Who Designed the Anderson Shelter
The Anderson shelter is a air-raid shelter (bomb shelter) that was used extensively throughout Europe (Britain in particular) during World War II. It was designed for 6 people and was made out of fourteen panels of corrugated steel. Six curved panels were used to form the top, three straight panels were used for the sides and two more straight panels (one with a door) were used for the front and rear of the shelter. These shelters were approximately 1.8 m (6 ft) high, 2 m (6 ft 6 in long) and 1.4 m (4 ft 6 in) wide. They were buried with about half a meter (19 in) of soil to protect the occupants. These shelters were given to all people under a certain income and more than 3.6 million of them were installed before and during the war. This type of shelter was effective against ground shocks and direct blasts because they could absorb a lot of energy. However, they lost popularity during all-night alerts because they were cold and often flooded in wet weather. Let’s find out who designed and invented this air-raid shelter.
Who designed the Anderson shelter?
In 1938 the Home Office (a department of the UK Government) requested a new design for an air raid shelter. The shelter was designed by William Paterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison and named after Sir John Anderson, who was responsible for air-raid preparations prior to the outbreak of the war. The shelter was evaluated by Civil Engineers, Dr. David Anderson, Bertram Lawrence Hurst and Sir Henry Jupp and was approved for production.
Did you know?
At the end of the war many Anderson shelters were removed by the authorities to recycle the corrugated iron. Any people that wanted to keep their shelter had to pay a fee! Some Anderson shelters are still is use today and after the war many were dug up and converted into garden storage sheds.
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