Archive for April, 2020

Newark Air Museum ATC Plane Build Competition

Wednesday, April 29th, 2020

ATC Plane Build Competition

Prompted by a tweet from 2195 Squadron Long Eaton Royal Air Force Cadets the Newark Air Museum has decided to re-work our build a model plane competition from the Radio Nottingham Big Day In event last weekend.

The museum is now going to try to reach out to Air Training Corps (ATC) Squadrons and cadets across the country to ask them to build their favourite museum aircraft or helicopter out of from recycled materials such as paper, cardboard, loo rolls, sticky back plastic etc.

Once it’s completed entrants will need to take a picture of the finished model and get their ATC Squadron to tweet it on the museum’s Twitter timeline @NewarkAirMus using the hash tag #NAMplaneBuildATC

The competition will close at 5pm on Saturday 16th May 2020; when the museum will then pick its favourite models.

As an incentive the museum is providing prizes of two FREE museum visits (for when it re-opens) for the ATC Squadrons that produces the best design, for up to 20 cadets, officers and civilian instructors per Squadron.

As an added incentive the museum has also add a prize of two £30 vouchers to spend in the Museum Shop for the Cadets that produce the winning design.

The museum would also like to say thank you to 2195 Sqn Long Eaton Royal Air Force Air Cadets for allowing them to use their photo!

www.newarkairmuseum.org

National Military Service Museums join forces to bring nation together (at home) in Virtual VE Day Festival

Tuesday, April 28th, 2020

VE Day Celebration

•  Tri-service museums host Virtual VE Day 75 Festival from 7-9 May 2020
•  Joint Command? Debunking the myths behind the Navy, Army and Air Force roles as they vied for victory 75 years ago
•  Free virtual events bring WW2 to life, for the nation at home

Tuesday, 28 April 2020 – The three historical institutions of the British Armed Forces invite the public to ‘stand with your services’ to celebrate 75 years since VE Day on Friday 8 May. The National Museum of the Royal Navy, National Army Museum and Royal Air Force Museum are hosting their first tri-service celebration with the Virtual VE Day 75 Festival taking place online from Thursday 7 May to Saturday 9 May 2020, inclusive.

In a way that the British do so well, the three museums of the Armed Forces will keep calm and carry on with their Virtual VE Day 75 Festival to replace individual pre-Covid ambitions for marking this important anniversary. The service museums encourage members of the public to come together, while staying at home, in conjunction with the government’s communications to ‘stay home and save lives’.

The virtual programme kicks off on Thursday 7 May, the date of Germany’s unconditional surrender, with ‘Vying for Victory: Britain’s Navy, Army and Air Force in Myth and Memory’. Chaired by historian and broadcaster, James Holland, this will see each museum fight their corner, discussing the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force’s respective roles during the closing stages of the Second World War. This free event will be broadcast on YouTube at 5pm on Thursday 7 May, followed by a live Q&A on CrowdCast at 7pm.

The Second World War was the first major conflict which saw the implementation of a truly joint operations and command. This involved three different services with three different sets of traditions, cultures and experiences. Leading military historians, Matthew Sheldon (National Museum of the Royal Navy); Dr Peter Johnson (National Army Museum) and Dr Harry Raffal (Royal Air Force Museum); will explore how each of the services has cemented its own contribution in myth, tradition and popular culture and question the accuracy of that representation via the highs and lows of this unique working relationship.

On Friday 8 May, members of the public are invited to get their gardens and homes decorated and prepare for a VE Day party. Enjoy learning about life on the Home Front, get thrifty with a Make Do and Mend session, and learn how to dig for victory. Discover some of the experiences of Women in War with poignant stories from the each of the museums’ archives. Such as that from Dorrie Thomas, who served as a Telegraphist in the Women’s Royal Navy Service and sent news of peace in Europe to members of the British Naval Fleet.

Historian and author, James Holland will speak to the National Army Museum’s Dr Peter Johnston at 2pm in a live webinar discussing ‘Why the Allies Won’, just before the nation tunes into the BBC to hear Churchill’s famous VE Day broadcast at 3pm. Victory celebrations commence at 4pm with a live Swing Dance Class followed by a sing-along concert with the Bluebird Belles.

Saturday 9 May brings living history to living rooms with reenactors sharing stories from real service personnel during the Second World War. Dr Peter Johnston takes a live webinar with historian Dr Jonathan Fennell on ‘Fighting the People’s War’, and an immersive walk-through of HMS Alliance will provide an insight into the extraordinary self-isolation experience of submariners as the rest of Europe celebrated.

Defence Minister Baroness Goldie said, “As plans for VE Day 75 have been forced to change hugely due to the pandemic, this imaginative and innovative virtual festival will provide a much-needed distraction in these uncertain times. This is a chance to rediscover the Second World War and will be a poignant reminder for us all of the sacrifice our Armed Forces made in honour of King and country.

“The cooperation of these three historic institutions is a fantastic achievement and will ensure that all generations are aware of the importance of VE Day and the unforgettable impact of events which took place 75 years ago.”

The museums are encouraging those joining to share pictures on social media with the hashtag #StandWithYourServices

www.rafmuseum.org

Yellow Sun Tail Cone Project at Newark

Wednesday, April 15th, 2020

Vulcan Yellow Sun

In autumn 2019, Philip Wardell, a volunteer at the Newark Air Museum (NAM) started work on the challenging task of constructing a replica tail cone for a Yellow Sun nuclear weapon casing.

The Yellow Sun was the first British operational high-yield strategic nuclear weapon. This particular casing has been on long term loan at Newark from the RAF Museum Reserve Collection at RAF Stafford since April 2012 and has been displayed on a Yellow Sun weapon trolley that was already part of the NAM collection.

The first sign of work on the project, was when a set of concentric wooden formers were first cut in the museum’s on-site workshop in October 2019. Since then, the replica tail cone has grown steadily in size and detail; often attracting lots of ribald comments from other museum volunteers.

A trial fitting of the replica tail cone to the weapon casing took place in mid-November, using the original fixing points on the casing to secure the tail cone in place. Once this fixing concept and sizing were proven work proceeded over the winter on riveting the metal coverings and tail fins in place.

The final fixing and repainting session for the tail cone took place just before the museum closed for the Covid-19 lockdown, and it now awaits inspection by visitors when the museum is allowed to reopen.

Phil’s original aim was to have the project completed in time for the Cold War Call Up event that was scheduled to take place in mid-May. Whilst this event was sadly cancelled, Phil completed the project ahead of schedule. It is understood that he may be undertaking a similar construction project next winter, to build a replica tail cone for the V-1 Flying Bomb (Doodlebug) remains that are displayed in Hangar 1 at the museum’s site in north eastern Nottinghamshire.

www.newarkairmuseum.org

Cockpit-Fest 2020 and Aeroboot Postponed

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

Newark Cockpit Fest 2020

Yesterday morning (07.04.20) to help some international participants not lose money on travel arrangements; we have taken a decision to postpone the Cockpit-Fest 2020 and Aeroboot event in June.

This two-day event was due to take place on 20 & 21 June, 2020.

One possibility that we are looking at is to re-arrange these combined events for Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August, 2020.

At the moment this is not a firm date and a lot will still depend on when the current lockdown arrangements are lifted. However, we would welcome your thoughts and feedback via the usual communication routes on here or social media

We are sorry for any inconvenience these changes may cause, especially to those people and groups who have been working on preparations on their displays for this event for many months. This includes external participants and our own museum members who have been working tirelessly on many different aircraft and projects like the Yellow Sun rebuild; but we feel that this is the right decision.

We will be communicating directly with everyone who had already made a commitment to the events.

www.newarkairmuseum.org