Plans are underway at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands* for the wing section of an iconic Second World War Dornier Do 17 to go on public display in early 2025. Salvaged after more than 70 years submerged beneath the waters of the Goodwin Sands, this unique...
You could say, the Newark Aviation Museum is having a bit of a lie down! The museum has just been loaned the extraordinary Gloster Meteor F8 Prone, which has been on display at the RAF Museum, Cosford* for many years. The Meteor F8 Prone was built in...
Remember those times when you had to dust the Airfix models suspended from your bedroom ceiling, without breaking anything or dislodging them and sending them plummeting to the floor? Well, at it’s pretty much the same thing at the RAF Museum Midlands (Cosford)… only on a larger...
Bicester Heritage’s Flywheel, a 2-day festival of classic vehicles and historic aircraft, will have a special visitor this year. The sole-surviving airworthy Bristol Blenheim L6739 will be leading the aviation display on their grass airfield. Bicester Heritage is a collection of 50 different businesses specialising in historic...
IWM Duxford opened a new temporary exhibition last week (27 Dec) highlighting the role Hawker Hurricanes played during WW2. Hurricane: Unsung Hero features seven aircraft – quite a significant gathering considering there are now only 14 airworthy Hawker Hurricanes in the world. They include four Hurricane Mk...
The Royal Air Force Museum has been awarded investment funds from The National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund for its Inspiring Everyone: RAF Museum Midlands Development Programme. The programme is designed to enhance visitor engagement at its RAF Cosford site in the Midlands*, with an immersive exhibition area...
The twin-engine Bristol Blenheim was the RAF’s primary light bomber at the start of WW2. This one, a Blenheim IV, is on display at the RAF museum in Hendon. (When we can get to see it!) The Bristol Blenheim – or ‘Bolingbroke’ if you were flying the...
You’ve gotta love it! What a spectacular piece of engineering the Napier Sabre is! At least, what a spectacular engineering concept. Sadly its early iterations at the start of WW2 weren’t always the finest examples of engineering quality control when they went into production. So they weren’t...
It’s been a few years since I last visited the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon, North London, and I certainly haven’t visited since the recent Lottery Heritage funded re-development for the 100th Anniversary of the RAF this year. Ridiculous really, since I live in North London!...
I’d always been aware of the Messerschmitt 410 but had ‘parked’ it in my mind as a mostly developmental aircraft with low numbers going into production for specialised roles, and that’s the way I still thought of it when I found this one a few years ago...
The French town of Saint Omer in the Pas-de-Calais, is marking its role in the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the RAF, with a guided tour of the local sites linked to the famous WW2 fighter ace and double-amputee, Group Captain Douglas Bader. The name Douglas...
The Royal Air Force (RAF) may be British, but the French consider it a dual-citizen since it was born during World War One in the Pas-de-Calais, and they too are celebrating its 100th Anniversary with special exhibitions and a Douglas Bader trail. The RAF was formed in...
The Vulcan to the Sky Trust is inviting the public to add their names to Avro Vulcan XH558 – the longest serving Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber, and the last to fly. It’s a time-limited opportunity for anyone to place their chosen name on a set of...
This is one of the latest variations of Supermarine Spitfire and this particular one was built right at the end of WW2, in June 1945. Spitfire TE462 can be found on static display at The National Museum of Flight, Scotland. Truthfully, she’s my least favourite version of...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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