GB0STC. Shortstown centenary.
Shortstown, is a small suburb near Cardington village and located on the south side of Bedford and is forever associated with the then fledgling English airship industy and where the ill fated, hydrogen filled airship, R101 took off from in 1930 on her doomed flight to India, crashing in France with loss of life on board.
The loss to English airship prestige was enormous (and with the later crash of the German Hindenburg airship) and sounded the end of airship design and use for decades.
Brothers Eustace and Oswald Short bought land here in 1916 to make airships on contract to the English Admiralty and had constructed two enormous hangars to house the new airships in. The hangars still stand today, dominate the landscape for miles around and there is no mistaking them. One of the hangars still houses the latest, Hi Tech. generation of helium filled airships (The Airlander) operated by Airship Industries.
It was from this site the brothers launched their famous R100 and sister R101 airships.
The two airship sheds ceased being part of the RAF Cardington site in the late 1940s and they were put to other uses. The fence was moved, so they were outside the main RAF Cardington site.
In the 1950s, during the time of National Service, RAF Cardington was the reception unit, where thousands of recruits went to be issued with their kit and do their basic military training and drill (univerally known as 'Square Bashing'). The Parachute Regiment was stationed there as one of the hangars housed the balloons from which trainees made their first drops. In 1954 RAF Maintenance Command used Shed No.1 for its rehearsals for the Royal Tournament.
Hangar 1 was used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) to operate balloons on behalf of the Met Office carrying instruments to measure conditions in the atmosphere. The balloons were also used in parachute development (although they were unmanned – using a heavy dead weight); much of this work was carried out in secret.
The housing estate, built opposite for the workers and still lived in, is made up of roads bearing the names of famous and classic English aircraft over the years, ' Sunderland, Stirling, Halifax, De Haviland to name but a few.
On Sat. 24th June 2017 in Shortstown, as part of the village fete celebrations, members of the Bedford and District Amateur Radio Club will operate a special event station and remember the historic association of the Short brothers and their airships.
Shortstown, is a small suburb near Cardington village and located on the south side of Bedford and is forever associated with the then fledgling English airship industy and where the ill fated, hydrogen filled airship, R101 took off from in 1930 on her doomed flight to India, crashing in France with loss of life on board.
The loss to English airship prestige was enormous (and with the later crash of the German Hindenburg airship) and sounded the end of airship design and use for decades.
Brothers Eustace and Oswald Short bought land here in 1916 to make airships on contract to the English Admiralty and had constructed two enormous hangars to house the new airships in. The hangars still stand today, dominate the landscape for miles around and there is no mistaking them. One of the hangars still houses the latest, Hi Tech. generation of helium filled airships (The Airlander) operated by Airship Industries.
It was from this site the brothers launched their famous R100 and sister R101 airships.
The two airship sheds ceased being part of the RAF Cardington site in the late 1940s and they were put to other uses. The fence was moved, so they were outside the main RAF Cardington site.
In the 1950s, during the time of National Service, RAF Cardington was the reception unit, where thousands of recruits went to be issued with their kit and do their basic military training and drill (univerally known as 'Square Bashing'). The Parachute Regiment was stationed there as one of the hangars housed the balloons from which trainees made their first drops. In 1954 RAF Maintenance Command used Shed No.1 for its rehearsals for the Royal Tournament.
Hangar 1 was used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) to operate balloons on behalf of the Met Office carrying instruments to measure conditions in the atmosphere. The balloons were also used in parachute development (although they were unmanned – using a heavy dead weight); much of this work was carried out in secret.
The housing estate, built opposite for the workers and still lived in, is made up of roads bearing the names of famous and classic English aircraft over the years, ' Sunderland, Stirling, Halifax, De Haviland to name but a few.
On Sat. 24th June 2017 in Shortstown, as part of the village fete celebrations, members of the Bedford and District Amateur Radio Club will operate a special event station and remember the historic association of the Short brothers and their airships.