Ecausseville Airship Hangar (Normandy, France)

25th October 2004

Hangar in use by the 105th Ordnance Battalion July 1944	Counter Submarine Equipment left behind by the French Navy	Electrical Sub-Station	Remains of unknown building
Derigible Hangar with building base in foreground	Derigible Hangar	Derigible Hangar	Note the hangar door carriage tracks in foreground
Hangar Internal Structure	Water Tower

Former French naval balloon hangar at Ecausseville, Normandy, France. The hangar was originally built in 1916 to house anti-submarine dirigibles and was later used by the German army and subsequently by the Americans as they advanced through Normandy following D-Day. Entrenched German machine gunners and artillery offered fierce resistance to the advancing US 8th Infantry and 505th Parachute Infantry, evidence of the gun battle being clearly visible on the adjacent water tower. T here is known to have been a catastrophic failure of the hangar door running gear and although there are remains of the door carriages and external super-structure still present, the opening end of the hangar has now been bricked up due to the wind-sensitive nature of the structure. The hangar measures approximately 150 metres in length by 40 metres in width by 35 metres in height. A local group, the 'Association des Amis du Hangar a Dirigeables d'Ecausseville', are now working to preserve the hangar and secure it's future by converting it into an aviation museum. The balloon hangar at Ecausseville was one of several hangars of similar construction throughout France, the others having been demolished. The photos were taken in 2004 ansd 2005.