Imperial War Museum Duxford
The Imperial War Museum Duxford is a museum located in Cambridgeshire, England, and commonly referred to simply as 'Duxford' . It is a branch of the Imperial War Museum and houses its large exhibits, including the aircraft and military and naval vehicles collection. The museum has seven main exhibition buildings with nearly 200 military and civil aircraft.
A military airfield during both world wars, 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, 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 airplane 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 airplanes and display teams such as the Red Arrows.
(Ps: below are listed some of the main aircrafts on display)
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, 2008 and has the following exhibitions:
| Bristol F.2 Fighter |
| De Havilland Comet 4 |
| Royal Aircraft Factory 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 |
| British Aircraft Corporation/Aérospatiale 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. 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:
| Bristol F.2 Fighter (First World War) |
| Hawker Hurricane |
| Messerschmitt Bf 109 |
| Supermarine Spitfire |
| Bristol Blenheim |
| Cierva C.30A Autogiro |
| Heinkel He 111 tail fin and engine |
| Fieseler V-1 flying bomb (Fieseler Fi 103) on launch ramp |
| Gloster Meteor |
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:
| SPAF S.XIII |
| Boeing Stearman PT-17 |
| North American Aviation AT-6D Texan |
| Consolidated Aircraft B-24M Liberator |
| North American Aviation P-51D Mustang |
| Douglas Aircraft Company C-47 Skytrain |
| Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress |
| Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt |
| Grumman TBM-3 Avenger |
| Boeing B-29A Superfortress |
| North American Aviation B-25J Mitchell |
| Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird |
| Boeing B-52D Stratofortress |
| Lockheed U-2C |
| North American Aviation F-100D Super Sabre |
| Bell Aircraft UH-1 Iroquois (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 |
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
