RNAS Lee - The Airfield Research Group

4.2 4.22 4.2
Ministry of Works (Production) Standard Hutting Hutting 5427/42 5427/42
(85, (85, (85, 127, 127, 145, 145, 153, 153, 159, 159, 164 164 & & 167)
167)
In 1942 the Ministry of Works designed a range of concrete huts as cheaper alternative to the
expensive British Concrete Federation (BCF) huts then in production. The main advantage of
this new system was that suitable wall cladding material available locally could be used. The first
Standard hut to be put into production was of 18ft-6in span. This was followed in 1944 by the
24ft span hut. This type of hutting met Admiralty requirements and was adopted by the Fleet Air
Arm from 1943 as their own standard prefabricated hut.
Each hut had a reinforced concrete traverse frame of ribs bolted to bracketed concrete posts
and held at the ridge by a continuous tie. Concrete floor sills and lintels spanned between wall
posts. Typical wall infilling could be 4.5 in brick (building 153), clayblocks, mineralised siding
board and slabs of wood cement. The roof consisted of standard corrugated asbestos cement
sheeting, screwed to timber purlins and fixed to the concrete ribs. Many examples of this type of
prefabricated hut survive today.
Blg. # Description NGR Blg. #. Description NGR
85 Oil Store (5-bays) SU 5602 0131 127 Church Hall* SU 5600 0123
145 Photographic Section X- SU 5613 0122 153 Annexe to Bellman SU 5605 0143
Ray Dept
Aeroplane
bays)
Shed (29-
159 NATIU Store (17-bays) SU 5615 0140 164 Printing Shop SU 5614 0131
167 Schools Presentation SU 5619 0126 295 MARTSU workshop* SU 5678 0184
308
Team (8-bays)
SAR office* SU 5667 0216 346 AIU offices* SU 5604 2352
352 Fleetlands ARS Offices SU 5578 0236
4. 4.23 4.
Norbury Norbury Norbury Norbury House House House House (Quartermaster’s
Quartermaster’s Stores Stores / Station Armoury Armoury) Armoury
(87)
Norbury House is a late Victorian brick-built two-storey house requisitioned by the Air Ministry in
1918 for use as a quartermaster’s store. It is located at the junction of Implacable Road and
Hermes Road. It became a Group V officers’ married quarter in the early 1920s and was used as
such until 1935, when a large extension was built onto the rear elevation. Now remodelled as the
station armoury, it has contained a photographic laboratory, an armament lecture room and a
single-storey armoury section for the repair of aircraft guns and the loading of ammunition belts.
� NGR: SU 5594 0129 (87)
4.2 4.24 4.2
Ration Ration Store Store 326/59 326/59 (Victualling Victualling Store Store / / BBedding
B edding Store Store) Store
(88)
Located facing Implacable Road, the ration store was built in 1935 (date stone), the ration store
was a small single-storey brick built building with an extension running along Implacable Road. It
has a timber framed pitched roof clad with slate. Built close to the dining hall, it was originally
used as a NAAFI shop. In 1959 under the ‘Arlee Plan’ when a great number of existing domestic
buildings were extended and others built, a flat roofed single-storey extension was added to the
north elevation when the building was remodelled as a bedding store. Rooms at this time
included the following:
• loan clothing store
• soiled clothing store
• bedding store
• rum store
• beef screen.
� NGR: SU 5597 0129 (88)
48