IMPERIAL WAR 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 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 Her Majesty 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

The displays

The British Aircraft collection (Air Space)

The Battle of Britain Exhibition

The American Air Museum

The Normandy Experience

'Monty'

'The Forgotten War' Exhibition

The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum

The Naval Collection

The Land Warfare Hall

Site history

After the war

Image gallery

See also

External links

References

The displays

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 has the following exhibitions;


★ Bristol Fighter

★ De Havilland Comet 4

★ R.E.8

★ English Electric Canberra

★ Westland Lysander

★ Hawker Hunter

★ Avro Anson

★ English Electric Lightning

★ Short Sunderland

★ Avro Vulcan

★ Supermarine Spitfire

★ Handley Page Victor

★ Avro Lancaster

★ BAC TSR-2

★ De Havilland Mosquito

★ BAC/Aerospatiale Concorde

★ Gloster Meteor

The Battle of Britain Exhibition

This exhibition looks at the people and machines involved in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz of 1940 - 1941. 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;

'Aircraft'

★ Bristol Fighter (First World War)

★ Hawker Hurricane

★ Messerschmitt Bf 109

★ Supermarine Spitfire

★ Bristol Blenheim

★ Cierva C.30A Autogiro

★ Heinkel He 111 tail fin and engine

★ V1 Flying Bomb on launch ramp

★ Gloster Meteor
'Ground Defence'

★ Leyland Mobile Workshop (First World War)

★ Standard Beaverette Armoured Car

★ Picket Hamilton Fort

★ 3.7" Anti-aircraft gun

★ Searchlight

★ Fordson WOT Balloon Winch

★ Air Raid Precautions Shelter

★ Austin Auxiliary Fire Service Truck

★ Nash Ambulance

The American Air Museum

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;

★ SPAD S.XIII

★ Boeing Stearman PT-17

★ North American AT-6D Texan

★ Consolidated B-24M Liberator

★ North American P-51D Mustang

★ Douglas C-47 Skytrain

★ Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

★ Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

★ Grumman TBM-3 Avenger

★ Boeing B-29A Superfortress

★ North American B-25J Mitchell

★ Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird

★ Boeing B-52D Stratofortress

★ Lockheed U-2C

★ North American F-100D Super Sabre

★ Bell UH-1 Huey

★ McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II

★ General Dynamics F-111E

★ Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

★ Dodge T214-WC54 Ambulance

★ Ford M718 MUTT Ambulance

The Normandy Experience

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;

★ 17 Pounder Anti-tank Gun

★ 21cm Nebelwerfer 42

★ AEC Armoured Command Vehicle

★ Austin K2 Ambulance

★ Bedford MWD Light Utility Truck

★ BSA M20 Motorcycle

★ Centaur Command Tank

★ Churchill AVRE

★ Daimler Dingo Scout Car

★ Ford F6OL 3 Ton (GS) Truck

★ Ford GPW Jeep

★ German 7.5 cm Anti-tank Gun

★ German Hetzer Tank Destroyer

★ GMC CCKW-353 2.5 Ton Cargo Truck

★ GMC DUKW Amphibious Truck

★ International M5 Half Track

★ Morris Light Reconnaissance Car

★ PLUTO pump

★ Scammell SV/2S Recovery Tractor

★ Sexton Self-propelled Gun

★ Sherman Grizzly Tank

★ Universal Carrier

★ Willys MB Jeep

'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.

'The Forgotten War' Exhibition

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 between the Burma Star Association (BSA).

The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum

The Museum covers the history of the East Anglian Regiments^[1] and the Royal Anglian Regiment^[2] since the amalgamations of the former County Regiments (ten Counties of East Anglia and the East Midlands) from 1958-60.

The Naval Collection

The display has the following exhibits;


★ Armstrong Whitworth Sea Hawk

★ de Havilland Sea Vixen

★ Westland Wessex

★ Westland Wasp

★ Fairey Firefly

★ Fairey Gannet AS6

★ Fairey Swordfish

★ de Havilland Sea Venom

★ X-Craft Midget Submarine

★ HM Coastal Motor Boat 4

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 actually ridden. 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:

★ Royal Anglian Regiment Museum - the history of the local regiment, the Royal Anglian Regiment

★ First World War - a selection of equipment and vehicles used in Europe in the First World War 1914-18

★ North Africa - The Allies efforts in the North Africa campaign

★ The Forgotten War - the Second World War in the Far East, the Pacific and in particular, Burma, also including the allied effort against the Empire of Japan 1941-45

★ The Eastern Front - The Soviet Union's struggle against Germany in the Second World War

★ The Normandy experience - D-Day landing, and northern France 1944-45

★ The "Monty" exhibition - dedicated to the military career of Bernard Montgomery

★ The Northern Ireland troubles

★ Aden

★ British Army of the Rhine

★ The Korean War - Britain's contribution to the Korean War

★ The Cold War - British equipment during the cold war, including Nuclear deterant

★ The Falklands War

★ The First Gulf War and Second Gulf War

★ United Nations peace-keeping contributions
Some of the vehicles and weapons on display include:

★ Sherman Tank

★ Centurion Tank

★ Ferret armoured car

★ Sexton Self propelled gun

★ Nebelwerfer

★ Llyod Carrier

★ Willys Jeep

★ Valentine Tank

★ German Hetzer Tank Destroyer

★ Replica German Tiger Tank

★ Amphibious "Duck"

★ Schwimmwagen

★ Soviet T-72 Tank

★ Comet tank

★ Vickers Tank

★ FWD General Service Truck

★ Little John nuclear missile launcher
The site has a nice train which drives around the site

Site history

Main articles: 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 USAAF

After the war

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, 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.

Image gallery

See also

★ Thin-shell structure

★ Flying Legends

External links

★ Cambridge American war memorial and cemetery

★ View from Google map

References

★ Official Duxford Aviation Museum website

★ Official Imperial War Museum website

★ Literature in the museum itself.