RAF Hurn (Hampshire) was Dorset

RAF · Dorset · England · United Kingdom

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Work started in 1940 and Hurn opened July 1941.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

,RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The site plan of RAF Hurn, Ministry of Works 4916/44.
46 x Spectacle dispersals.
26 x Circular dispersals.
6 x T2 hangars - St - 3653/42 (1 - foundations only)
3 x Bellman hangars.
10 x Blister 12532/41
2 x Bulk Petrol Installations (Aviation)
1 x Watch Office - 518/40.
1 x Battle HQ - 11008/41.
1 x Cannon test butts - 3884/40.

TB - Temporary Brick.
BH - 'B' type hutting.
M - Maycrete.
T - Thorn.
St - Steel.
N - Nissen.
L - Laing.
H - Handcraft.
T2 - Hangar type.
BS - Blast Shelter.
ARS - Air raid shelte

AM 4916/44.

Floodlight trailer and Tractor shed. (not here).

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The wartime control tower has had several modern bits added on. 47 - Watch Office - TB - 518/40

22 August 2003

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Driving along the B3073 from the west, on the left is the first real relic of the airfield is this Type 'A' wooden hut, 10ft wide and built in 5ft bays to any length needed. A standard RAF type wooden hut with a life expectancy of 10 years.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Next along the left hand side of the road is this set of two temporary brick huts for the crew of an anti-aircraft gun. Inset; a plan of where the two temporary brick huts are and where the timber hut is.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Huts for the crew of an anti-aircraft gun site.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

There is also another shed in the hedge further along and this is a 2lb ammunition store house. I do not know where the Bofors gun was placed.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Satellite view of the technical site of RAF Hurn, Hampshire showing the hangar layout and the routes we took and what was open access at the time.

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RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Air photo of RAF Hurn prior to D-Day, showing the sorts of planes here. There may be more or less, but I counted 135 airframes in the picture. Mostly Horsa gliders, Dakotas and some four engined bomber aircraft.

29 February 1944 541Sqdn

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Entrance to the Technical Site. 221 - Picket Post - TB. This is the entrance to the wartime technical site and now a modern industrial estate.

07 February 2005

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Petrol Instillation Aviation. 215 - Petrol Installation Aviation - 36,000gal. The layout of the car park corresponds to the old petrol instillation (aviation) 36,000 gallon Type 'A'.

22 August 2003

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Aircraft Shed T2. 191 - St - T2 - 3653/42. St - Steel.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Type B1 Hangar Type B1 hangars were built for MAP, Ministry of Aircraft Production and would have been built after the RAF plan (dated Dec 1944) had been made and used by Airspeed/Vickers and BAC to build aircraft.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Now used as storage.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Type A1 Hangar' A1 hangar next and they were the assembly sheds for Airspeed/Vickers/BAC.

29 June 2004

Above : from Home if the BAC 1-11 website.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

T2 Hangar Next in line is a T2 hangar. All this row of A1's and T2's are actually double in length all added to when aircraft production started here. I would imagine that the T2's here were built from T2's dismantled from here or other airfields in the area.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

A1 Hangar. This A1 is built on the base of where a T2 was removed.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Continuing past the A1 hangar and in the area were several temporary brick and Type 'A' Air Ministry wooden huts.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The Airspeed/Vickers/BAC Assembly Sheds This is the other end of the two A1's and T2. These are all double length hangars.

29 June 2004

One of the prototype 1-11's outside this hangar in 1963.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The Vickers BAC assembly Sheds. 189 - Aircraft Shed - T2 - St - 3653/42.

29 June 2004

G-AVMM ChanChangi Airlines Hurn 2000 inside this T2.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The middle A1. A close up of the inside of the middle A1 which was built to assemble the post war airliners, Varsity, Viscounts and BAC 111's and now it disassembles any planes for scrap.

22 August 2003

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Another A1 has been built on the site of a T2 hangar (152) base.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Next to this A1 is a 32 man blast shelter which had earth bank around it as protection and now bricked over.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Vickers hangars.

29 June 2004

From above.
a small plan of the hangar arrangement.
2 - A1's
2 - T2's
2 - A1 doubles
2 - T2 doubles
3 - Over blisters — From above. a small plan of the hangar arrangement. 2 - A1's 2 - T2's 2 - A1 doubles 2 - T2 doubles 3 - Over blisters

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Enlarged Blister hangar next to the assembly sheds in line.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Fromson Massillon Blister hangar.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The back of a double T2 with extensive brick built heating plant along its side. I think the first half is one of the original T2's built here and another T2 was added on later.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

EWS - Emergency Water Supply A very large concrete emergency water supply and a pump house.

22 August 2003

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley parachuting.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

EWS - Emergency Water Supply

22 August 2003

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Double Extra Over Blister hangars. These also do not show up on the plan. Again used by Vickers/BAC for aircraft production. This whole side was taken over after the war for BAC's production. Both now removed.

06 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Double Extra Over Blister hangars being removed.

20 September 2019

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Maycrete Road. 182 - Laboratories - TB - 5455/41. Although it says Maycrete Road, there are no Maycrete huts here at all? What a fitting name for this road, several temporary brick huts interspersed with latrines and on the plan they were all Laboratories?

06 February 2006

Maycrete is a concrete paneled building, totally unlike the temporary brick types here.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

167to170 - S.A.A. Store - TB.
174 - Bellman Hangar - St.
175 - Technical Latrines - TB - 17036/40.
176 - Maintenance Block - TB - 5455/41.
177to184 - Laboratories - TB - 5455/41.
185to186 - Technical Latrines - TB - 17036/40.
187 - Stores - FPB.

TB - Temporary Brick.
St - Steel.
FPB - Felt covered plasterboard construction.

AM plan

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Maycrete Road. 185 - Technical Latrines - TB - 17036/40.

06 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Maycrete Road. 180 &182 - Laboratories - TB - 5455/41.

06 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Bellman Hangar. 174 - Bellman Hangar - St.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Danger Low Flying Aircraft. Bellman and T2 here are original and the other end of the T2 were originally situated the main workshop, main store, fuel store, parachute store, dinghy repair shop and still being used are several Small Ammunition Store.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Plan of this area.

AM plan

20th December 1967 showing some of the building behind the plane.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

207 - Workshop & Laboratory & Store - TB - 5457/41.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

207 - Workshop, Laboratory & Store - TB - 5457/41.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

207 - Workshop & Laboratory & Store - TB - 5457/41 inside.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Super Robins Hangar I think this is a Super Robins hangar by the design of its outriggers for the doors and the stanchions have been added to strengthen them? Not on the original site plan.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Super Robins & a Bellman Hangar 208 - Bellman Hangar - St. One of the original Bellman hangars looking in very good condition.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The hut on the left, although TB design. Is not on the site plan.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Moving over to the other side, there are some modern hangars for FR Flight Refueling, etc. but still retains some of its hidden past. Arrows the route taken. Yellow - TR3107 building. Red - Cannon Butts.

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RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

The rear gate From the old tech. site continue past the airfield on to Hurn village (the roundabout) take the Ringwood road and then left by the main runway threshold. You cross the 'Bridge Over The River Kwai' as it is nick named and through the rear gate. The road turns onto the dispersals track leading all the way to the top of the N/S runway.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Perimeter track to dispersals. There are many large bomber frying pan dispersals left and right. Some had Blister hangars on them (about 9) at Hurn altogether.

07 February 2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Bournemouth Flying Club 86 - RDF Workshops -TB- 7352/42. Radar workshop.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

A1 hangar Sat on a set of four spectacle dispersals.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

Big Jets European Jumbo G-BDXF in 2004.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

143 - Bulk Petrol Installation (Aviation) - 72,000gal - 9846/41. Its had a bit of an update.

29 June 2004

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

101 - MG (Cannon) test butts - 3884/40.. Many machine gun and Cannon armed fighters would park here and fire their guns into the butts.

06 February2006

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

101 - MG (Cannon) test butts - 3884/40..

29 November 2011

DH Mosquito firing its cannon & machine guns.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

101 - MG (Cannon) test butts - 3884/40.. Bullet/cannon strikes on the wall.

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

101 - MG (Cannon) test butts - 3884/40.. These rear & side walls had to be strong to hold back cannon shells.

29 November 2011

Plan Left - Cannon Test Butts 3884/40.
Right - M.G. Range 147/41.. — Plan Left - Cannon Test Butts 3884/40. Right - M.G. Range 147/41..

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

100 - M.G. Range - 147/41. The firing butt building, note the slits in the rear wall. These were to allow smoke from continual rifle fire to be vented out, showing that the RAF did not use smokeless powder.

29 November 2011

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

101 - MG (Cannon) test butts - 3884/40.

29 November 2011

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

100 - M.G. Range - 147/41.

29 November 2011

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

100 - M.G. Range - 147/41.

29 November 2011

RAF Hurn, USAAF AAF 492

TR3107 Radar Homing Beacon hut
TR. 3107 was a wartime navigational radar beacon, FGRI (Fixed Ground Radio Installation)
102 - Flight Office - & Crew Room - TB - 9526/40.
103 - General Purpose Hut - H - Standard.
104 - Anti-gas Clothing & Equipment Store - N - 9526/42.
105 - T.R.3107-TB-15761/41.
106 - Sleeping Shelter - TB - for 33men - 11047/41.
107 - Drying Room & Latrine Block - 9526/42.

N - Nissen hut.
H - Handcraft hut. (Asbestos curved roof).Block - 9526/42.

AM plan