Imperial War Museum Duxford

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American Air Museum Duxford
American Air Museum Duxford

The Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England, commonly referred to simply as 'Duxford' , houses the Imperial War Museum's aircraft collection, as well as having a large collection of tanks, military and naval vehicles. The museum has seven main exhibition buildings with nearly 200 military and civil aircraft.

Duxford has maintained and still uses its wartime buildings, such as the control tower, operations room and hangars which were used in the 1940s. The Operations Room has been carefully reconstructed to look as it did when Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel directed Duxford's fighters during the Battle of Britain.

Duxford's American Air Museum (pictured), designed by Norman Foster, was officially opened by the queen in August 1997. It contains Duxford's collection of American military aircraft from First World War biplanes to supersonic jets. It is primarily a memorial to the 30,000 US airmen who lost their lives flying from British bases during the Second World War.

Although most famous for its aeroplane collection, Duxford also has a Land Warfare Hall that houses tanks, vehicles and artillery from the First World War to the Gulf War. Duxford has regular large air displays, which generally include Second World War fighters and bombers from many different nations, a variety of military jets, commercial aeroplanes and display teams such as the Red Arrows.

Contents

[edit] The displays

[edit] The British Aircraft collection (Air Space)

Britain has been important in the history of aircraft design, the collection reflects this with its military and civil aircraft on display. The display officially opened to the public on July 12 after a "preview" opening[1] and has the following exhibitions:

Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster

[edit] The Battle of Britain Exhibition

This exhibition looks at the people and machines involved in the Battle of Britain and The Blitz. It also shows Duxford's past as a fighter airfield. The exhibition is in Duxford's Hangar 4, which was used in the Battle of Britain. The following are on display:

German V1 flying bomb
German V1 flying bomb

Aircraft

Ground Defence

[edit] The American Air Museum

General Dynamics F-111
General Dynamics F-111

The American Air Museum in Britain is primarily a memorial to the 30,000 Americans who died flying from the UK in the Second World War. The TBM Avenger is in the scheme George H. W. Bush used, and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the only one on display outside of the United States. The museum has its own gift shop and cafe. It has the following on display:

[edit] The Normandy Experience

Hetzer tank destroyer
Hetzer tank destroyer

This exhibition recreates D-Day in 1944 when the Allies landed in Normandy in one of the biggest combined military operations ever attempted, when 150,000 American, British and Canadian men as well as much equipment began the liberation. The display has part of the Pipe Line Under the Ocean (Operation Pluto). The display has the following exhibitions:

[edit] 'Monty'

Bernard Law Montgomery is probably the most celebrated British military commander of the twentieth century. He was in charge of all Allied ground forces on D-Day. He led sometimes controversially, but ultimately successfully, to the end of the war in Germany. This exhibition has documents from the Imperial War Museum's collections and Montgomery’s three personal caravans that he used in North West Europe.

[edit] 'The Forgotten War' Exhibition

Main article: South-East Asian theatre of World War II

The Forgotten War exhibition focuses on the personal, political and military aspects of the Second World War in the Far East, the Pacific and Burma between 1941 and 1945. This display consists of objects from the War, photographs and realistic scenes. The exhibition is a joint project with the Burma Star Association (BSA).

[edit] The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum

The museum covers the history of the East Anglian Regiments, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd East Anglian Regiments, and the Royal Anglian Regiment (the 3 East Anglian Regiments and The Royal Leicestershire Regiment) since the amalgamations of the former County Regiments (ten Counties of East Anglia and the East Midlands) from 1958 to 1960.

[edit] The Naval Collection

The display has the following exhibits:

Fairey Gannet AS6
Fairey Gannet AS6

[edit] The Land Warfare Hall

The Land Warfare Hall is dedicated to the history of Britain's involvement in modern warfare, and also details the relationship with allies and enemies during recent conflicts. On special days, vehicles can be seen in action, and sometimes rides are given to the public. The hall holds Duxford’s collection of tanks, trucks, artillery and personal weaponry. It shows the technological advances in twentieth century warfare as exhibits are arranged chronologically from the First World War to the Gulf War. The hall has a fully functioning garage and services, which are used to restore military vehicles of all types and maintain many of the vehicles within the collection in full working order. The Land Warfare Hall also frequently features temporary exhibits.

The hall has the following displays and exhibits:

Some of the vehicles and weapons on display include:

Several commercial airliners are also on display including a deHavilland Trident and a Vickers VC-10.

[edit] Site history

Main article: Duxford Aerodrome#History

Duxford Aerodrome, built during the First World War, was one of the earliest bases established. In 1917 it was expanded to train the then Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Duxford opened as a flying school in September 1918 (known as No. 35 Training Depot Station), after the First World War ended in November 1918 the airfield was used as a base for the disbandment of squadrons across Europe.

RAF Duxford became No.2 Flight Training School in 1920. Under reorganised Home Defence arrangements, Duxford became a fighter station, a role it was to carry out for the next 37 years.

During the war Duxford was home to first the RAF then the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).

[edit] After the war

An Avro Vulcan
An Avro Vulcan

Duxford was officially handed back to the Royal Air Force on 1 December 1945. The first RAF aircraft to return to Duxford were Spitfires but by 1947 they were replaced by Gloster Meteors. By 1951 a new concrete runway had been laid and a type T2 hangar built alongside the four First World War hangars. The original T2 hangar has gone now, destroyed in a special effects sequence for the film Battle of Britain, and the Museum has since opened two more Second World War T2 hangars on the same site.

Duxford was too far south and too far inland to be strategically important and the costly improvements required for modern supersonic fighters could not be justified. In July 1961 the last operational RAF flight was made from Duxford by the Gloster Javelin FAW.7. In 1969 The Ministry of Defence declared its intention to dispose of Duxford. Plans were even made for a sports centre or a prison were but were never finalised.

The Imperial War Museum had been looking for storage and renovation space for its displays too large for its headquarters in London, thus obtained permission to use the airfield for this purpose. Cambridgeshire County Council bought the runway in 1977 to give the abandoned aerodrome a new lease of life. Duxford is now established as the European centre of aviation history.

[edit] Image gallery

SR-71 Blackbird

British Pre-Production Concorde G-AXDN

Douglas C-47 Skytrain inside the museum

A-10 Thunderbolt

Hangar

de Havilland Mosquito

A B-52 up close

American Air Museum Duxford

American Air Museum Duxford

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Oakey, Michael (Ed.) (Vol. 35 No. 9, September 2007) "Duxford's AirSpace opens". Aeroplane

Coordinates: 52°05′35″N, 0°07′46″E

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