Royal Air Force Museum Midlands

The Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, located in Cosford in Shropshire, is a free museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and also a registered charity.^[2] The museum is spread over two sites in England; the other site is at the Royal Air Force Museum London at Colindale (near Hendon) in north London.

Royal Air Force Museum Midlands

Location within Shropshire
Former name	Royal Air Force Museum Cosford
Established	1 May 1979 (1979-05-01)
Location	RAF Cosford, Shropshire
Coordinates	52.644°N 2.3115°W / 52.644; -2.3115
Type	Aviation museum
Visitors	382,831 (2022)[1]
Website	www.rafmuseum.org.uk

History

The London museum was officially opened at the Colindale (then part of Hendon) London site on 15 November 1972 by Queen Elizabeth II. The hangars housed just 36 aircraft at opening. Over the years, the collection increased and aircraft were stored at RAF stations around the country when they were not on display to the public.

On 1 May 1979, the Cosford site was opened at RAF Cosford, one of the RAF stations which had been used to store the museum's collection of aircraft. On opening, the museum initially exhibited airframes which had been used for technical training at RAF Cosford. In the following years additional aircraft were added to the collection, and in 1980 it was agreed that the British Airways Collection be displayed at Cosford. On 21 June 1998 four additional galleries were opened, housing art, temporary exhibitions and other aviation subjects. 13 May 2002 saw the relocation of the RAF Museum Conservation Centre from Cardington, Bedfordshire to Cosford. The centre, costing £2.4 million, was opened by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham.^[3]

The Cosford site includes several developmental aircraft such as those that led to the English Electric Lightning and the second prototype of the BAC TSR-2. A lot of the aircraft are very rare, such as the only Boulton Paul Defiant in the world and one of only two surviving Vickers Wellingtons left in the world.

The first director of the museum was Dr John Tanner who retired in 1987. In 1988 Dr Michael A Fopp (who had previously directed the London Transport Museum) was appointed and was Director General of all three sites covered by the museum until his retirement in 2010.

The site can be reached by public transport via the neighbouring Cosford railway station on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line.

British Airways collection

The National Cold War Exhibition

In 1980, the Cosford site agreed to house the British Airways Museum collection. In 2006 British Airways withdrew funding from the collection, after which the RAF Museum did not take on the costs of maintaining the aircraft. Several of the jet airliners were subsequently broken up, including the only Boeing 707 that was preserved in the UK, a Vickers VC10 and a Hawker Siddeley Trident.

National Cold War Exhibition

The National Cold War Exhibition opened at Cosford in February 2007. The exhibition houses the museum's V bombers and other Cold War aircraft in a newly constructed 8,000m² exhibition building designed by architects Fielden Clegg Bradley.^[4] The exhibition concept and design was developed by Neal Potter and includes 'silo theatres' which depict, in a variety of media, the key tensions of the Cold War period.

Aircraft on display

Main article: List of aircraft at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands

Engines on display

The Cosford museum houses a large collection of aero engines; the majority are located in Hangar 1, and a small side room of this hangar contains a display of rocket engines.

Alvis Leonides Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah XV Armstrong Siddeley Civet Armstrong Siddeley Mamba Armstrong Siddeley Stentor Bentley BR2 Blackburn Cirrus Major Bristol Thor Bristol Siddeley 605 Bristol Stentor Daimler-Benz DB 610 de Havilland Gipsy de Havilland Gipsy Queen de Havilland Spectre de Havilland Double Spectre

de Havilland Super Sprite General Electric T700 Junkers Jumo 004 Junkers Jumo 205 Lycoming O-360 Nakajima Sakae Napier Lion Power Jets W.2 Pratt & Whitney R-985 Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Renault 70 hp Rolls-Royce Avon Rolls-Royce Dart Rolls-Royce Conway Rolls-Royce Derwent

Rolls-Royce Olympus Rolls-Royce Viper Rolls-Royce Spey Rolls-Royce Tyne Rolls-Royce RB108 Rolls-Royce RB162 Rolls-Royce RB.211 Rolls-Royce Kestrel XVI Packard Merlin 28 Rolls-Royce/SNECMA M45H Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Turbo-Union RB199 Walter 109-500 Walter 109–509 Walter 109-739 Wright R-3350

The Rolls-Royce Kestrel on display in the War Planes hangar The Rolls-Royce Conway on display in Hangar 1

Missile collection

The museum holds a large collection of missiles and rocket-powered weapons, including several rare German World War II types. The majority are located in the National Cold War Exhibition, with the German collection on display in Hangar 1.

Australian Government Aircraft Factories Malkara Blohm & Voss BV 246 British Aerospace Rapier Hawker Siddeley SRAAM British Aircraft Corporation Bloodhound British Aerospace Sea Skua British Aircraft Corporation Swingfire British Aircraft Corporation Thunderbird Douglas Thor Douglas Skybolt

Engins Matra AS37 AR Martel Fairey Fireflash Fairey Separation Test Vehicle Fieseler Fi103 (V-1 flying bomb) German Army V-2 Hai Ying 2G Silkworm Hawker Siddeley Blue Steel Hawker Siddeley Firestreak Hawker Siddeley Martel AJ-168

Hawker Siddeley Red Top Henschel Hs 117 'Schmetterling' Henschel Hs 293 Henschel Hs 298 Holzbrau Enzian Lockheed Polaris Nord AS11 Philco-Ford AIM-9B Sidewinder RAF Lightweight Torpedo Mk30 Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow

Rheinmetall Borsig Feuerlilie Rheinmetall Borsig Rheinbote Rheinmetall Borsig Rheintochter Ruhrstahl Kramer X-4 Ruhrstahl AG Fritz X Scheufeln Taifun USA Lightweight Torpedo Mk43 USA Lightweight Torpedo Mk44 Vickers Red Dean

The English Electric Thunderbird surface-to-air missile on display in the National Cold War Exhibition hall

Michael Beetham Conservation Centre

Michael Beetham Conservation Centre

A Sopwith Dolphin under restoration in 2003 with the Miles Mohawk behind

Also on the museum site is the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre. The centre restores aircraft and artefacts for display at both Midlands and London. It is named in honour of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham, GCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, DL and it was opened by him on 13 May 2002.^[3]

Aircraft currently in storage or long-term restoration include:

• Handley Page Hampden
• LVG C.VI
• Dornier Do 17

See also

• List of aerospace museums

References

Notes

1. "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
2. "Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, registered charity no. 244708". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
3. Ellis 2004, p. 179.
4. Spicer, Graham (7 February 2007). "Cold War Exhibition Opens in Spectacular New RAF Cosford Building". www.culture24.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.

Bibliography

• Ellis, Ken. Wrecks and Relics – 19th Edition, Midland Publishing, Hinckley, Leicestershire. 2004. ISBN 1-85780-183-0

External links

• RAF Museum website
• RAF Museum photo website
• Royal Air Force website
• Photo galleries of aircraft at the RAF Museum and a virtual tour of RAF Cosford
• The National Cold War Exhibition
• Churchill: Never in the field of human conflict - UK Parliament Living Heritage