RNAS Howden - The Airfield Research Group

4.1 Coastal Sheds
Part 4: The Airship Sheds
The two coastal sheds were constructed by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Co Ltd, beginning
around September 1915, and preceded the rigid airship shed. They were 11 bays long with full length
annexes (22 feet wide) along both longitudinal walls. The main doors, in two leaves, were located at
either end. The sheds were separated by a distance of 520 feet, and No.1 rigid airship shed was erected
in a central position to the south-west of them with its north-east doors aligned with the south-west ends
of the coastal sheds. The gaps between the rigid and the coastal sheds were occupied by 80 feet high
screens. The windscreen of the north coastal shed was extended and as an experiment it was covered
with expanded metal instead of corrugated iron. The tests carried out proved satisfactory as no suction
was caused and eddies were reduced. In addition the bottoms of all windscreens were filled in with
brushwood which also gave good results. The main screens were 380 feet long by 70 feet wide on the
north-east side and 200 feet by 50 feet on the south-west side.
• Coastal airship shed No.1 was 323 ft 1 in long by 110 ft 8 in wide and a clear height of 80 ft 2 in.
• Coastal airship shed No.2 was 320 ft long by 110 ft and a clear height of 80 ft.
Note: another source gives both sheds at 320 ft by 110 ft by 80 ft
Plate 7: Coastal shed and windbreak under construction 27-07-16
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