kenley airfield in 70' ... the pic source: Plans and Photos of RAF BoB Airfields. Updated 25 8 11: Gravesend. - SimHQ Forums

The Kenley airfield just after the war ...

And here something interesting ... the Kenley airfield under attack of nine Dorniers Do-17 on August 18th 1940.

1 three singe-engine planes, 2 two hangars on fire, 2a outbuilding on fire, 3 bomb impacts on the taxiway, 4 one Dornier Do 17

 

[Airframes]

Great stuff my friend!
Note the Belfast truss hangars at bottom left. Top, left of centre, is a T2 I think - I'd need to check the specs for Kenley.
EDIT:- Apologies, I should have stated that Tangmere's hangars would be easiest to replicate, not Kenley. They are the 'T2' type.
Drawings to be posted later.

 

[Airframes]

OK, here's the main set of drawings. The earlier 'T2' was in use in 1940, which, as stated earlier, would be the easiest to build, but huge in 1/48th scale.
The Bellman hangar is much smaller, but would still measure approximately 24 x 44 x 8.5 inches in 1/48th scale. To present a realistic, scale appearance for a diorama, with aircraft dispersed outside just the frontal area of the hangar, with the rear doors against a background, for example, and allowing a minimum area around each side of the hangar, would require something like 4 x 6 feet, or at least 3 x 5.5 feet, in the way of a display base. Anything less than this would look contrived and unrealistic.
An alternative, of course, would be to build a 'low relief' model of the hangar, that is, the full width and height, but only the first quarter of the length, for example, with the 'stunted' back-end against a painted or photographic backdrop.

 

[Wurger]

Pr-war Tangmere...

T-2 hangar type..

Tangmere's T-2 hangars...

 

[Blue Yonder]

This is what I'm using for reference, and the other photo is my start to working on the wall section. Thoughts?

 

[Crimea_River]

Nothing wrong with that!