UK MILITARY AVIATION LINKS

[Thunder & Lightnings]
[Buccaneer] [Gannet] [Gnat] [Hunter] [Javelin] [Lightning] [Phantom]
[Scimitar] [Sea Hawk] [Sea Vixen] [Swift] [TSR.2] [Valiant] [Victor] [Vulcan]
[Airfield Viewing Guide] [Links] [Forum]

UK Military Aviation Links

[Non-UK Links] [UK Forces] [Airshows] [Jets] [Non-Jets] [Miscellaneous] [Museums] [Discussions] [Modelling]
This page last updated on 15th May 2005

Aviation Museums & Organisations

If you want to see what's near you, try the clickable map showing many of the locations listed below.

Aldershot Military Museum in Hampshire has some aviation material.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight & Visitor Centre at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire is your destination if you want to see the flight's aircraft, which include Spitfires, Hurricanes, a Lancaster and a Dakota. It's advisable to contact them first to check the aircraft are actually there for your visit - especially during airshow season!
The Bomber County Aviation Museum at Hemswell (once RAF Hemswell) up the road from Lincoln has a good-sized collection for such a small outfit, including two Lightnings and a Hunter. Well worth a look round!
The Bournemouth Aviation Museum at Hurn airport near Bournemouth is the successor to Jet Heritage; a collection of aircraft (including Gnat, Hunters, Meteor etc.) in superb condition, friendly staff a picnic area from where you can watch movements at the airport and even a well-stocked shop make this a delight to visit. Thoroughly recommended.
The Bristol Aero Collection at Kemble airfield has an impressive collection including a Harrier. Well worth a visit.
The Bristol Industrial Museum includes a Sycamore, numerous aero engines (courtesy of the RRHT) and a Concorde engineering mockup. The Bristol City Museum also has one aviation exhibit; a Bristol Boxkite replica.
Britannia Aircraft Preservation Trust; there's one living Brit left, and it's now back in the UK at Kemble. Help support the BAPT's 'Whispering Giant' by visiting their web pages! And yes, the Brit did do military service, this ain't no namby-pamby airliner :-)
Brooklands Museum in Surrey. Includes the Wellington recovered from Loch Ness, a Vampire and lots of other aircraft (a TSR.2 nose section, even!).
British Aviation Heritage & Phoenix Air Museum at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire. Open on Sundays, there is a collection of historic aircraft to be found here including Vulcan, Lightnings, Harriers, Buccaneer, Victor, Hunters, Jet Provosts, Piston Provost etc. If you're lucky one of the more active residents may even be fired up during your visit. If not, there are at least two open days a year when many of the aircraft carry out fast taxi runs - and you can get much closer to them than at a normal airshow.
The Buckinghamshire Aircraft Recovery Group at Bletchley Park (the famous 'Station X' codebreaking site) have an impressive display of recovered aircraft artifacts etc. plus two nose sections - a Jet Provost and a Sea Vixen. Friendly guys dedicated to keeping memories alive, Bletchley Park is well worth visiting anyway but with this aviation element to be found there too it's a must-see.
Caernarfon Air World in Wales. A number of aircraft indoors (e.g. Sea Hawk, Hunter, Vampire, Whirlwind) plus a few outside as well (Hunter trainer, Dragonfly, Dove, Prince). Situated on the edge of an airfield that has regular pleasure flights during the summer months (be warned - the museum is closed in the winter), plus RAF Valley is only about 45 minutes drive away on the Isle of Anglesey if you want to get your fill of Hawks after visiting the museum.
City of Norwich Aviation Museum at Horsham St. Faith in Norfolk. Hey - Hunter, Javelin, Lightning, Meteor, Vampire, Vulcan and a Whirlwind! You've just got to go, haven't you? Full of friendly types who are happy to talk to you and with a constant programme of restoration and repainting going on, this is a museum that deserves more visitors.
The de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre near London Colney in Hertfordshire. Definitely one for de Havilland fans, this one - including the Mosquito prototype, a Sea Vixen and a Comet. Well worth a visit, with friendly staff who are happy to help with requests. There's also an unofficial guide from John Hayles' Aeroflight site, and this site from the local council.
Delta Jets based at Kemble in Gloucestershire operate a pair of Hunter T.7s and have another under restoration to fly plus others they look after for private owners, and some Gnats too! Their operation is not generally open to the public - however you can always ask - they're a friendly bunch. There are also a number of public events at Kemble - see the Kemble Airfield web site for details.
The Derby Industrial Museum has a huge number of Rolls-Royce aero engines courtesy of the RRHT.
Dundonald Aviation Centre in Ayrshire in Scotland is a small collection of cockpit sections (two Buccaneers and a Canberra) and aero engines salvaged from aircraft that crashed in the sea nearby.
East Midlands Aeropark in the East Midlands oddly enough. Happily re-opened after moving from one part of East Midlands Airport to another, and well worth a visit!
Eden Camp was a POW camp in WWII and while not an aviation museum, includes some aviation exhibits - memorabilia etc. It also has a replica Hurricane-on-a-stick outside.
The Fighter Collection have a varied collection of warbirds in flying condition and several undergoing restoration. Located at Duxford, the TFC hangar is normally open for visitors to wander around and their excellent web site is a superb accompaniment to let you know just what's going on with the collection.
Flambards Village Theme Park in Helston, Cornwall. On the Flambards site is what was known as the Cornwall Aero Park, but nowadays they seem very loathe to admit to this. It doesn't appear in their literature (or the web site), but rest assured there are several aircraft there - a Canberra, Gannet, Sea Hawk, Sea Prince, Sea Vixen, Wessex, two Whirlwinds, a Shackleton nose plus a Concorde simulator nose and assorted other bits and pieces. This collection is slowly dispersing to other locations so visit quick. You can wander round the planes while the family go on the rides and check out the other exhibits, plus RNAS Culdrose is practically next door, with a Sea Hawk on the gate and a Harrier at the public viewing area! The latter is apparently an excellent well-equipped facility with refreshments available while you watch the aircraft operating from the airfield.
The Fleet Air Arm Museum in Somerset is a damn nice museum; lots of very well preserved exhibits, and you can get as close as you want to most of them - very few barriers. The Carrier exhibition is particularly good, though very dark which makes photography tricky unless you have a good flash. Another must-visit, and I won't even attempt to list their aircraft! A well-stocked shop, two restaurants and viewing of the goings-on at RNAS Yeovilton finish off the package and mean you can easily spend the whole day here.
The Glasgow Museum of Transport in Scotland includes some civil aviation material.
Imperial War Museum at Lambeth, London.
Visited this one years ago; not too much in the way of aircraft at the time as I recall. Now it has rather more - a P-51, Spitfire, Camel, FW-190 and a few more bits and pieces.
Imperial War Museum at Duxford - this museum has a marvellous collection of aircraft of all eras, not just British stuff. Loads of aircraft; it is an absolute must-visit place. The new American Air Museum is very impressive though a bit cramped for photographers. For a detailed listing of current inhabitants take a look at Bernard Martin's Duxford Residents Checklist, and for an excellent site on goings-on at Duxford, check out Ben Rogers' Duxford Times site.
The Gatwick Aviation Museum is Peter Vallance's collection of aircraft in Charlwood, Surrey, on the outskirts of Gatwick Airport. A museum collection that really could do with your support, as the local council are not being friendly. Lots and lots of stuff to see, including my favourite the Sea Vixen as well as a Lightning, Harrier GR.3, two Shackletons (one in ground running condition which is fired up from time to time), Sea Hawk, Hunter, Canberra, and much more.
The Helicopter Museum at Weston Super-Mare. An excellent site, one of the best (if not the best) UK Aviation Museum web site! The museum itself has the most impressive collection of helicopters on the planet; well worth a visit. Where else would you find a Belvedere, Wasp, Wessex, Mi-2, Mi-24, Lynx, Super Frelon and more all in the one place?! The museum's newsletter can be found on this site. For another look at the exhibits try John Hayle's International Helicopter Museum page.
The Jet Age Museum (or 'Gloucestershire Aviation Collection') which was housed on the edge of Staverton airport in Gloucestershire but has now been forced to move and is therefore closed until they've found themselves a new home. An impressive collection of stuff in varying states of restoration. Some are at least partially dismantled (e.g. their Buccaneer, Javelin and Sea Venom) but other airframes are in complete static condition (e.g. Jet Provost, two Meteors). I particularly liked the Canberra exhibit; the aircraft is partially dismantled but the cockpit was open to visitors and had been beautifully restored and atmospherically lit. Nose sections of a number of Vampires, a Vulcan, Lightning and Buccaneer were also on show along with various aero engines and an ambitious looking Gamecock project. A friendly bunch of staff willing to talk and let you get close to the exhibits means this was very much a museum that involved the visitor unlike certain others - let's hope they can re-open soon.
The Kent Battle of Britain Museum on the site of the former RAF Hawkinge has an impressive collection of replica Hurricanes and Spitfires plus a real Harvard and lots of memorabilia and material on the former station and the Battle itself. However like the D-Day Museum at Shoreham, this one has a ludicrous no-photography rule in place - in fact they don't even allow spotters to note down the registrations of the replica aircraft in their notebooks, which is about as silly as it gets!
Kennet Aviation (this is a rather old - and possibly dead - site) at Cranfield in Bedfordshire run a small fleet of classic jets and other aircraft. UK airshow-goers will be familiar with their two Gnats and Hunter at the very least, but they don't generally welcome visitors to their base at Cranfield. Some of their aircraft can occasionally be viewed from outside the airfield.
Kirriemuir Aviation Museum in Scotland is a small collection of WW2 memorabilia. The web page is not particularly informative as it's part of a site on the general area.
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby in Lincolshire. The star exhibit here is Lancaster VII NX611 which is in taxiing condition. Also to be found are a Spitfire wreck, a Proctor and a Canberra nose as well as a few other exhibits.
The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester has a good collection of aircraft, including a P.1B, Hunter and Shackleton. Much more besides.
Midland Air Museum in Coventry. The friendliest museum in the country, with a large collection of aircraft including a Vulcan, Meteors, Sea Vixen, Phantoms, Hunter, Javelin, MiG-21 and more. If you only visit one museum in the West Midlands, make it this one. Another museum with friendly staff, they have the viewpoint that aircraft shouldn't be dead exhibits but should have some form of life in them, so regularly open up cockpits for visitors. The Vulcan and Argosy in particular are opened whenever staff are available (most days), and the constant human visitors certainly stop birds from nesting in the aircraft. Their Hunter has much of its electrics in working condition courtesy of a museum member who worked on the very same Hunter while it was in service.
Montrose Air Station Museum in Scotland includes a Sea Hawk and a Whirlwind among its exhibits. The web page is not particularly informative as it's part of a site on the general area; to find out a precise location for the museum, explore the site a bit!
The Museum of Army Flying at long last has a site of its own! Located at Middle Wallop in Hampshire, it tells the story of aviation in the army, with various aircraft such as Austers, Whirlwind (helicopter of course), Beaver, Sioux, Scout. The museum is on an active airfield so you can watch the activities there too - lots of Lynx flying and Squirrels and Griffons of the DHFS.
Firpower - the Museum of Artillery in London. Not really an aviation museum but includes an Auster.
Museum of Berkshire Aviation have a Gannet as their major attraction (the one rescued from the defunct Cardiff Air Museum).
The Museum of D-Day Aviation (unofficial site) at Shoreham Airport near Brighton has a collection of artefacts and memorabilia, a Typhoon and Spitfire cockpit plus a replica Spitfire on display. However a no photography rule places this museum firmly in the stone age - as what web presence they had of their own has now disappeared, one presumes their publicity is limited to cave paintings!
National Museum Of Flight at East Fortune airfield, East Lothian, Scotland (off the A1 near Haddington, about 30 miles East of Edinburgh). This museum is superb, and their web page is now much better than it used to be. Highlights (for me) were the Vulcan B.2 and the Lightning F.2A. Well lit too, unlike the RAF Museum or the Science Museum. Every time I'm in Scotland I pop in! Just visible from the museum across the runway of the airfield is a small hill; this is North Berwick Law, which marks the position of the seaside town of North Berwick quite nicely if you fancy taking the family to the beach after visiting the museum.
The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset. 200 tanks and armoured vehicles to be found here, but also a Skeeter and a Hamilcar glider.
National War Museum of Scotland situated in Edinburgh Castle includes displays of pieces of Luftwaffe aircraft from some of the aircraft shot down in the area during WWII and also a display of models, uniforms and other artefacts relating to the RAF - including a Buccaneer ejector seat.
A page on the NATO Aircraft Museum from John Hayles gives you an idea of the collection at this museum in Lincolnshire, which includes a couple of Lightnings - but which is unfortunately closed while they find a new home.
The Newark Air Museum is in the East Midlands and a marvellous collection can be found here, too many to list - just go! They have some unusual aircraft here and a superb shop, it's well worth a visit.
Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum; located at Flixton in Suffolk, they have an exciting list of aircraft here including Lightning, Sea Vixen, Vampire, Javelin, Provost, Whirlwind, Pucara, Canberras, T-33, F-100 and more. Free entry, but if you leave without making a donation, shame on you!
The North East Aircraft Museum at Sunderland have a fine web site. Mucho aircraft to be found there though I've been frustrated on every attempt to get there so far. I particularly liked the story about their Vulcan being delivered, and the result when a BBC cameraman failed to heed advice not to stand in the path of the exhaust flow as the aircraft was turning on the ground :-) Their next-door neighbours 2214 (Usworth) Squadron Air Training Corps have a Vampire to look after too.
The Old Flying Machine Company based at Duxford operate a collection of historic aircraft and make good use of them when not display them at airshows - if you've seen the new Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, the L-39 in the opening sequence is an OFMC bird, and the HP Sauce advert that jabbers on about dogfighting F-16s has a Hunter and the same L-39 showing off for the camera! Anyway, the web site is excellent and tries to keep you up to date with the goings on at the OFMC; sometimes they get a little busy with the aircraft - I think we can forgive them :-)
RAF Manston Hurricane & Spitfire Memorial Building is a small museum located at Manston airfield in Kent. Major exhibits are a Hurricane, a Spitfire and a Meteor NF.11.
RAF Millom Museum is a small museum next to a prison, including two Vampires and a Whirlwind.
Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon in North London; an official site. The museum is simply an absolute must-visit; watch out for the low lighting though; a good flash or fast film are a good idea. Includes aircraft from WW1 (e.g. an SE.5) to near-enough the present day (e.g. a Tornado IDS prototype). Other marvellous exhibits include a Sunderland you can walk through, a Harrier GR.3 positioned so that you can walk underneath the wings and the wreckage of a Halifax recovered from a lake. Not just RAF aircraft either; lots of Luftwaffe stuff and even a B-17. While this is a place you simply have to visit, it is running out of room and many exhibits are crammed in at photographer-unfriendly angles. It can also be difficult to find someone other than security guards to talk to about the exhibits.
RAF Museum Cosford. Cosford is the companion museum to the RAF Museum and in my opinion, the better of the two with lots of experimental types. Definitely a must-visit! Unfortunately Cosford has a similar policy to the RAF Museum regarding getting close to the exhibits - i.e., you can't stray from the normal path. Some of the exterior stuff you can get close to but the indoors stuff is mostly out of bounds, though some have steps up to the cockpit. However, unlike Hendon, there are usually restoration volunteers around that you can have a chat with.
The Royal Navy's Historic Flight have an excellent site with news and pictures of their aircraft.
The Science Museum, London.
Some interesting aircraft to be found, the highlights being a Gloster E.28/39 and a Hawker P.1127 along with a huge collection of aero engines. Lighting is not very good though; and flash photography is forbidden, which makes getting a decent photo practically impossible. Luckily I didn't know about the rule until I was on the way out and so came away with some passable photos...
Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire has a large number of early aircraft, the collection extending into WWII and beyond. There's also a great little Unofficial website too!
Snibston Discovery Park has a transport gallery with an Auster in it.
Southampton Hall of Aviation. The Hall shows off aircraft related to the local area, e.g. de Havilland Vampire and Sea Venom (de Havilland having a factory down the road near Bournemouth), Supermarine S.6B and Spitfire (plus Scimitar and Swift nose sections) and Folland Gnat (Folland being based at nearby Hamble). Several other aircraft, all indoors go together to make up a nice collection centered on the only Sandringham flying boat left on the planet. A must-visit if you're in the area, and you can stop by at Hamble on the way home to see the Gnat gate guard there...
The South Yorkshire Air Museum finally have a web site of their own. A varied collection in varied states of repair, but now they have undercover accomodation on a new site, they should go from strength to strength.
The Stoke-on-Trent Potteries Museum & Art Gallery includes a Spitfire as the centrepiece of an R. J. Mitchell display.
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum near Chichester in Hampshire. With the record-breaking Hunter F.4, Swift FR.5, Meteors, a T-33, Whirlwind helo and more. Small but perfectly formed, this one. A small number of staff means it can be difficult to find someone to talk to about the exhibits but when you do get hold of them they're very helpful.
The Thorpe Camp Preservation Group aim to keep alive the memory of those who served at RAF Woodhall in Lincolnshire and other airfields in the county.
Ulster Aviation Society Heritage Collection. More a society page than a museum page but has some details of the heritage collection, which includes a Buccaneer and a Sea Hawk.
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum now have their own web site. The museum includes a section about the aviation history of Northern Ireland, with a Shorts SC.1 as the star exhibit.
The Vulcan 558 Club is dedicated to supporting XH558, the most loved and famous Vulcan of all, thanks to its role as the Vulcan display aircraft for the last display seasons before she was sold. The aircraft is now not normally viewable because of the efforts to return her to the air - see The Vulcan Operating Company website for the latest news, and details on how YOU can help.
The 655 Maintenance & Preservation Society look after another Vulcan still making loud noises. XM655 is viewable on Saturdays at Wellesbourne Mountford airfield on the outskirts of the village of Wellesbourne in Warwickshire; there's also a small air museum at the airfield, but that's open on Sundays and has no web site yet.
The Vulcan Restoration Trust are, like the 558 Club, trying to get a Vulcan back in the air. The VRT's Vulcan is XL426, XH558's predecessor as the Vulcan display aircraft. XL426 is viewable at Southend Airport in Essex; see the site for details.
The Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington airfield near York makes up for the relatively paucity of aviation museums in this area by having lots of exhibits; if you want the best photo opportunities visit in summer when some of the aircraft are outside rather than shoved together into the hangars.
AVNet's Fly-In Guide to Aviation Museums has information on various UK museums that are at or near airfields.
Reading University have a very comprehensive list of UK Aviation Museums in their Aviation Museums in Great Britain section. Includes details of the museums such as what exhibits each one has. A bit out of date, but does appear to get updated from time to time.
And here's another List of military museums in the UK.
Mike Sibley's The Aircraft Museum Explorer site has news and pictorial coverage of UK museums and the aviation preservation scene.

[Back to top]