The T2 hangar is one of the most recognisable pieces of wartime engineering in Britain. Designed in 1941 by the Air Ministry, the T2 was intended to be rapid to erect, modular, and strong enough to support the expanding needs of the RAF and USAAF during the Second World War. Its steel frame, bolted lattice trusses, and corrugated cladding allowed a full 32,000 sq ft of covered space—large enough for heavy bombers, maintenance workshops, and logistics hubs.
What made the T2 revolutionary was its standardised kit‑form design. Every component could be transported by lorry, assembled by semi‑skilled labour. This flexibility meant T2s appeared across Britain’s wartime airfields, including at Boreham, where they supported the USAAF’s 394th Bomb Group and later post‑war civilian and motor sport uses, including as shown here, storage of prefab houses from Scandinavia.
Today, surviving T2 hangars are increasingly rare. Their scale, authenticity, and connection to the wartime landscape make them important heritage assets, valued for their architectural simplicity, engineering ingenuity, and the human stories they sheltered.
Please click on the image above to see a larger version.
Tollerton Airfield is a powerful example of what happens when a historic aviation site has been purchased by a major developer and quickly redevloped toward large‑scale housing. Vistry purchased the airfield in 2022 and closed it in June 2025, clearing the way for plans that could eventually exceed 1,600 homes and a new school.
What followed has been a wave of public concern. The airfield was used during the Second World War for the servicing and disposal of RAF aircraft, and more than 1,200 airframes were dismantled, burnt and buried at the site. This included radium‑226 cockpit dials and other materials now known to pose long‑term environmental risks.
A 2008 investigation into a cluster of leukaemia cases near the airfield concluded that radium contamination “may exist”, and soil tests at the time found carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene well above normal thresholds.
As Vistry prepares the land for redevelopment, residents and campaigners have called for independent, invasive testing before any ground is disturbed. Former RAF personnel and scientists have questioned the reliability of earlier assessments and warned that the full picture has never properly been examined. The council has acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and has confirmed that any planning permission would require further investigation under the national contamination framework.
For Boreham, Tollerton sets a clear precedent - It shows how fast an airfield can be closed, how rapidly large‑scale development can advance, and how easily heritage and environmental concerns can become central to the debate. Most of all, it demonstrates that once a historic site is lost, the conversation about the site shifts entirely to risk, remediation and damage control. Protecting what remains is always the stronger position. Vistry has had £315 million through the government and various agencies, and it is only fair that the concerns of local tax paying people are listened to as well.
We were at the Chelmsford volunteers event on April the 29 th that was kindly hosted by Chelmsford CVS and Chelmsford City Council at Chelmsford Cathedral alongside some other groups. Please click on the image above to see a larger version.
What a great opportunity to use the Romney Hut as a social space - not just for education.
We recently lost the control tower at the site of the hangar to demolition; also in the area’s past we've lost:
We've added an A5 flyer about the campaign to the documents section
Link to the Save the Boreham Hangar A5 Flyer.Don't forget to follow and join our facebook page here: Boreham Hangar Campaign Group.
Please click on the image above to see a larger version.
Please click on the image above to see a larger version.
You can do so by clicking on the link in the top header.
Welcome to the Save the Boreham Hangar Website,
this page will feature the latest news and links for any late-breaking information about the campaign.