Category: UK Aviation Museum News

Date: 10 March 2016

Time: 6.30pm

Cost: FREE

The role of No. 617 Squadron, Royal Air Force, better known as the ‘Dam Busters’ will be the focus of a lecture taking place at the University of Wolverhampton next month. The lecture entitled ‘Planned Development or Haphazard Evolution? No. 617 Squadron, 1943-45′ will be presented by Dr Robert Owen, the Official Historian of the No. 617 Squadron Association. The lecture is a continuation of the joint partnership between the University’s Department of War Studies and the Royal Air Force Museum and takes place on Thursday 10 March 2016.

In this lecture, Dr Robert Owen will discuss the backstory to the units operations during the Second World War and the decision to keep them in existence as a precision-bombing unit. For the remainder of the Second World War, they carried out precision attacks using new and unconventional weapons, culminating with Barnes Wallis’s deep penetration bombs, ‘Tallboy’ and ‘Grand Slam’.

Many of the Squadron’s eventual operations emerged as the result of an inability to execute initial planning due to unrealistic expectations of weapon performance, delays in the development of a new weapons and political intervention. The Squadron played a major role in the assessment of weapons, equipment and new techniques and were often given alternative targets, taking advantage of their capabilities and to address specific issues. During its comparatively short period of active service No. 617 won 2 Victoria Crosses and more than 150 other decorations.

The numerous accounts written detailing the Squadron’s history fail to take into account many of the factors that determined its role and concentrate on the operational record and the weapons used. The result is a distorted and incomplete perception of the Squadron’s development and a misconception of its full contribution to the bomber offensive.

This lecture will identify the various policy and decision making bodies and examine their role in selecting weapons and targets for the Squadron. It will explore the issues which determined the role played by the Squadron, including changes in Air Staff policy for Bomber Command, choice of targets, the development and production of weapons and tactical requirements. Comparison is made between the planners’ original intentions for the Squadron and the final operational record.

The Trenchard Lectures in Air Power Studies form part of the RAF Museum’s Research Programme for 2016. ‘Planned Development or Haphazard Evolution? No.617 Squadron, 1943-45′, is the first of three joint lectures taking place at the University of Wolverhampton this year.

Dr Ross Mahoney, RAF Museum Aviation Historian said:

“The RAF Museum is once again delighted to be working in conjunction with our colleague at the University of Wolverhampton to bring the Trenchard Lectures in Air Power Studies to a wide audience. The year’s first lecture is about one of the RAF’s most famous units, the Dambusters. The lecture will highlight No. 617’s development beyond the famous Dams raids of 1943 and open up a new understanding of the Squadron’s contribution to the Second World War.”

Dr Peter Preston-Hough of the university’s Department of War Studies said:

“We’re delighted to be part of this prestigious series of lectures, which promises to provide an interesting insight into this area of history.”

This FREE lecture will be held in the main lecture theatre (MC001) at the University of Wolverhampton at 6.30pm on Thursday 10 March. As spaces are limited, organisers advise visitors to book their tickets in advance via the museum’s website to avoid disappointment.

For further information about the museums research programme or to book your FREE ticket to the lecture, please visit the museum website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford.

Date: 5 March 2016

Time: Talk 1 – 11.30am

          Talk 2 – 2.15pm

Cost: FREE

The Supermarine Spitfire, the most famous British fighter aircraft in historyfirst took to the skies on 5 March 1936 and won immortal fame throughout the summer months of 1940 by helping to defeat the German air attacks during the Battle of Britain.The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be marking eighty years since the first flight of the Spitfire on Saturday 5 March 2016, with a day of special talks.

The talks will pay tribute to Spitfire creator RJ Mitchell CBE and Vickers Supermarine test pilot Alex Henshaw MBE and the men of the Battle of Britain.

In the first talk entitled ‘R. J. Mitchell CBE, the Spitfire and the Battle of Britain . . .Their Finest Hour’,Tony tells thestory of Staffordshire born R. J. Mitchell CBE, the creator of Britain’s most iconic aircraft and some of the men who flew Spitfires in the Battle of Britain. The Spitfire, an evolution from the Schneider Trophy Races, first flew in 1936, remained in production through the 1940s and in service throughout the 1950s. Hear stories from some of the men who fought the Battle of Britain, including a distinguished Luftwaffe ace in interviews recorded with Tony. The talk will commence at 11.30am lasting approximately one hour.

The second talk of the day entitled ‘Alex Henshaw MBE. . .The Flight of the Mew Gull and Sigh for a Merlin’includes video footage of Alex Henshaw telling his own story. He won the King’s Cup Air Race and achieved a record-breaking solo flight from London to Cape Town and back in four and a half days with just a compass, a chronometer and a set of maps – a record unbeaten for more than 70 years. He served throughout the war as Chief Production Test Pilot for Vickers Supermarine, personally testing more than 2,000 Spitfires and the occasional Lancaster at both Southampton and Castle Bromwich (now the Jaguar factory). He finished his flying career marketing aircraft in South Africa where he flew his last epic flight. During the video footage, Alex recallsmemories of his heroic tales includingflying an aircraft down the centre of Broad Street in Birmingham when asked by the Mayor. The talk will commence at 2.15pm lasting approximately an hour and 15 minutes.

The talks will be presented by Tony Edwards, a friend of Alex Henshaw. Tony has enjoyed a comprehensive career within the aerospace industry, commercially, within the Ministry of Defence and Academia. He is a keen supporter of the Royal Air Force Museum and a former Trustee.

Both talks will take place in the museum’s lecture theatre inside the National Cold War Exhibition and are suitable for all ages.

Don’t forget, thatof the 1,566 Spitfire I’s that were built, the RAF Museum Cosford is home to the world’s oldest surviving example of its type. Especially for this 80th anniversary event, the canopy will be opened and visitors can get an up-close view of the cockpit. The Spitfire is displayed alongside the Hurricane in the Museum’s War in the Air hangar and viewing will be available all day.

The Museum is open daily from 10am and entry is FREE of charge. To book your place on the FREE talks, please visit the Museums website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford.

Date: 13-14 May 2016

Time: 6.00pm to 9.00pm

Cost: £12.50 per person

Aviation fans are being given the chance to climb on board a selection of historic aircraft and sit in the pilot’s seat during an ‘Open Cockpits Evening’ event taking place at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. The event which runs on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 May will offer 300 visitors each evening the rare opportunity to step inside some of the world’s most iconic aircraft, including two research jets which have never been opened to visitors before.

Visitors can experience what it feels like to sit inside a military aircraft that’s seen action around the world and marvel at the advanced technologies on unique airframes. So whether it’s a fast jet to spark interest in the younger generation, or a nostalgic wartime aircraft that brings back memories with older visitors, with the mix of aircraft available there is something to please everyone.

Confirmed aircraft include the never before opened English Electric P1A. This experimental aircraft was the basis for the RAF’s front line fighter, the English Electric (later BAC) Lightning and was the first and only truly supersonic aircraft developed by Britain on her own. This radical and far sighted design was considered so novel there were concerns as to whether it could succeed. The museum’s example is the first of two prototypes built to test the 60 degree sweepback wing and the low position tail plane, a concept that was later confirmed. The P1A exceeded the speed of sound in level flight, achieving in excess of Mach 2.0 and went on to become the RAF’s front line fighter, staying in service for nearly three decades.

Also new to the event list is the Fairey Delta 2 (FD2), one of only two FD2S ever built. Devised in response to Britain trailing behind in supersonic aircraft design during the late 1940s, the Ministry of Supply issued a specification for a supersonic research aircraft. Fairey set about meeting this with a single-seat, delta-winged aircraft powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon engine with an afterburner and called it the FD2. To improve the pilot’s forward view during landing, taxiing and take-off, the aircraft had a unique feature whereby the cockpit and nose section could be hinged downwards by ten degrees. In March 1956 the FD2 broke the World Air Speed Record reaching speeds of 1132mph, breaking the record by 300mph set by an American F100 Super Sabre the year before.

This May will be the first time Visitors at Cosford have been able to get on board both the P1A and the FD2 and organisers are confident they will be popular with aviation fans wanting a closer inspection. Visitors to ‘Open Cockpits Evening’ can also view inside the cockpit of the British Aircraft Corporation TSR2 – one of the most exciting and controversial British combat aircraft designs of the 1960s. Plus, the giant Short Brothers Belfast, a long-range, strategic RAF transport aircraft weighing over 56 tonnes when empty, will be opened up for visitors along with the Handley Page Hastings and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis to name but a few.

RAF Museum Cosford Event Manager, Abi Betteridge said:

“Events like this make a visit to the museum extra special as it’s such a unique opportunity to have access inside military aircraft. To make sure visitors get the most out of the event, we have a fantastic team of Volunteers on hand to answer any questions they may have. We have also added two new aircraft to the list, along with some that haven’t been open for a number of years, so there is something new and exciting for our repeat visitors.”

‘Open Cockpits Evening’ is part of ‘The Museums at Night’ cultural event, an annual international event where hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites across Europe open their doors to the public for special after hours events. Visitors will have exclusive after-hours access to the museum which displays a collection of over 75 aircraft, military vehicles, engines and aviation artefacts within three wartime hangars and the National Cold War Exhibition.

Tickets are now available to purchase through the museum’s website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford and cost £12.50 per person which includes parking. Minimum height restrictions of 1.07 metres will apply. The Museum will close at 5.00pm both days, however the Visitor Centre and Refuel Restaurant will remain open for visitors attending the evening event which commences at 6.00pm and finishes at 9.00pm.

Tickets for a second Open Cockpits Evening taking place in September which will feature a different collection of aircraft to the May event are also on sale via the Museum website.