2-879-169 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Heathrow Airport, BEA Servicing Hangar, Heathrow, Hillingdon, London, 07/09/1970. Looking over the steel roof of the BEA aircraft servicing hangar at Heathrow Airport during its construction, showing lattice girders and cross-bracing. In October 1969 Laing announced that its Industrial Engineering Branch had been awarded a contract for construction of an aircraft servicing hangar for British European Airways at Heathrow Airport. It was the company’s second major contract at Heathrow, following the completion of the BEA and BOAC cargo terminal. The hangar was designed to accommodate new airbus jets and existing aircraft. The hangar roof consisted of lattice girders and steel cross-bracing, with deep edge girders. It was constructed on the ground and was raised 20.5m by hydraulic jacks over 8 days in November 1970. The 3,200 tonnes of steel and services which formed the roof were then rested upon octagonal columns, the bases of which were sunk into 75ft shafts. Braithwaite engineers manufactured the steelwork for the columns and roof.