RAF Dispersal Pen walls

[RZP]

I was planning on a small diorama/display of a 316 Squadron Mustang III in a dispersal pen at Coltishall. Looking at the photos I'm trying to determine what the walls were made of. The stacked blocks look like they could be stone, or because of the way they fit together perhaps formed concrete blocks. They definitely don't look like sandbags.

 

 

 

Would anyone out there know more, or better yet have drawings of the pens? 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Richard

[Graham Boak]

Whatever they are, the upper layers have been laid in English Bond; so it was done by a bricklayer.

[mhaselden]

They are almost certainly sandbags filled with concrete.  Check out this link for some interesting, but more recent, pics also taken at Coltishall:

 

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1021425

 

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page (you may need to select "Load More"), you'll find a couple of nice close-up pics of a dispersal wall and an individual concrete-filled sandbag.

 

Cheers,
Mark

Edited August 15, 2017 by mhaselden

[RZP]

Thank you Mark! Your idea of concrete filled sandbags makes sense, and their shapes look like they could have been formed that way. Those photos and the website are very interesting and informative, thank you!

 

And thank you Graham...that's an interesting observation I would have missed.

 

I've never been able to make it up to Coltishall during my trips to the UK, hopefully next time. My father was stationed there a couple of times during the war. The aircraft above, piloted by Fl/Sgt Aleks Pietrzak, was the first aircraft he was assigned to when he joined the squadron in 1944 as an engine fitter. Dad is still with us and relatively healthy for 91, and would like to go one more time.

 

Richard

Edited August 15, 2017 by RZP

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I was always under the impression they were a sort of brick. Maybe sun dried or something similar. Never thought of concrete filled sandbags. 

[FatFlyHalf]

3 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

I was always under the impression they were a sort of brick. Maybe sun dried or something similar. Never thought of concrete filled sandbags. 

Sun dried?

Come on this is the UK with it's famously unsunny climate.

From seeing the real thing I think it was made from a sand and cement mix in a hessian bag. 

Mixture goes goes hard, in our damp climate no water is added. and the bag rots away.

Simple and easy to produce.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I say sun dried because of the light color. Concrete does dry in the sunlight so im not exactly incorrect.

3 minutes ago, FatFlyHalf said:

Come on this is the UK with it's famously unsunny climate

And strangely enough i have seen photos of britain on sunny days so you do get them. They may be the exception but they exist. Though i have seen images of aircraft shelters with red bricks. Not sure if those were original, or recreations though. 

[brewerjerry]

Hi

   interesting thread

    when i was in the uk, my local airfield had brick walls for dispersals

        but then ample supply for foundations etc, did come from the blitzed city of plymouth, so presumably the bricks were salvage from there also

    cheers

       jerry