The West Berkshire Historic Environment Record (HER) is the primary index of the physical remains of past human activity in the unitary authority of West Berkshire Council. Limited elements of the West Berkshire HER are available online via the Heritage Gateway, therefore it is not suitable for use in desk-based studies associated with development, planning and land-use changes, and does not meet the requirements of paragraph 194 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021: 56). Please read
the important guidance on the use of the West Berkshire HER data. For these purposes and all other commercial enquiries, please contact the Archaeology team and complete our
online HER enquiry form.
| HER Number | MWB15802 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|
| Name | Site of Hangar Building 303, Greenham Common airbase |
|---|
Summary
Concrete ribbed hangar built for USAF Strategic Air Command aircraft probably in 1953, extended in 1980s
Monument Type(s):
- AIRCRAFT HANGAR (Mid 20th century to Late 20th century - Present - 1953 AD? to 1983 AD)
Full Description
This structure is an unusual hangar type for the United Kingdom as it is an American hangar type, and possibly represents the only one of its kind in this country. It is symbolic of the American air force use of the base, originally designed for B47 stratojets. It was also used in the 1980s by the cruise missile squadrons as a training hangar and some minor modifications were carried out to accommodate this function. Because of this role it remained under the terms of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty until June 2001<1>.
Hangar 303 is entirely concrete-framed and covered by asbestos sheeting. How innovative such large concrete spans are at this date, c.1958, remains to be determined <2>.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Cocroft, W. 2000. Former RAF Greenham Common. [Unpublished document / SWB12876] |
| <02> | Cocroft, W. 2001. Greenham Luria correction. [Unpublished document / SWB12882] |
| <03> | RCHME. 1994. Historic Building Report: Greenham Common Airbase, Greenham, Berkshire. NBR No 93234. 2021 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB12267] |
| <04> | CgMs. Sep-02. Description and Analysis - Building 303 and additional structures, New Greenham Park, Greenham Common, Berkshire. Report Ref JL/3043. 2021 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB13724] |
| <05> | Cocroft, W and Thomas, R J C. 2003. Cold War - Building for Nuclear Confrontation 1946-1989. p55-6. [Monograph / SWB14711] |
| <06> | English Heritage. 2001. Cold War Monuments: an assessment by the Monuments Protection Programme. 2016 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB147883] |
| <07> | CgMs. 2006. Historic Building Record in respect of Former RAF/USAF Greenham Common Base, New Greenham Park, Near Newbury, Berkshire. CgMs Ref IF/JL 4020. 2018 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB14710] |
Related Monuments
| MWB6570 | Greenham Common Airbase (RAF Greenham Common) (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
| EWB1121 | Cold War Monuments: an assessment by the Monuments Protection Programme |
| EWB541 | Description and Analysis - Building 303 and additional structures, New Greenham Park, Greenham Common, Berkshire (Ref: Report Ref JL/3043) |
| EWB884 | Historic Building Record in respect of Former RAF/USAF Greenham Common Base, New Greenham Park (Ref: IF/JL 4020) |
| EWB858 | Historic Building Report: Greenham Common Airbase, Greenham, Berkshire (Ref: NBR No 93234) |
If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.
Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.