Site Event/Activity record ESF20861 - RAF Building 538, Mildenhall

A Level 2 building recording survey was carried out on Building 538, a Type 'C' Hangar at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, prior to its demolition. It was almost entirely brick built, based around a metal girder framework. At each end of the building were two sets of three sliding doors to allow access to aircraft. Flanking both long sides of the structure were original annex buildings. The building was constructed in 1934 and was used for aircraft storage before and during World War II, as well as throughout the Cold War, when the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was intermittently kept there from 1974 (a miniature outline of one of the aircraft was impressed into the concrete floor). More generally it has been used as storage, offices and workshops. Much of the internal structure had been altered to suit the changing requirements of its use, although many of the original doorways and larger doorways, (presumably for vehicle or machinery access), were still visible. A memorial to a mascot bulldog (named Bill Prune) for No. 15 Squadron from 1943 was located just south of the building. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous No, Future No Associated Identifiers: Sitecode MNL 641 HER event no. MNL 641 NMR No. 1535584 Project Type: Building Recording Methods and Techniques: Annotated Sketch, Measured Survey, Photographic Survey Reason for Investigation: Direction from Local Planning Authority - PPG16 Site status: None Current Land use: Other 2 - In use as a building Monument Type(s)/Period(s): HANGAR Modern Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): NONE None PROJECT LOCATION Area 5922.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TL68287716 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Local Authority Archaeologist and/or Planning Authority/advisory body Design originator: Jude Plouviez Director/Manager: Andrew Tester Supervisor: Rob Brooks DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: other Media: Text, Images raster / digital photography, Survey, Spreadsheets PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: other Media: Correspondence, Drawing, Miscellaneous Material, Plan, Report, Survey BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Building 538, RAF Mildenhall MNL 641 Author(s)/Editor(s): Brooks, R. Other Bibliographic Details: SCCAS Report No. 2011/040 Date: 2011 Issuer/Publisher: SCCAS Place of Issue or Publication: Bury St Edmunds Description: A4, comb bound, white cover (also available as PDF)