WW1 French Hanger Lives Again

[smilingsixth]

I am visiting my folks in France, and this afternoon was enjoying a nice glass of red on the patio taking in the winter sun (18 degrees this afternoon ) and was having a read through FRENCH NEWS Feb 2008, an English paper printed here in France (www.french-news.com). And found the following article: -

Giant WW1 Hanger Lives again – Outside the village of Ecausseville, in the Cotentin peninsular, you can see the immense silhouette of Frances only surviving air balloon hanger.

Go inside and you will be overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of the structure. Shout at the top of your lungs and enjoy the echo.

An early example of a reinforced concrete structure, the hanger was originally built to deal with the submarine menace in the channel. Since then it sheltered he French navy, the German army and the American army after D Day.

After the war it was used for tests on observation balloons used in the French nuclear tests in the Pacific.

An interesting feature of the building is the multilingual graffiti left by its different military tenants, including a drawing of Popeye and the famous Kouffra pledge not to stop fighting until Strasbourg was free, made by French General Leclerc.

It is now open to visitors and a listed building. The Friends of Ecausseville hanger are looking for volunteers, English speaking guides and support. www.phivaast.club.fr/ecausseville, E-mail phivaast@club-internet.fr

Hope this might be of interest;

Simon

[Jempie]

Hello,

The particular airship shed you mean is probably the one known as the Montebourg airship shed! (Classified in 2003!)

But isn't the only one survaving know!

The total first French airship shed , is the "Hangar Y"...constructed into the years 1880's at Muedon, further there is still next to it another shed from about 1912-13 of immense dimensions which wqas used to repair the airshipsgasbags!

Than there must normally be still an airship shed at Rochefort !

Pity enough all others are meanwhile demolished!

There is a French website where most of the airship stations are to find in French...pity enough incomplete and containing a number of errors!

Apart of the fixed airship stations in France you had also places where hey used "transportable airship sheds" too!

(pre-WWI and WWI-period)

Those places and finding the photos and hiistorical notes from these is even today problematic, but we make advances !

I know someone in France who is going for writing eventually a book about!

greetings,

Jempie

Use once for "Hangar Y" Google! My own pictures are to large for uploading on this forum!

[smilingsixth]

Jempie

Thanks for the extra info, as I know very little about this sort of thing; I just thought it was an interesting article that forum members interested in the Air War might be interested in.

Simon