Collections Archive - RAF Museum

Miles Magister

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 15:25:25 +0000

The Miles M14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft which was used in large numbers by the RAF and other friendly air forces. Around 1,200 were produced until 1941. A great design and loved by its pilots, the Magister has always stayed in the shadow of the better-know de Havilland Tiger Moth.

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Westland Lysander

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 15:25:34 +0000

The Lysander was originally designed for Army Co-operation duties including artillery spotting and reconnaissance. However, its lasting fame is not in this role, but as a Special Duties aircraft ferrying Allied agents in and out of enemy occupied Europe. Despite some notable successes, the Army Co-operation units suffered extremely high casualties – over 170 Lysanders were sent to France in 1939 and only 50 came back. Following their withdrawal from France, Lysanders patrolled the coastal areas of south and east England as an anti-invasion reconnaissance measure and later, began air-sea rescue duties in the Channel and North Sea.

The Museum’s example, serial number R9125 first became operational with No. 225 Squadron in 1940 as a coastal patrol and photo reconnaissance aircraft, based along the south coast of England. It took on the Special Duties role with No. 161 Squadron in 1944 and was operational for a further two years until they became obsolete from the RAF in 1946.

Our Lysander Mk III (SD) is the only surviving Special Duties variant of its type. It has recently been restored to its former glory through a lengthy conservation process including a new fabric outer skin and complete repaint in the Museum’s Michael Beetham Conservation Centre. The Lysander is now painted in No. 161 Squadron Special Ops colour scheme, reflecting its service towards the end of the war in non-operational special transport services.

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Hawker Hunter F Mk4 (Nose Only)

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Hawker Hunter F Mk.4 was the first major version of the aircraft and the first that could carry drop tanks or bombs on under-wing pylons. A total of 365 F Mk. 4s were produced, with production split between Hawker’s factories at Kingston and Blackpool. The first Hunter F Mk.4 made its maiden flight in October 1954 and in March the following year the F.4 was issued to the Air Fighting Development Unit and Nos.54 and 111 Squadrons became the first operation units to receive the new aircraft. The variant equipped 13 German based RAF day fighter/ground attack squadrons plus 9 others in Fighter Command, including the Museum’s example (Hawker Hunter F Mk. 4 XE670).

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Daimler Ferret Scout Car Mk 2/3 1952–1980s

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Ferret was used in most parts of world, proving to be particularly popular as it was very easy to maintain in combat conditions. The RAF first used the armoured car in the Radfan area of Aden near Yemen during operations in the 1960s. Later the Ferret was used by the RAF Regiment to protect Harrier sites.
This example was restored at RAF Northolt using parts from several vehicles.

Dimensions Length 3.38m /11ft 1in.
Width 1.9m / 6ft 3in.
Type Four-wheel-drive armoured scout car
Engine 129bhp Rolls-Royce B60 Mk 6A petrol
Road speed 58 mph / 93km/h
Range 186 miles / 300km
Armament One 7.62mm /0.3in. machine gun. Three smoke dischargers on either side of the hull.

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McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG1 (Nose Only)

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

One of the most successful and widely-used warplanes of all time, originally designed to meet a US Navy requirement for a supersonic two-seat carrier-borne air defence fighter, the Phantom first flew in May 1958 and entered US Navy service in July 1961. In all, 5,195 were built until May 1981, the last under licence in Japan; 170 were built to British contracts. Many American examples saw combat in Vietnam. The example on display at Cosford (Phantom FG1 XV591) is one of 48 production Phantom FG1 aircraft purchased for British service, 20 for the RAF initially and 24 of the remainder, including XV591, for the Royal Navy.

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The Falklands Chapel

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In 1983, shortly after the Falklands Conflict, a suggestion was made to re-work a shipping container into a chapel for the island’s airfield at RAF Stanley. It replaced a cold, leaky tent which had been serving as the RAF Church. The altar cross was made from the brass from an Argentinian shell-case.

The Chapel is on display in Hangar 6.

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Member’s Uniform, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Members of the WAAC were attached to the Royal Flying Corps for duties ranging from clerical work to simple aircraft servicing. This uniform belonged to a Domestic Worker, shown by the red stripe in her shoulder straps

This object is on display in the The First World War in the Air 1914–1918 exhibition in Hangar 2.

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Baron von Richthofen’s Blue Dog

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This tiny glass mascot belonged to Manfred von Richthofen – the Red Baron. He owned a Great Dane called Moritz who he described as ‘the most beautiful being in all creation’.
The Red Baron was the most successful Ace of the First World War with 80 aerial victories. On 21 April 1918, he was engaged in combat against Sopwith Camels of No. 209 Squadron when he was shot and killed by ground fire. Such was his fame that, when his aircraft came down in Allied lines, it was plundered for souvenirs.

The mascot is on loan from Baron Donat von Richthofen and is on display in our The First World War in the Air 1914–1918 exhibition in Hangar 2.

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Hucks Starter

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Hucks Starter was invented by Captain Bentfield Charles Hucks and introduced to RAF service just after the First World War. It enabled two men to start an engine from cold in 30 seconds and was far safer than the earlier method of swinging the propeller by hand. The signage is for the Grahame White Aviation Company based at The London Aerodrome – now home to the RAF Museum London.
This example is a restoration using original pieces from several vehicles and some newly built bodywork.It is on display in the War in the Air 1918–1980 exhibition in Hangar 3.

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Air Mechanic’s Tropical Working Dress, Royal Naval Air Service

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Photographs of the time suggest that comfort and convenience was far more important than neatness and elegance when working in hot climates. Most of this uniform belonged to Air Mechanic 1st Class George Lloyd Carter who served as an Air Frame Fitter in southern Italy and Mudros in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This item is on display in The First World War in the Air 1914–1918 exhibition in Hangar 2.

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Oil Painting ‘Noon’

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In this oil painting by Emile Antoine Verpilleux, a Royal Flying Corps wireless operator gathers intelligence by listening to messages sent from an aircraft observing the accuracy of a gun battery. On the right, an officer with a megaphone is passing the corrections to the gun’s crew and to the left an officer is marking targets on a map.

This painting is on display in the The First World War in the Air 1914–1918 exhibition in Hangar 2.

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Corporal Cliff Moon’s UN Beret

Tue, 07 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Cliff Moon joined the RAF aged 16 and trained as a Survival Equipment Fitter, known in the service as a Squipper. During the 1991 Gulf War, Cliff helped set up the nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) protection and decontamination facilities at Dharhan in Saudi Arabia. He also deployed to Ploce in Croatia as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force and undertook tours in Northern Ireland and Saudi Arabia where he supported no-fly zone operations over Southern Iraq.
‘It was a great honour really, to be given a United Nations beret … [to] go out there and protect people.’

The beret is on display in our RAF in an Age of Uncertainty exhibition in Hangar 6.

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Ejection Seat, Martin Baker Mk 2

Tue, 07 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The cartridge powered Mk 2 was the first Martin Baker seat to offer automatic release. After the seat had left the aircraft a drogue would fire deploying the parachute and separating the occupant from the seat even if they were unconscious. Anyone whose life has been saved by a Martin-Baker seat is offered membership of the Ejection Tie Club: by 2018 there were over 6000 members.

The Mk 2 seat was fitted to a number of RAF aircraft in the 1950s. This Mk 2E was fitted to a Gloster Meteor. It is on display in the RAF Stories The First 100 Years 1918-2018 exhibition in Hangar 1.

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Vickers Wild Goose Wind Tunnel Model

Tue, 07 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Wild Goose project was developed to explore the advantages of variable-geometry or swing-wing aircraft. Sweeping wings backwards improved an aircraft’s shape for travelling at high speed.
The aircraft was tested using unmanned models. These models were launched from a trolley and controlled by radio. Dr Barnes Wallis its designer who had previously invented the bouncing bomb reportedly claimed that more time was spent on designing the control system for the models than on the design for the aircraft itself.
Wild Goose was never fully realised but its swing-wing concept continued to playa part in future aircraft designs.

It is currently on display in the RAF – First to the Future exhibition in Hangar 1.”

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Group Captain Bob Iveson’s Mk 10 Immersion Suit

Tue, 07 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Bob Iveson’s father was in the RAF and this inspired his interest to fly. He received an RAF flight scholarship and gained his private pilot’s license before joining the service. Bob converted to flying Harriers in the early 1970s and deployed to the South Atlantic flying operations over the Falklands from HMS Hermes in 1982.
Immersion suits were worn by pilots in case they had to eject over water. Bob was shot down during a low-level ground attack. He ejected from his aircraft and evaded capture before being rescued.
‘It was pretty hairy because I’d never seen that much tracer and flak going off in the air’.
Bob later converted to Tornados and commanded No. 617 Squadron during the 1991 Gulf War. He retired from the RAF in 1999.

His immersion suit is on display in the RAF in an Age of Uncertainty exhibition in Hangar 6.

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