Question re:Hatfield Aerodrome

It dates back to 1852, a shed for carriages, derived from mediaeval French “hanghart” according to an etymology site I found through Google just now.

Thanks Papa Lima. I wonder where the use of the word hangar came from then. The US is a bit distant from Northern France. :confused:
mmitch.

First mention of hangars in the USA:
http://www.pgparks.com/places/historic/cpam/3army.html
. . . the U.S. Army Signal Corps made preparations to open an aviation school at College Park, MD . . . In 1911 . . . A larger tract of land was leased, approximately “200 acres extending north along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad property to a series of goldfish ponds and east to the Paint Branch of the Anacostia River, with a maximum cleared runway of 2,376 feet in an east-west direction.” The Army Quartermaster Department leased the field for $325 per month and erected four temporary wooden hangars 45 feet square along the railroad track . . .

Interesting website there Ant. On the history page it claims that they built the first ‘hangars’ for Louis Bleriot in the 1920s. Can this be true? I thought hangars were so called in WW1.
See:- http://www.reidsteel.aero/history.htm
There is one mistake on that website that I spotted, the aircraft shown ’emerging from a hangar’ is not a Ba 146 but a Ba (Hawker) 1000.
Engines at the back, not on the wings…….
mmitch.

Thanks for the feedback folks.I did a bit of hunting around and found this webpage which gives details of the Hatfield hangar conversion.It’s apparently going to become one of europe’s largest health and fitness centres…

http://www.nextgenerationclubs.co.uk/pages/press_story.asp?id=42

I also found a site with details and pics (spot the Trident) of the BAe146 hangar which used to stand behind the Comet hangar.It can only have been erect(!) for a couple of years before the place closed,and it seems to have been an advanced piece of kit,with wind sensors etc.It seems hard to imagine that it would’ve been demolished after such a short life,so was it dismantled and relocated elsewhere??

http://www.reidsteel.aero/recent/hatfield.htm

Bruce,my intention is to make a trip down to the Mossie museum ASAP,watch this space…

The Comet Hotel was never part of the site, but was built in the thirties after the Comet won the air race. The Comet model was refurbished (by me and 1 or 2 others) about 5-6 years ago, after it blew off the pole and fell to pieces!

So THAT’s where it had gone. I used to pass by regularly on my way to Hemel, and did notice it’s absence for a while. There’s also a rather large G-ACSS replica (full size?) haning inside the Galleria shopping centre. Nice to see there’s at least a small part of Hatfield’s heritage on show to the public.

Ant,

In that case, you now have NO excuse not to come over to the museum at the weekends!

The buildings at the entry to the site are listed, as is the old DH office block. I think they are suffering from the developers apathy, and I wouldnt be surprised if they were hoping that someone would vandalise them beyond repair, so they could knock them down, if you know what I mean.

The main hangar is/was the largest single span aluminium building in Europe, and so is listed. Apparently it is undergoing conversion work at the moment, though I am not sure what to. The doors are open because they are stuck…! They hadnt been opened for years, and then were. I gather they were always problematic, and the passage of time has not helped any.

The Comet Hotel was never part of the site, but was built in the thirties after the Comet won the air race. The Comet model was refurbished (by me and 1 or 2 others) about 5-6 years ago, after it blew off the pole and fell to pieces!

Hope that helps!

Bruce

I thought the DH88 on a pole was in the car park of a hotel.

I’ve recently (about 4 weeks ago) moved up to St.Albans to start a new job,and I frequently go through the old Hatfield airfield site on my way to and from work.Whilst it’s sad to see the aerodrome being built on,it’s good that a number of the airfield buildings survive.
Does anybody know what’s happenning with the big flight test hangar and adjascent control tower??It was derelict for a long time,but just recently there’s been alot of activity around it-the hangar doors are often open and the lights in the offices on.It looks as though the building is being refurbished,rather than demolished as I once feared.I had heard that there were plans to turn it into a leisure centre (!),but that somehow doesn’t ring true.Anyone know what’s going on?
I’d also like to know what plans there are for the buildings on the site of the old airfield entrance.All appear derelict and one has been gutted by fire.They’re a bit of an eyesore at the moment,but they look basically sound and redeemable.Are they listed??
As if I hadn’t waffled on for long enough already,there’s a building over by the Galleria shopping centre which is unmistakeably one of the old airfield buildings,with a model of a Dh88 sitting on a pole outside.Can anyone tell me what this building was,and/or what it’s used for today?
Sorry to go on so much,but I’ve started taking a serious interest in the place since I moved up here,and any info would be welcome. 🙂

I used to go to a firm in Maple Cross & one of the old bosses was a test pilot for HP on Victors. There is a pub more or less at the end of the runway on Watling Street called The Red Cow. The test pilots used to see how low they could fly over the pub on take off and then meet up there afterwards to find out how many glasses were shaken off the shelves.

Yes from what my parents told me , we did get away relatively unscathed, but it must have been a hell of a place for people interested in aircraft. There was one particuarly nasty incident in North Watford ( a bomb or V1 ) that caused many fatalities , my grandfather was an ARP warden and was on the scene of that one. I think that Harebearks is quite near there ,maybe the incidents are connected ?

That would be the V1 in Sandringham Road. There was a post mentioning it a year or two back. I wonder if the search facility can find it.

Yes it can. Only nine months ago, I must be getting old.
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15743

🙂 🙂 ….. perhaps ‘Uncle Alf ‘moved on to the BAe146 but didn’t tell the family.

Mark

oops !

I`ll tell Alf that according to the Internet , he`s the reason we don`t build aircraft anymore – he`ll love that !! ( he`s the original Grumpy Old man ) 🙂

🙂 🙂 ….. perhaps ‘Uncle Alf ‘moved on to the BAe146 but didn’t tell the family.

Mark

I did`nt , but my uncle Alf ( Alf Smith ) worked at Hatfield putting the APU`s in the tails of Tridents and hanging the engine pods off the wings.

Then presumably somebody else came along and took them off the wings to screw onto the back of the fuselage like the designers intended?

No wonder our aviation industry collapsed. :rolleyes:

Moggy

Despite my present location, I’m Hertfordshire born and bred. I was born in Watford in 1952 and my parents and grandparents lived there through the war years.

Although close to London, Hertfordshire seems to have got off relatively lightly. Perhaps the Germans were like most of the UK population, never heard of it. 🙂
I gather most of the damage was repaired fairly soon after the war. I don’t remember seeing anything apart from 3 bomb craters that were still in the recreation ground in Harebreaks (Black Knight should know where I mean) until the mid sixties. They were definitely filled in, rather than collapsed over time.

I clearly remember Hatfield and Radlett as thriving airfields and companies and tend to growl and snarl a lot if I’m ever around them now.

Sorry if I’ve rambled, lots of ale. 🙂

Yes from what my parents told me , we did get away relatively unscathed, but it must have been a hell of a place for people interested in aircraft. There was one particuarly nasty incident in North Watford ( a bomb or V1 ) that caused many fatalities , my grandfather was an ARP warden and was on the scene of that one. I think that Harebearks is quite near there ,maybe the incidents are connected ?

Did any of you chaps do time at Hatfield?

I lived in the porta-cabin city next to the famous hex concrete pan.
There’s a bit of me in the 125 and 146.

The accountants are running the asylum now 🙁 .

I did`nt , but my uncle Alf ( Alf Smith ) worked at Hatfield putting the APU`s in the tails of Tridents and hanging the engine pods of the wings. He also worked at Handley Page at Radlett and Cricklewood , starting at 16 with Halifaxes – he is the reason that I have an interest in Aviation, he took me to the Hatfield open days during the 70`s /80`s. I live next to what was Radlett , and have faint memories of Victors flying around , but also lots of civil traffic into Leavesden ,Elstree , Hatfield ( the Nord Noratlas`s were very impressive in and out of Hatfield )

Despite my present location, I’m Hertfordshire born and bred. I was born in Watford in 1952 and my parents and grandparents lived there through the war years.

Although close to London, Hertfordshire seems to have got off relatively lightly. Perhaps the Germans were like most of the UK population, never heard of it. 🙂
I gather most of the damage was repaired fairly soon after the war. I don’t remember seeing anything apart from 3 bomb craters that were still in the recreation ground in Harebreaks (Black Knight should know where I mean) until the mid sixties. They were definitely filled in, rather than collapsed over time.

I clearly remember Hatfield and Radlett as thriving airfields and companies and tend to growl and snarl a lot if I’m ever around them now.

Sorry if I’ve rambled, lots of ale. 🙂

Did any of you chaps do time at Hatfield?

I lived in the porta-cabin city next to the famous hex concrete pan.
There’s a bit of me in the 125 and 146.

The accountants are running the asylum now 🙁 .

Speaking of Hertfordshire, did anything of any interest ever happen around Berkhamsted?

There are some what look like craters near my house that someone told me were from a zeppelin (!) but have heard nothing else…

Hi there
Zeppelins are another interest of mine, but i don`t recall any mention of them over Berko, Although I too have heard rumours of still viewable building damage in St.Albans, said to have been caused by the Cuffley Zeppelin en route to its demise ( routed in East Anglia/ Ware / Hertford/ St.Albans/ Cuffley )

No, the contents are stored by BAE somewhere on site, and are not accessible.

I drive past the London Colney landing ground most weekends, and have some rather good shots said to have come from there. I will dig them out, and post them here!

Bruce

Thanks for your info Bruce.
I would like to see the London Colney Pictures.
I have recently `tidied up` a folder about London Colney airfield that had been sitting neglected for years, that is kept at London Colney Library , and have scanned all of the articles / pictures for a possible project at a later date. There is a famous book by a WW1 flyer that mentions the flying at Lon don Colney , it is called ` Warbirds- diary of an unknown aviator`