The Fleet Air Arm Museum is hosted adjacent to RNAS Yeovilton, an operational air base home to more than 100 aircraft and some 4,300 personnel. The museum tells the story, which begins in 1909, of the Royal Navy in the air. The Royal Naval Air Service was founded in 1914, merged into the Royal Air
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Yorkshire’s Swastika Stone is a unique carved outcrop of gritstone, measuring about 23 feet (7m) x 10 feet (3 m) on Rombalds Moor above Ilkley. The rock is enclosed by an iron railing on three sides, the fourth being an open vertical face, so it cannot escape. The carving is hard to make out, but
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum is located on a corner of the historic Tangmere RAF station, which was on the front line during the Battle of Britain. It was from here that fighter ace Douglas Bader led the Tangmere Wing. RAF Tangmere also provided the forward take-off point for Lysander aircraft, based at RAF Tempsford in
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The Dambusters Memorial in Woodhall Spa commemorates members of 617 Squadron Royal Air Force who lost their lives in World War Two. 617 Squadron was formed at RAF Scampton in 1943, specifically for attacking dams in the Ruhr Valley using the ‘bouncing bomb’ designed by Barnes Wallis. The Dams Raid, Operation Chastise, took place over
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The Lockerbie Garden of Remembrance at Dryfesdale Cemetery commemorates the 270 victims of the so-called Lockerbie Air Disaster. ‘Disaster’ is a euphemism – it was, in fact, a terrorist attack and, at the time of writing, the deadliest in UK history. A bomb was planted on Pan-Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit via London
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The Solway Aviation Museum is run by the Solway Aviation Society, a team of volunteers. The museum includes displays dedicated to the history of RAF Carlisle and local aviation in general, as well as the Cold War and specialist topics such as ejector seats. The Society also maintains a significant collection of 20+ aircraft, mostly
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The RAF Museum in Hendon is a spectacular aircraft museum on the site of the historic Hendon aerodrome, just over 30 minutes from central London by tube to Colindale and a walk from there, or by car from J4 of the M1. Entry to the museum is free. There is parking on site, but there
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The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is an aerial display team flying historic aircraft. They appear at shows throughout the country, on state occasions and at events commemorating the Second World War. The aircraft normally flown are an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane and they are all veterans of the
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Blickling is a large estate and stately home, with walks through 4,600 acres of woodland, parkland and farmland, 55 acres of formal gardens and a splendid Jacobean house and a museum dedicated to a WW2 bomber station. Much is made of Blickling being Anne Boleyn’s childhood home; she is even said to haunt the place,
The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) is both a memorial and a centre for learning. Situated in 10 acres of grounds with spectacular views over the City of Lincoln, at the heart is the enormous rusted steel spire, 102 feet (31.09 metres) high, the wingspan of an Avro Lancaster Bomber. The location is significant –
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IWM Duxford is mainly an aviation museum housed on a historic RAF airfield, which was also used by the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. It houses the Imperial War Museum’s huge collection of historic aircraft and other large items, such as tanks. Permanent exhibitions include the American Air Museum, Battle
The Runnymede Air Forces Memorial is enormous, with names carved into panels around a sort of cloister. It is located off a quiet residential lane overlooking the River Thames, Runnymede Meadow, and Heathrow Airport’s flight path. The air forces memorial at Runnymede commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen and women who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves.
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