Yorkshire Air Museum, Photographs

Restored control tower. (photo, Dan Lord)	The main hangar. (photo, Dan Lord)
Vampire T.11 XH278. (photo, Dan Lord)	Dragonfly HR.5 WH991. (photo, Dan Lord)
Meteor F.8 ‘WK864′. (photo, Dan Lord)	Halifax II ‘LV907′. (photo, Dan Lord)
Halifax ‘Friday the 13th’ nose markings. (photo, Dan Lord)	Mosquito NF.II ‘HJ711′. (photo, Dan Lord)
Close-up of the Mosquito. (photo, Dan Lord)	Bf 109G-6 Full Scale Model. (photo, Dan Lord)
Avro 504K ‘H1968′. (photo, Dan Lord)	Blackburn Mercury replica. (photo, Dan Lord)
Wright Flyer reproduction. (photo, Dan Lord)	Fairchild Argus II FK338. (photo, Dan Lord)
Anson T.21 VV901. (photo, Dan Lord)	Beagle Terrier ‘TJ704′. (photo, Dan Lord)

Science Museum Swindon

The Wroughton ‘out station’ near Swindon houses the large object store for the Science Museum in London, and holds all the large exhibits that are not on display there. In particular, visitors can see a number of airliners from the Air Transport Collection, plus other large exhibits such as agricultural machinery, cars and lorries. Among the aircraft on display are some very rare items, including the Boeing 247, Handley Page Gugnunc and the only Lockheed Constellation in the UK. A number of public open days and special events are held during the summer season.

Wroughton Airfield, on the A4361 south of Swindon, Wiltshire. Follow the signs for Wroughton from the A4365 (M4 Junction 16) or the A345 (M4 Junction 15) and then the brown ‘Science Museum’ signs.

Visiting

For opening times and special events, please refer to the official website.

Usually free, but there can be a charge for special events.

Amenities:

Toilets, parking, access for the disabled.

Hangar D4 holds the Constellation and many other aircraft	Hangar D3 mainly holds motor vehicles and some aircraft
Constellation N7777G	Constellation nose

Science Museum Swindon, Hackpen Lane, Wroughton, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN4 9LT. Tel: 01793 846200, Official website.

Pathfinder II G-MMCB	Skytrike G-MBVT
Devon C.2 VP975	Bensen B.7 Gyro-glider
Bede BD-5B G-BGLB	P.166 G-APWY
P.166 nose	Z-37 Cmelak G-AVZB
Gnat T.1 XP505	Comet 1A nose G-ANAV
Comet 4B G-APYD	Gugnunc G-AACN
DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-ALXT	DC-3 EI-AYO
DH.84 Dragon G-ACIT	Boeing 247D N18E
Trident 3B G-AWZM	Comet 4B G-APYD

The Historic Dockyard Chatham

A very large site that is fully open to the public, telling the story of the dockyard and naval warfare. The Gannet is owned by 849 Squadron Association, and was previously located at Culdrose. Large naval exhibits include HMS Cavalier, the only surviving British WW2 destroyer, and 1960s submarine HMS Ocelot.

Chatham Historic Dockyard, east of Rochester, north of the A321, in Kent. Well signposted.

Visiting

Open daily 10.00 am to 6.00 pm (or dusk if earlier), February 10 to October 28; Weekends only 10.00 am to 4.00 pm in November. Closed December and January.

See official website for details.

Amenities:

Toilets, Parking, Cafe, Souvenir shop, Access for the disabled.

Gannet AEW.3 XL500 (photo, Dan Lord)	Another view of the Gannet (photo, Dan Lord)

Gannet AEW.3 XL500 has been bought by Tim Manna of Kennet Aviation for restoration to airworthiness as G-KAEW.

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, The Old Surgery, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TZ. Tel: 01634 823800, Fax: 01634 823801.
Website: The Historic Dockyard or Historic Dockyard Chatham

‘Waveney class’ RNLI Lifeboat (photo, Dan Lord)	RNLI D-class in-shore life boat ‘Blue Peter III’ (photo, Dan Lord)
HMS Gannet, the last surviving RN sloop (photo, Dan Lord)	HMS Ocelot – open for tours (photo, Dan Lord)
WW2 destroyer HMS Cavalier (photo, Dan Lord)

Dragonfly HR.5 WG751 (photo, Dan Lord)

Wellington Aviation Museum and Gallery

An offshoot of the successful aviation art and print gallery, the museum tells the stories behind some of the paintings and prints on show with the aid of photographs and artefacts. The emphasis is on illustrating the personal side of wartime operations. The history of the local airfield and its Vickers Wellington OTU is also portrayed.

On the A44 Northeast of Cheltenham, to the west of Moreton-in-Marsh village, Gloucestershire. Well signposted.

Visiting

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00 am to 12.30 pm and 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm. Closed Mondays and Christmas Day.

See official website for details.

Amenities:

Toilets, Parking, Souvenir shop, Access for the disabled.

WW2 bombsight. (photo, Kevin Pitt)	One corner of the display area. (photo, Kevin Pitt)

Wellington Aviation, British School House, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 0BG. Tel: 01608 650323. Website: Wellington Aviation Museum.

Wellington L7775 tail section. (photo, Kevin Pitt)	Close-up of the fin structure. (photo, Kevin Pitt)

External view of the museum. (photo, Kevin Pitt)

Wellesbourne Wartime Museum

The museum is located in an underground emergency wartime command and control bunker, and houses a collection of aviation artefacts. Displays cover the history of Wellesbourne Mountford airfield, together with various aircraft components and memorabilia. There is a small aircraft park, including the nose of Vulcan XA903. This aircraft was used to test the Olympus engines of Concorde in the 1960s, and a small dedicated group of enthusiasts is trying to restore some of the additional test equipment used in this aircraft. Elsewhere on the airfield, Vulcan XM655 undertakes taxi runs on occasions.

Located at Wellesbourne Mountford airfield, south of the B4086 near Wellesbourne, 5 miles east of Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire.

Visiting

Open Sundays & Bank Holidays 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

No up-to-date information.

Amenities:

Toilets, Parking, Cafe, Access for the disabled.

Provost T.1 WV679. (photo, Olaf Kirchner)	Rear view of the Provost. (photo, Olaf Kirchner)

* Owned by the XM655 Maintenance and Preservation Society.

Derek Powell, Wellesbourne Aviation Group, 167 Colebourne Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B13 0HB. Tel: Not known.

Vampire T.11 XK590. (photo, Olaf Kirchner)	Vampire avionics bay. (photo, Olaf Kirchner)
Yak-52 RA-01378. (photo, Olaf Kirchner)	Vulcan B.1 cockpit. (photo, Olaf Kirchner)

Wartime Aircraft Recovery Group Aviation Museum

During World War Two, Sleap was a Bomber Command training base. From January 1944 it was used to train glider pilots for the airborne assaults of D-Day and Arnhem. Through the co-operation of the Shropshire Aero Club, the Wartime Aircraft Recovery Group operates a museum on the site. This all-volunteer group investigates crash sites and recovers and displays artifacts as a memorial to pilots that gave their lives operating in the Shropshire area during World War II. The displays include a number of aero engines, and a reconstruction of an airfield Flight Office.

Sleap Aerodrome, south west of Wem, Shropshire. Wem is on the B5476 north of Shrewsbury, and Sleap can be reached from a ‘C’ road off the B5476.

Visiting

Open every Second and Fourth Sunday in the month from May to October. Other times by prior arrangement.

FREE

Amenities:

No information.

WARG, 2 Fields View, Lodmore Lane, Burleydam, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 4BD.

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum

The Transport Museum comprises the most comprehensive transport collection in Ireland. It includes ‘The Flight Experience’, an interactive exhibition developed in partnership with Bombardier Aerospace featuring aviation and the aerospace industry. The activities of local pioneers Harry Ferguson and Lilian Bland are highlighted. Other transport displays include the Irish Railway Collection, road transport exhibits, a ‘Titanic’ exhibition and a recreation of an Ulster town of the early 1900s.
A Short Sealand is now undergoing restoration by the museum, and the nose section is now viewable from the display area. The Ferguson Monoplane reproduction has some original parts, including the pilot’s seat.

At Cultra Manor, near Holywood, on the A2 Bangor road, 7 miles north east from Belfast city centre, County Down.

Visiting

Open Monday to Saturday 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, Sunday 11.00 am to 6.00 pm, July, August & September; Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, Saturday 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, Sunday 11.00 am to 6.00 pm, March – June; Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, Saturday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, Sunday 11.00 am to 5.00 pm, October to February excluding a three-day Christmas holiday.

For Transport Museum: See official website for details. Additional charges apply for Folk Museum.

Amenities:

Toilets, Parking, Cafe, Souvenir shop, Access for the disabled, education & conference centre.

Ferguson Monoplane cockpit. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)	Ferguson Monoplane side view. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)
McCandless M4 G-ATXX front view. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)	McCandless M4 rear view. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, 153 Bangor Road, Cultra, Holywood, County Down, BT18 0EU, Northern Ireland. Tel: 028 9042 8428, Fax: 028 9042 8728. Website: The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

Short SC.1 front view. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)	Short SC.1 side view. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)
SD360 nose front view. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)	SD360 nose rear view. (photo, Jeremy Briggs)

Short Sealand G-AKLW nose (photo, Jeremy Briggs)

Ulster Aviation Society Heritage Centre

The museum is run by the UAS, which aims to preserve the province’s aeronautical past. A large number of artefacts and photographs are exhibited, in addition the aircraft listed below. The Museum was forced to close in late 2004 and is currently in the process of finding a new location. The aircraft have all been moved off-site and are currently in storage.

The museum has now vacated it’s previous location at Langford Lodge airfield and is currently in negotiations for a new site.

Visiting

Temporarily closed.

Free.

Amenities:

Toilets, Parking.

Display cabinets (photo, Paul McMaster)	Sea Hawk FB.3 WN108 (photo, Paul McMaster)

Ulster Aviation Society, c/o Ray Burrows, 33 Old Mill Meadows, Dundonald, BT16 1WQ. Tel: 028 9445 4444. Website: Ulster Aviation Society

Buccaneer S.2B XV361 (photo, Maurice Auld)	Tucano G-BTUC (photo, Maurice Auld)
Wildcat V JV482 (photo, Raymond Burrows)	Vampire T.11 WZ549 (photo, Paul McMaster)

Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre

Located on the former RAF Woodhall Spa, wartime home of 617 ‘Dambusters’ and 627 Squadrons is this visitors centre. The history of the base and its units are portrayed by various displays and artefacts. Other displays show life in wartime Lincolnshire.

On the B1192 south-east of Woodhall Spa airfield on the opposite side of the road. Signposted.

Visiting

Open Sunday and Bank Holidays 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm, Easter to September; plus Wednesdays in July and August 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

By donation.

Amenities:

Toilets, Parking, Cafe, Souvenir shop, Access for the disabled.

** Not a replica!.

Thorpe Camp Preservation Group, Lancaster Farm, Tumby Woodside, Mareham-le-Fen, Boston, Lincs, PE22 7SP. Tel: 01526 342249, Fax: 01526 345249, e-mail: mjhodgson@lancfile.demon.co.uk, website: Thorpe Camp.

Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum

Thinktank is Birmingham’s unique and award-winning museum of science and discovery housed at Millennium Point.
This exciting science centre offers ten galleries of historical artefacts, modern interactives and futuristic facts. It’s an incredibly modern museum where visitors can explore everything from aircraft and steam engines to intestines and taste buds and even emotional robots.
Among the exhibits are a Supermarine Spitfire, built at the local Vickers Armstrong plant in Castle Bromwich in 1944, and a Hawker Hurricane built in 1943 by Hawker aircraft of Kingston & Langley, representing the 300 built by Austin of Longbridge, Birmingham during World War 2.

Also to be found here are countless examples of Birmingham’s engineering heritage, including motorcycles, cars and a working steam engine.

Within the Millennium Point centre, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands.

Visiting

Open every day (except 24-26 December), 10am – 5pm (last entry 4.00 pm).

See official website for details.

Amenities:

Cafes, gift shop, secure car and coach park (charges apply). Disabled car parking bays. Toilets for wheelchair users. Baby changing facilities. Millennium Point is fully accessible for people with mobility difficulties. IMAX Theatre.

Hurricane IV ‘P3395′ (photo, Thinktank)	Spitfire (photo, Thinktank)

Thinktank – Birmingham Science Museum, Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG. Tel: 0121 202 2222, website: Thinktank, e-mail findout@thinktank.ac.

wikipedia

Spitfire IX close-up (photo, Thinktank)

Spitfire IX ML427
(photo, Thinktank)