When you look at Kemble airfield using Google earth, in the far bottom right hand corner there are two hangar type buildings with a long taxiway/road connecting them to the airfield.. but they are some way off the main site. I am curious to know what they were initially used for and why they are so isolated.?!:confused:
By: pagen01 - 25th June 2009 at 10:46
Thanks for that pagen.. you obviously know your Hangars very well.!;)
Not sure that it’s a proud boast, but I love the expansion scheme airfields, if you ever get access to Kembles’ southern side and main camp, it is a real 30’s time warp.
By: Vega ECM - 24th June 2009 at 23:06
In late 43 to late 44 the two remote hangers at Kemble were loaned (or maybe rented to GAC) to give a final all out push on Hawker Typhoon production to support the Overlord build up. I once spoke to a local who still referred to these as the “Gloucester factory”.
By: Wyvernfan - 24th June 2009 at 17:35
Thanks for that pagen.. you obviously know your Hangars very well.!;)
By: pagen01 - 24th June 2009 at 15:07
Kemble was built as an ASU (Aircraft Storage Unit), as were the nearby Aston Down and Hullavington. They featured D and E/L Type Aircraft sheds where aircraft could be stored with the wings removed and tails up, and C Type hangars for aircraft reassembly. These airfields housed the MUs (Maintainance Units), Kemble having 5 MU.
One common feature of ASUs were the wide distribution of the large curved type hangars (E or L Type Aircraft Sheds) and these were often sited quite far from the centre of the airfield to lessen the total impact of a potential bomb attack. The hangars you reffer to are are two E Types.
Kemble had and still has 1 C Type, 4 D Type, 6 E Type, and 2 B1s, a very typical expansion period RAF ASU airfield.
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June 24, 2009 at 11:52 am