Unfortunately, the manual does not describe the arch elements themselves. The archived Wonder buildings - assembly and specification manual (PDF) from 1960 gives a great overview of the civilian applications of this type of structure. They were used to build small factory halls, warehouses, swimming pool halls, aircraft hangars, etc. Wonder Building Corp produced a line of steel arch elements that were used to build roof structures, usually called a 'Wonder arch' or a 'Wonder roof'. The company is sometimes called 'Wonder Trussless Building Cooperation' but I think the 'trussless' part comes from a logo used in advertisements. The 'Wonder Building Corporation of America' was located in Chicago (IL). ![]() Since these shelters are now 50 years old, and open to the public in many cases (think of Bitburg, Soesterberg, Hahn), I don't think they still are military secrets. Hence this report starts in the early 1960s. They also tell how the US aircraft shelter evolved, and I found it fascinating. In 2020 I started looking for open sources on the subject, and found many documents with detailed information. I've always been intrigued by the idea of building a 1/72 scale version of a USAFE TAB-VEE shelter, like I had seen at bases like Spangdahlem, Ramstein, Hahn and others. ![]() USAFE TAB-VEE shelters and their genesis USAFE TAB-VEE shelters and their genesis
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