That would be nice.
Can I ask why the hangers are umm so important? Why are we worried about them being at risk?
Leaving aside the obvious crude comments concerning "Hangers"
The Hangers at Cardington are unique, historic, listed buildings. If you have not actually seen the sheer size of them and appreciated their construction, which was carried out at a time when no such buildings had ever been erected, it is hard to convey the achievement. Their importance in the development of Airship Technology from the early days is immense and their contribution to the war effort (think barrage balloons etc) is of great historic importance.
The fact that I, as a callow youth, was transported to Cardington to undergo recruitment interviews, psychological suitability and medical tests prior to my application to join the RAF being accepted is immaterial but when I arrived there and was shown round the Hangers I can honestly say that any doubts I had harboured were instantly dispersed.
You really do need to see them up close to appreciate the sheer enormity of them.
One thing that you have to remember is that the R101 which was developed there could and did "fly" inside one of those hangers. There are no edges to snag the skin of an airship. Can you imagine just how big and apparently "unsupported" that makes them.
Sorry to be a bore on this but thousands of RAF personnel passed through the gates at Cardington as it was also the main southern recruitment centre. But enough. If you can stand it read through the stats and you will see the size and uniqueness for yourself. Just two to show what I mean .. Nelson's Column could be stood upright in the Hanger with room to spare ~ they are 8 storeys high. HMS Ark Royal would have fitted inside the hanger, with room to spare. That is BIG.
Cardington Airship Sheds
1917 Site bought by Admiralty for development of airships. Original Shed No 1 constructed
1918 R31 Airship constructed
1919 Air Ministry ownership - Royal Airship Works. R32 constructed
1921-24 R33/38 airships - R33 at Cardington on trials and R38 built for American Navy (known as ZR2 at Cardington)
1924 Authorisation of R101 construction at Cardington and R100 at Howden, Yorkshire
1927 Extension of Shed Not completed to house R101
1928-29 Shed dismantled at Pulham, Norfolk, and enlarged and re-erected as Shed No 2 at Cardington
1930 R101 crashes in France-48 people die
1931 Government decide against further airship development. R100, designed by Barnes Wallis, scrapped despite successful return flight to Montreal
1936 Cardington became RAF station used for storage and training of balloon operators and drivers
1943-67 Meteorological research balloons-training unit, development and storage
1967 RAF Balloon Unit leaves Cardington
1971 Fire Research Station use Cardington for gas explosion experiments and for investigating fires in high-rack storage
1972 Fire Research Station negotiate 20 year lease with MOD and begin
1989 developing full scale testing and fire research
1990 Shed No 2 transferred to Building Research Establishment (BRE) in March BRE becomes an Executive Agency
1993 Large Building Test Facility (LBTF) - first test building, the eight-storey steel frame building constructed
Vital statistics
* 812 feet (247 m) long by 275 feet (83 m) wide and 180 feet (55 m) high
* Floor area 5 acres (2.02 hectares), or 223,300 square feet
* Total volume 26,000,000 cubic feet (760,000 cubic metres)
* Total area of steel sheeting 121/2 acres (5 hectares)
* Total weight of framework 3,720 tons
* Total weight of paint 4 tons
* Raised by 35 feet (10.7 m) and extended by 56 feet (17 m) when re-erected at Cardington after being moved from
* Pulham in 1928-29. Doors
* Each door weighs 470 tons (222 tons of steel and 248 tons of concrete ballast) 33 tons is carried on each wheel - as much as 60 tons in very high winds
* Electric motors take 15 minutes to close the doors.
* The floor area of the hangar (223,300 square feet) is equal to twice the size of the Wembley football pitch or the area of 16 Olympic-size swimming pools.
* The volume of the hangar (26,000,000 cubic feet) is equal to 8,338 London double-deck buses.
or, another way:
* The World War II aircraft carrier Ark Royal which was sunk in 1941 off Gibraltar was 800 feet long by 95 feet beam (wide). This would have fitted inside the main hall of the hangar which is 812 feet long by 180 feet wide
* Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, 170 feet high, could easily stand inside the
hangar.
Airship details - R100 and R101
His Majesty's Airship R100 (kept in Shed No 2)
Designed by Barnes Wallis and built by the Airship Guarantee Company in 1929 at Howden in Yorkshire.
Length 709 feet, diameter 130 feet, volume 5 156 000 cubic feet.
Powered by six Rolls Royce engines giving a maximum speed of 83 mph. Crossed the Atlantic in both directions in July 1930, flying 3 364 miles in under 80 hours.
Scrapped inside Shed No 2 in 1931, to the value of f450.
His Majesty's Airship R101 (built and housed in Shed No 1) Built by the Air Ministry in 1929.
Length 777 feet, diameter 132 feet, volume 5 500 000 cubic feet.
Powered by 5 Beardmore diesel engines giving a maximum speed of 72 mph.
Destroyed by fire on her maiden flight at Beauvais, France, at 2.08 am, 5 October 1930, killing 48 people.