History
A Robins Type B hangar (Air Ministry Design Drawing No. 2204/41) used for storage purposes. Constructed in late WWII or immediately post-war as part of the development of RAF Rhoose. These hangars were small dispersal hangars used by the RAF during the Second World War, and usually located on Airfield Storage Units and Satellite Landing Grounds, but they were also commonly used by RAF Maintenance Units as storage units. It was part of RAF Rhoose, built to relieve congestion at nearby RAF Llandow and used to train pilots before being used for other purposes as the war progressed. Another Robins Type B hangar is known to have been constructed at RAF St Brides (No. 6 SLG) where its concrete apron survives.
RAF Rhoose was constructed 1941-2 as a satellite airfield to RAF Llandow and from 7 April 1942 to May 1943 accommodated No. 53 Operational Training Unit (OTU), equipped with combat veteran Supermarine Spitfire and Miles Master advanced trainers for combat and dogfighting training. No. 7 Air Gunnery School took possession on 8 February 1944 with Avro Anson gunnery trainers and Miles Martinet target tugs and operated from the airfield until 2 August 1944. The airfield was then placed into care and maintenance until being transferred to No. 40 Group, RAF Maintenance Command on 1 November 1944 where it functioned as a sub-site for No. 214 Maintenance Unit based at Newport Docks and was used for storage purposes. Subsequently, RAF Rhoose was used by No. 59 Maintenance Unit as a detached site for the storage of explosives from June 1945 until disbanded in February 1947. This unit was closed in 1948 and the airfield at Rhoose was handed over for civilian use in 1949.
The hangar is not depicted on the Record Site Plan for RAF Rhoose (Air Ministry Drawing 2320/45), dated July 1945, suggesting that it was erected in the late or immediate post-war period as a storage facility for No. 59 Maintenance Unit.
The new civilian airport opened in October 1952 with flights taking place shortly after. The airport underwent redevelopment through the following decades and the Robins hangar was retained for storage. It was most recently used to house small light private aircraft belonging to Cardiff Aero Club.
Exterior
Hangar, measuring 62 ft 6 in in length and 44 ft in span, rectangular steel truss frame clad with corrugated sheet. Double pitch roof, angled sides. Arranged NE-SW with double sliding doors with clear door height of 14 ft on NE (airfield) side, opening into external projecting floor and upper door guides, supported by braced outriggers.
Interior
5-bay interior, exposed steel frame, concrete floor.
Reasons for Listing
Included for its special architectural interest as a rare surviving example of a WWII military structure, a type of hangar once common in the UK, although infrequently built in Wales, and important to the functioning of RAF airfields and maintenance units. Part of a series of designs produced from the late 1930s for mass-produced portable hangarage with interchangeable parts that permitted rapid erection and dismantling. The example at Cardiff Airport is now the only known in situ example to survive in Wales. It is important for its historic interest in its role in the military effort and organisation made during WWII.
This structure has been afforded Interim Protection under the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. It is an offence to damage this structure and you may be prosecuted.
To find out more about Interim Protection, please visit the statutory notices page on the Cadw website. For further information about this structure, or to report any damage please contact Cadw.
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)