January 9, 1945 - Less-Than-Comfy Accommodations

From the Operations Record Book:  

The Squadron was again stood and again no flying was carried out owing to fog and the usual ground training was resorted to.

---

An example of a Nissen hut.  The huts at 550 Squadron differed
 in that the stove and flue were located in the centre of the hut.
Source: www.metcalfemodels.com

In previous camps, Harris and Nicol would have been housed in officers’ quarters, but now, as an active crew, they would be sharing a Nissen hut, a basic structure of corrugated iron sheets fastened to concrete floor slabs.  The huts were capped at each end with timber bulkheads, one fitted with a door and windows.

Huts were heated with a circular cast iron coal-fired stove located in the centre of the hut with a flue running up through the roof. 

One member of the 550 Squadron ground crew reasoned the best place to sleep was somewhere mid-way between the stove and the door, as anywhere too close to the stove was hot and dusty but too-near the door was drafty.   Harris also wrote he was “sitting almost on top of a little stove, wearing my dressing gown over my battle dress, and listening to rain or sleet beating on the metal roof.  I am not badly off…  But for the weather, everything would be fine.” 

The squadron’s recreation huts and storage buildings were also built using these temporary-type buildings.  Crew huts were dispersed around the base and connected by a series of walkways to washrooms, mess huts and various offices.  Bicycles were available on the base and crews might have to walk or bike up to a 3/4 of a mile across the base for meals.