Cardington is a village in Bedfordshire in England. Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK...

Airships, Barrage Balloons and RAF Cardington

Cardington became one of the major British sites involved in the development of airships when Short Brothers bought land there to build airships for the Admiralty. They constructed a 700 ft long hangar (the No. 1 Shed) in 1915 to enable them to build two rigid airships, the R-31 and the R-32. Some 800 people worked there in 1917, most of them travelled daily from Bedford. Shorts also built a housing estate, opposite the site, which they named Shortstown. USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, 2 November 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... Short Brothers, almost universally referred to simply as Shorts, is a British aerospace company currently located in Belfast. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... A foot (plural: feet) is a non-SI unit of distance or length, measuring around a third of a metre. ... Hangars can be used to hold airplanes, airships and helicopters. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Bedford is the county town of the English county of Bedfordshire. ...

The airships site was nationalised in April 1919, becoming known as the Royal Airship Works. Nationalization or Nationalisation is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... Look up April in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

In preparation for the R101 project the No. 1 shed was extended between October 1924 and March 1926; its roof was raised by 35 feet and its length increased to 812 feet. The No. 2 shed (Southern shed), which had originally been located at Pulham, Norfolk, was dismantled in 1928 and re-erected at Cardington. R101 at the mast at Cardington View from the air of the crash site. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Look up March in Wiktionary, the free dictionary March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Pulham Market and its sister village Pulham St Mary are situated approximately 9 miles (14. ... Norfolk (pronounced IPA: /nɔ:fək/) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After the crash of the R101, in October 1930, all work stopped in Britain on airships. Cardington then became a storage base. 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

In 1936 / 1937 Cardington started building barrage balloons; and it became the No. 1 RAF Balloon Training Unit. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... US Marine Corps barrage balloon, Parris Island, May 1942 A barrage balloon is a large balloon used as a defence against aircraft. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

The two airship hangars ceased being part of the RAF Cardington site in the late 1940s and they were put to other uses. // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ...

For both airships and barrage balloons, Cardington manufactured its own hydrogen, in the Gas Factory, using the steam reforming process. In 1948 the Gas Factory became 279 MU (Maintenance Unit), RAF Cardington; and then, in 1955, 217 MU. 217 MU, RAF Cardington, produced all the gases used by the Royal Air Force until its closure in April 2000; including gas cylinder filling and maintenance. General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Steam reforming is a method of producing hydrogen. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up April in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Industrial compressed gas cylinders used for oxy-fuel welding and cutting of steel. ...

A company called Airship Industries tried to revive the fortunes of the airship industry in one of Cardington's famous hangars in the 1980s, but the efforts ultimately ended in failure, and the hangar now stands empty.

Sites of Interest

The church of St. Mary the Virgin has pieces dating from the 12th century, although the church itself was mostly rebuilt between 1898 and 1902. A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The hangars for the R100 and R101 airships, still stand in Cardington; as does the Headquarters Building. The hangars have recently been used as a studio for film and television productions, including the 2005 film Batman Begins. R100 moored in Saint-Hubert The HM Airship R100 was a rigid airship, the successful private counterpart to the British government R101 project, in a competition intended to maximize innovation. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ... Batman Begins (2005) is an American film based on the comic book character created by Bob Kane. ...

Notable People from Cardington

• Samuel Whitbread (1720-1796), Brewer and MP for Bedford

Samuel Whitbread (1720-1796) by Sir Joshua Reynolds Samuel Whitbread (August 30, 1720 - June 11, 1796) was an English brewer and Member of Parliament. ... Bedford is the county town of the English county of Bedfordshire. ...

External links

• 134 (Bedford) Sqn - Air Training Corps (On former RAF Cardington Site)
• St. Mary the Virgin Church in the Corpus of Romanesque Scuplture in Britain and Ireland
• The Airship Heritage Trust - Cardington Hangers