Army Flying Museum - Bigger & Better

The newly renovated Army Flying Museum held its official re-opening yesterday with their patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent as guest of honour.

HRH Prince Michael of Kent on stage speaking to an audience — HRH Prince Michael of Kent

I wrote about the changes in March, but this event gave me a chance to actually see the new facilities and exhibits… and there’s a lot to see.

As Susan Lindsay, the Museum’s Curator told me…

…the museum hadn’t been updated since the eighties and it needed to better meet the expectations of today’s visitors and to represent the more recent of the five elements of Army aviation.

A RFC Sopwith Pup (Swipe left or click arrow for more…

Grey twin-engined military version of the commercial regional turboprop

Islander AL Mk1. The Army Air crew had seven Islanders. They were used for transporting staff & materials in Northern Ireland and Balkan campaigns

Small single-propeller light aircraft with D-Day B/W invasion stripes painted on the wingson

The Auster AOP Mk5 used for artillery spotting and observation

The L-19 Bird Dog, a Korean war upgrade on the Auster

Gazelle AH Mk1 was used for observation, spotting, evacuation & supplies. This one was flown by HRH Prince Edward during training

What are those elements? Well it starts with the Army’s need to spot for artillery and the birth of the Royal Engineers Balloon Corps. Then there was Air Observation Post Squadrons (AOP) and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), which of course morphed into the RAF in 1918. With WW2 there came the Glider Pilot Regiment, and more recently (1957+) the Army Air Corps – a throwback to the offensive role of the RFC.

It’s the Army Air Corps (one of their bases, AAC Middle Wallop, is right next door to the museum) and its more recent aircraft such as the Bell 212 and Lynx that the museum update has been focusing on.

Modern grey & green helicopter with rocket pods — The Lynx AH Mk7, a really good all-rounder for observation, evacuation, air supply and ground attack, was finally retired last year

I think the Glider Pilot Regiment gallery is particularly interesting. There were WW2 operations that I didn’t know anything about, and I’ve never seen a Hotspur glider before.

A large wooden glider in brown and green camouflage with yellow undersides, suspended from the museum roof

Hotspur glider trainer (Swipe left or click arrow for more…)

View from starboard quarter of a large wooden glider in brown and green camouflage with yellow undersides, suspended from the museum roof.

Over 1,000 Hotspur gliders were built, mostly by furniture manufacturers, and served for a decade from 1940

A glider pilot (manneken) with a red army beret sits in the cockpit of a glider

The cockpit of a Horsa glider (replica)

It went into service in 1940, but it had already been realised it was too small for operations and so became the trainer for the regiment.

Flying Oddities

The museum also has some flying oddities, including early military ‘drones’ from the 1970s, and autogyros dating back to WW2. One of them, the Rotabuggy, a sort of flying jeep, was an attempt to find a clever way to transport vehicles into the combat zone by air. It didn’t get beyond the early trials. It was too unstable!

What looks like a jeep with rotor blades

he ‘Rotabuggy’ autogyro was designed in 1944 to be towed into battle like a glider (Swipe left or click arrow for more…)

Two experimental analogue UAVs from the 1970s – the Wisp on the left, and the Wideye

A soldier sits in a metal frame with rotors above and a small yellow fuselage

Hafner Rotachute III was designed to perform as a parachute at a time (1940) when there was a shortage of silk.

The Army Aviation Archive

In addition to the new layouts, signage, AV presentations, and aircraft, the renovation has included an upgrade for the archive – more space, and a proper, temperature & humidity controlled room. The Army Flying Museum archive includes unit and personnel records, manuals, photographs and other materials.