Posts Tagged ‘Duxford Imperial War Museum’

Important safety information in advance of The American Air Show this weekend

Wednesday, May 25th, 2016

Ahead of The American Air Show, IWM Duxford has released some important safety information:

· IWM Duxford takes great care to ensure its air shows are as safe as possible for everyone involved.

· It is not safe to occupy the fields immediately south of the runway during the air show. If you do so you are putting yourself and the display pilots in harm’s way.

· In the event of an incident it is imperative that the emergency services have clear, unhindered access to the tracks across this land.

· There is no public access to these fields at any time.

Jointly issued by IWM Duxford, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the owners of this land

www.iwm.org.uk

Duxford’s People in the Battle of Britain at IWM Duxford

Thursday, August 20th, 2015

A new exhibition telling stories of the people who served

Opens to the public on Friday 21 August

Marking the 75th Anniversary, Duxford’s People in the Battle of Britain is a new exhibition which presents the personal experiences and mementoes of seven people who served at RAF Duxford, a pivotal fighter station during the Battle of Britain.

The people represented in the exhibition are David Whitley (Pilot Officer, 264 Squadron), Maria Blewitt (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force), Gordon Sinclair (310 Squadron), Guy Mayfield (Chaplain at RAF Duxford), James Coward (19 Squadron), ‘Woody’ Woodhall (RAF Duxford Station Commander) and Peter Howard-Williams (19 Squadron).*

The exhibition was officially opened today by Chas and Liz Bazeley, cousins of Maria Blewitt and Gordon Sinclair’s son, Alan.

Maria Blewitt was a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force at Duxford. Her letter home to her mother, which features in the exhibition, was written by Maria on 11 September 1940, the day that the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, gave a speech stating:

“‘…a heavy full-scale invasion of this Island is being prepared…it may be launched now… Therefore we must regard the next week or so as a very important period in our history.’

Maria’s letter shows how real and frightening was the threat of imminent invasion. In it, she says: “I have just been listening to Winston. Brilliant, inspiring but just a tiddly bit frightening. He seems quite sure invasion will come within the next week or so. If not I shall be home for 48 hrs on 17th…”

Gordon Sinclair joined 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford on 27 November 1937. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 25 June 1940 and in late June became ‘A’ Flight Commander of 310 (Czech) Squadron, which became operational on 17 August. Gordon Sinclair was awarded the Czech Military Cross on 24 December 1940.

The exhibition also contains transcriptions from the diary of Guy Mayfield, Duxford’s Chaplain during the Battle of Britain. It was to him that pilots would turn when they were feeling the immense pressures of the battle. One diary entry reads:

“19 Squadron were night flying after dinner… [Pilot Officer Horace Trenchard] crashed while we were there…he had crashed at Whittlesford…he was killed at once. Peter appeared with a beer and questions following on Trenchard’s death. It was a relief to be able to talk realistically to him, not about Trenchard, but about the things which we keep concealed for the most part beneath the surface. What happens when you die? Is it wrong to be frightened of dying? How should you live if you are twenty and will be dead by the end of the summer?”

James Coward’s Pilot’s Flying Log Book, in which he recorded every flight he made with beautiful drawings, also features in the exhibition, turned to the page upon which he has drawn an illustration of the flight on which he was shot down and wounded.

Many of these objects on display in the exhibition have not been previously seen by the public.

Alan Sinclair said: “It is wonderful that these personal items are on display. It seems slightly ironic that the last time I saw it [Gordon Sinclair’s flying suit] he was sitting on a lawnmower wearing it.”

Chas Bazeley said: “It is wonderful to see what Maria was involved in during the war and it’s wonderful to know that she has been chosen as the only woman amongst all those handsome chaps. She would be delighted.”

RAF Duxford was pivotal in the Battle of Britain. The first Spitfires flew from Duxford. Douglas Bader was based at RAF Duxford and it was the home of the controversial ‘Big Wing’ flying tactic. It is through the very different personal stories of the men and woman featured in the new Duxford’s People in the Battle of Britain exhibition that we discover what it was like to work and serve at an RAF Fighter Station in the relentlessly demanding days of the Battle of Britain.

Duxford’s People in the Battle of Britain is a contemplative exhibition in which visitors can learn about people who were instrumental at RAF Duxford, before they visit the Battle of Britain Exhibition to view the aircraft that fought the battle from the skies.

Entry is included in general admission to IWM Duxford.

www.iwm.org.uk

IWMs newly-painted North American B-25J Mitchell aircraft is revealed

Thursday, August 6th, 2015

Mitchell IWM Duxford

Today (Thursday 6 August) IWM’s newly-repainted North American B-25J Mitchell was revealed in its new paint scheme for the first time.

The aircraft now represents North American B-25J Mitchell 43-4064, which served with the 488th Bomb Squadron of the 340th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force, United States Army Air Forces, in the latter stages of the Second World War.

The 340th Bomb Group was the inspiration for the Bomb Group represented in American author Joseph Heller’s satirical novel Catch 22. Heller served as a bombardier in the 488th Bomb Squadron. Crews were not allocated a specific aircraft in the 340th Bomb Group and personnel were interchanged between crews and aircraft. As a result, Joseph Heller flew in almost all of the aircraft operated by the 340th Bomb Group.

Missions carried out by Heller and his fellow crew members in B-25J Mitchell 43-4064 formed the inspiration for some of the events in Heller’s classic novel Catch 22.

North American B-25J Mitchell 43-4064 can be seen at IWM Duxford in the Conservation in Action hangar and will be displayed in the newly-transformed American Air Museum, at IWM Duxford, when it reopens in spring 2016.

Chris Knapp, Section Head, Industrial and Large Object Conservation, IWM Duxford, said: “The Conservation Team carried out a structural survey and then a team of three Conservation staff repainted the aircraft within a six week period. I’m really pleased with the work they have done. The only element of the repainting that we didn’t undertake in-house was the nose art as we don’t have a sign writer on our staff. We have carried out painstaking research to ensure that the aircraft matches the original 43-4064. All lines and colour changes are taken from original photographs of the aircraft during the Second World War.”

www.iwm.org.uk

Spitfires take to the skies for The Battle of Britain Anniversary Air Show at IWM Duxford

Thursday, July 16th, 2015

Duxford Spitfires

Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September

Twenty Spitfires will take to the skies this September as part of IWM Duxford’s Battle of Britain Anniversary Air Show, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of this crucial aerial battle.

This mass display of Spitfires, above Britain’s best-preserved Second World War Airfield, will include Supermarine Spitfire Mark I N3200 – recently restored and returned to Duxford by American philanthropist Thomas Kaplan and received by His Royal Highness, The Duke of Cambridge. This Spitfire was originally flown from RAF Duxford in 1940 by Squadron Leader Geoffrey D. Stephenson.

The Battle of Britain Anniversary Air Show will tell the story of Duxford’s pivotal role in this famous conflict. In September 1940, some 60 Spitfires and Hurricanes were dispersed every day around Duxford and Fowlmere and on 15 September 1940, known as ‘Battle of Britain Day’, Bader’s ‘Big Wing’, operating from Duxford, twice took to the air to repulse Luftwaffe attacks aimed at London.

Visitors can experience what it was like to work at RAF Duxford in 1940 with the re-creation of a Spitfire scramble during the air show. Upon the instantly recognisable sound of a Second World War air raid siren, Hispano HA-112 MIL (Buchon) aircraft will fly in and strafe the airfield. As a scramble bell sounds, living history interpreters representing Second World War RAF fighter pilots will race to protect this vital Battle of Britain airfield and Supermarine Spitfires chase off the enemy aircraft.

These extraordinary experiences and sights will give visitors to The Battle of Britain Anniversary Air Show an insight into the life and work of the Battle of Britain fighter pilots who flew from RAF Duxford.

Tickets are only available in advance.

www.iwm.org.uk

Saftey Announcement for visitors to Duxford Airshow

Tuesday, September 9th, 2014

Ahead of The Duxford Air Show this weekend, IWM Duxford has released some important safety information:· IWM Duxford takes great care to ensure its air shows are as safe as possible for everyone involved.

· It is not safe to occupy the fields immediately south of the runway during the air show. If you do so you are putting yourself and the display pilots in harm’s way.

· In the event of an incident it is imperative that the emergency services have clear, unhindered access to the tracks across this land.

· There is no public access to these fields at any time.

Jointly issued by IWM Duxford, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the owners of this land.

 www.iwm.org.uk

IWM Duxford commemorates the 70th anniversary of D-Day

Thursday, February 27th, 2014

William Bray by Robin Savage

IWM Duxford commemorates the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings with a range of events, family activities, exhibitions and digital resources which explore the preparations for the invasion of Normandy and the final decisive D-Day mission.

Personal stories come to the fore as we look at the many individual contributions that combined tomake the D-Day invasion a success. Complementing those personal experiences are hands-on family activities which bring the science and history of D-Day to life, alongside events which show the aircraft and vehicles in dynamic action.

Events

D-Day Landings Tour

Saturday 5 April, Wednesday 30 April, Saturday 3 May, Wednesday 21 May, Friday 6 June

Our Land Warfare exhibition features one of the best collections of military vehicles in the country, including types that were used in the D-Day Landings.

In the D-Day Landings Tour, our guide will discuss the strategic planning for D-Day, the work of the resistance, how deceit and misinformation played a vital role in preparing for the D-Day Landings, the challenge of themission itself and the specialist armoured vehicles that were used.

The tour will look at some of the vehicles in the collection and will explain how they would have been used in the D-Day Landings. We’ll also look at some of the unique archive film that is on show in the Land Warfare exhibition.

The D-Day Landings Tour commences at 11amin the entrance of AirSpace. It runs for approximately 90 minutes. Groups will not exceed 25 people and there will be plenty of opportunity for questions, debate and personal interaction. The tour is suitable for all ages but is primarily aimed at adults. Places must be booked in advance and can be booked online at www.iwm.org.uk

Ticket prices (including admission to all IWM Duxford exhibitions):
Adult (16-59 years) £20.75
Child (under 16 years) £3.25
Senior (60 years and over) £16.60
Student (in possession of a valid student card) £16.60
Unemployed (with proof of entitlement) £16.60
Disabled Adult (proof of disability allowance required) £16.60
Disabled Senior (proof of disability allowance required) £14.50
Disabled Student (proof of disability allowance required) £14.50
Disabled Child (proof of disability allowance required) £3.25
Carer (one per disabled visitor) £3.25
Supporter (Duxford Aviation Society Member, Friend of Duxford, IWM Friend, IWM Volunteer) £3.25

Easter Holiday activities

Saturday 5 to Monday 21 April

The Science of D-Day
Sponsored by Lockheed Martin
10.30amto 2.30pm
Conservation Hall, AirSpace

Our Easter holiday activities look at the ingenious inventions created by scientific boffins to ensure victory on D-Day. We’ll explain how tanks were made to float, how they carried their own bridges and how they destroyed mines.

There will be plenty of opportunities to try your hand at using these inventive pieces of equipment. Have a go at firing a petard and then take a look at the real petard that can be seen on the Churchill tank in our

Land Warfare exhibition. Build your own Bailey bridge and see two real Bailey bridges that are still in use on a daily basis at IWM Duxford. Learn how to drive a tank, try on somemini-uniforms, make an Airfix model of an aircraft that would have been used in the preparation for the D-Day Landings and enter our creative competition to design your own specially-modified D-Day tank.

Easter holiday activities are included in general admission to IWMDuxford. Visitors aged 15 or under enjoy free admission to the museum and to our Easter holiday activities.

The D-Day Anniversary Air Show
Saturday 24 and Sunday 25May

The D-Day Anniversary Air Show commemorates the 70th anniversary of this decisive military campaign, demonstrating the vital role that aerial warfare played in the invasion of Normandy.

The air show will feature fighter, bomber and transport aircraft types that would have been seen over the beaches of France, together with thrilling ground content. This special D-Day Anniversary Air Show is not to be missed.

Air Show tickets and hospitality passes are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.iwm.org.uk

The recommended last booking date for overseas postal delivery is Friday 9 May.
The off-sale date (and last date for UK postal delivery) is Tuesday 13 May.
Purchase your tickets in advance and receive one free child ticket with every adult ticket purchased.

You’ll also enjoy 10% off ‘on the day’ ticket prices.
Advance ticket prices:
Adult (16 or over) £24.75
Child (5 to 15 years) £16.30
Disabled £16.30

Spring Half Term

Monday 26 May to Sunday 1 June
10.30am to 3.30pm

Activities take place across the museum

During Spring half term, follow our trail around themuseumand encounter some of the aircraft and vehicles that would have been used on D-Day.

Follow the story of this huge and complex operation, and find out how Allied air, sea and land forces combined to liberate Europe. We’ll take you through the build-up to D-Day: from the Allies’massive aerial bombardments and clever tricks to fool the enemy, through the role of naval forces, to the arrival of thousands of troops in France by air and by sea. Find out the impact of tanks, trucks, vehicles and weapons on the fierce fighting that followed.

You’ll find outmore about each historic object you encounter on the trail, including how it was used on D-Day and the experiences of themen relying on it for a successful mission.

At the end of our trail, in Land Warfare, you’llmeet our costumed character representing a D-Day soldier, who will tell you about his experiences and will show you the equipment that would have been used by soldiers and airmen during the D-Day Landings.

There will be hands-on craft activities and dynamic games to enjoy which will bring D-Day history to life for all the family.

Spring half term activities are included in general admission to IWM Duxford. Visitors aged 15 or under enjoy free admission to themuseumn and to Spring half term activities.

Military Vehicle Show
Sunday 15 June

Enjoy a special day out for Father’s Day at the Military Vehicle Show. Exploremilitary vehicles large and small, from motorcycles to jeeps, ambulances to huge trucks and tanks. Some of the vehicles on display will be of the type used during the D-Day Landings. See the vehicles up close and then watch themcome to life as they parade around the airfield during the cavalcade.

A wide range of living history groups will bring Second WorldWar history to life, chatting to visitors and encouraging families to try onmilitary equipment and clamber aboard military vehicles.

Join us for the Military Vehicle Show – an unforgettable experience for Father’s Day.

Ticket prices:
Adult (16 to 59 years) £18.50
Senior (60 years and over) £14.80
Child (under 16 years) Free
Concessionary prices available – see iwm.org.uk for details.
New exhibitions

D-Day-The Last of the Liberators photographic exhibition
By Robin Savage

Produced by the Airborne ForcesMuseum(Airborne Assault) and Helion Books
April to December

Mezzanine Gallery, AirSpace

D-Day -The Last of the Liberators is a collection of photographic portraits of some of the last surviving British Normandy veterans. It records, in a unique way, the stories of these remarkable individuals and their emotional but dignified return to the locations, in many cases the exact spot, which are tied to their most profound personal memories of the campaign; places where they saw action or were wounded, where they experienced instances of miraculous chance or where they witnessed their friends being taken away from them through the horror of battle.

The photographs in the exhibition are 15 of those from a new book of the same name. Taken during the 68th and 69th anniversaries by photographer Robin Savage, they are a record of some of the final visits these brave and dignified men and women wil lmake to the places that imprinted themselves indelibly on their lives.

D-Day -The Last of the Liberators is included in general admission to IWM Duxford. Visitors aged 15 and under enjoy free admission to the museum.

The Padre’s Trail in the Land Warfare exhibition
From May 2014

Our Land Warfare exhibition houses one of the finest collections of tanks, military vehicles and artillery in the country. It charts the technological advances that have changed the face of ground warfare.

The Normandy Experience in Land Warfare vividly tells the story of the D-Day Landings through sound, film and military vehicles set in evocative dioramas.

As part of our commemoration of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, we are adding a layer of interpretation to The Normandy Experience which gives a very personal view of the D-Day Landings and how it felt to be in the thick of the action.

Captain Leslie Skinner was an army chaplain who landed on the coast of Normandy on themorning of 6 June 1944 with the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry tank regiment.

Apart from29 days spent at home recovering fromhis wounds, he spent the rest of the war with the Sherwood Rangers as they fought through France and into Germany. It is Captain Skinner’s story that is told in his own voice via extracts from the diary he meticulously kept throughout his time with the Sherwood Rangers.

He saw it as his duty to find the bodies ofmen who were killed as the Regiment’s tanks advanced. On many occasions, he risked his life to ensure that his comrades’ bodies were recovered or buried. The work could be harrowing and he refused to allow the other tank crews to help. Padre Skinner travelled all over the front line and the battlefield, talking to the troops and listening to their worries. As this extract from his diary shows, he experienced at first-hand the stark realities of warfare.

25 June 1944: “In burst of machine gun fire I dived into slit trench on top of young soldier… it was his first show and he was all alone. I assured him that the machine gun fire was way up in the air…he picked up a ration box lid and held it above ground. Burst [of fire] cut it in two. It shook me. When firing stopped I moved out. He, poor devil, had to stay. About 11:30…Shrapnel got me across forehead and knocked me out. Lots of blood but soon conscious.”

The Padre’s Trail is included in general admission to IWM Duxford.

D-Day collections on display at IWM Duxford

Land Warfare exhibition

Land Warfare is home to the Normandy Experience and the Monty exhibition. Together they tell the story of the finalmonths of the war in Europe, fromD-Day, through the fierce battles in France to VE Day.

The Normandy Experience features many of the types of tanks and vehicles that took part in the liberation of Europe. These include the GMC Amphibian DUKW and the Sherman Grizzly tank. Nearby are examples of German tanks and vehicles thatmade up some of the fierce defences encountered in the battles of 1944 and 1945.

Field Marshal Montgomery – Monty to the troops – commanded the Allied land forces on D-Day. At the nerve centre of his operation was his Tactical HQ, which is on display in the Monty exhibition. Visitors are able to peer through the windows of Monty’s headquarters and imagine this dynamic leader at work.

In addition to the tanks and vehicles displayed in realistic dioramas, Land Warfare also contains powerful personal stories from the men who took part in Operation Overlord.

American Air Museum

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain, which is suspended majestically fromthe ceiling in the American Air Museum, was delivered to the United States Army Air Forces in April 1944 and served with the 316th Troop Carrier Group of the 9th Air Force. It was assigned to the 37th Troop Carrier Squadron and operated from Cottesmore in Lincolnshire for a year.

It is believed to have participated in the airborne drops over Normandy in 1944, the airborne assault on Holland in September 1944 and the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945.

The P-47 Thunderbolt that can be seen in the American Air Museum is the type of aircraft flown by pilots of the 78th Fighter Group, from RAF Duxford, in support of the D-Day Landings.

The B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator also flew in support of D-Day operations. Examples of these aircraft can also be seen in the American Air Museum.

AirSpace

The Avro Lancaster bomber flew bombing missions in support of D-Day operations. You can get up close to a Lancaster bomber in our AirSpace exhibition.

Airborne Assault Museum in AirSpace
Airborne Assault is the Regimental Museumof The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces. It tells the stories of the soldiers who go to war from the air, including the significant contribution made to the D-Day Landings by the Airborne Forces and Parachute Regiments.

Of particular interest in this 70th anniversary year is the originalmap used to plan the D-Day operation, which would have been viewed by Field Marshal Montgomery and General Eisenhower. Also on display is the accompanying planning model which was used to strategically plot the mission to capture Pegasus Bridge.

There is also a model of Bing, one of the paradogs who were trained to parachute alongside the troops and to undertake guard,mine-detecting and patrol duties.

RAF Duxford’s D-Day history

D-Day and the 78th Fighter Group
May to June

In June 1944, RAF Duxford was home to the 78th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces.

Equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts, its pilots flew severalmissions on D-Day andmanymore in the days, weeks andmonths that followed.

The fighters of the 78th Fighter Group encountered very little resistance from the German Air Force on 6 June 1944. Their aircraft flew equipped with bombs and were sent to attack targets such as railway bridges and enemy airfields.

During May and June, we’ll be tweeting summaries which show how the 78th Fighter Group built towards D-Day operations, what they did on 6 June 1944 and how they supported the fighting in France.

Follow@historicduxford to read these summaries fromthe 78th Fighter Group diaries and look out for related posts on our Historic Duxford blog at www.iwm.org.uk/exhibitions/iwm-duxford/historicduxford

In our Historic Duxford exhibition, you can find out what life was like for the American servicemen who were based at RAF Duxford during the latter stages of the Second World War. See interviews with American pilots who took part in D-Day and see the A2 flying jacket which belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence ‘Larry’ Casey.

Casey was an American fighter pilot who flew fromRAF Duxford. On 11 June 1944, he was shot down over France. With the help of the French resistance, he was able to avoid capture andmake it back to Britain. Casey later flew missions in the Pacific and he stayed in the United States Air Force after the Second World War.

IWM Duxford stars in Hollywood film The Monuments Men

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Monuments Men

Hollywood film The Monuments Men, which was partly filmed on location at IWM Duxford, opens to UK audiences on Friday 14 February.

Director George Clooney is joined on screen by an internationally acclaimed ensemble cast, many of whom were at IWM Duxford for the filming, including Matt Damon (Ocean’s Eleven, The Bourne Identity), Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings, Elizabeth), Bill Murray (Lost in Translation, Ghostbusters), John Goodman (Argo, The Big Lebowski), Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey).

Filming at IWM Duxford was a large-scale operation, involving not only the leading actors, but also over 300 extras, over a nine day period. Filming took place across the museum, including the North Side of the site, which is not open to the public, but houses IWM’s collections within historic buildings that made up the domestic side of the RAF fighter station.

Second World War aircraft and vehicles were brought to the museum to act as props and set dressing for the scenes. IWM Duxford’s historic buildings, control tower and airfield significantly featured in the filming.

The Monuments Men opens in the UK on Friday 14 February.

View the film trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czYqP1jbPTk

Photo credit: left to right, Matt Damon, Hugh Bonneville and George Clooney on set at IWM Duxford. Photograph courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.

www.iwm.org.uk

IWM Duxfords American Air Museum redevelopment

Wednesday, January 15th, 2014

Duxford USAF Museum

We are delighted to announce that IWM Duxford has received a grant of £980,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the American Air Museum redevelopment project.

The American Air Museum was built at IWM Duxford in 1996-7 to present for public display the best collection of American military aircraft outside the United States. The American Air Museum tells the story of American air power and the integral relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The heritage presented in the American Air Museum has a relevance to everybody living in Britain, particularly people in the East of England. Our aim, in the redevelopment of the American Air Museum, is to inspire people to relate the objects in the museum’s collection to their own lives and to the world in which they live.

We’ll be asking people to get actively involved in the project by contributing recollections from their own personal and community heritage so that we can create an impressive bank of memories, knowledge and information for current and future generations.

There are three main aspects to the American Air Museum redevelopment project. The first is a dynamic website based around The Freeman Collection, a compilation of approximately 15,000 prints and slides assembled by Roger Freeman (1928-2005), a hugely respected aviation historian and a native of East Anglia. Many of these images have not, up to now, been publicly available.

The Freeman Collection shows the many and varied experiences of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in Britain during the Second World War. Images depict the different roles undertaken by members of the USAAF and also off-duty leisure time, the aircraft, the combat missions, events and the local communities in which the USAAF served.

Using The Freeman Collection of photographs as its core content, the website will link each photograph to the serving group or unit it represents. It will show the geographical location in which the photograph was taken, the type of aircraft the group operated and may also give the personal story of a man or woman shown in the photograph.

With thousands of images in the collection, we’ll be asking people to help us uncover the stories behind the photographs by logging on and telling us what they know. We hope that the first phase of the website will be live from summer 2014.

Secondly, we’ll be refreshing and re-energising the American Air Museum to ensure that it is impactful for the next generation of visitors. We’ll be helping our audiences to understand the co-operative relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, which was forged in the East of England during the First World War and the Second World War and which has shaped the modern world ever since. Visitors will discover this theme from a personal, regional and national perspective.

Thematically, we’ll be displaying our key objects in new ways and redeveloping our existing displays by layering in new interpretive material which will help visitors see our museum objects in a new light. We’ll be placing a greater emphasis on the individual stories of war and conflict which show events from a range of personal perspectives.

We’ll also be bringing the American Air Museum exhibition up to date with material covering the last two decades of conflict, looking at the personal stories and political context of that period.

Thirdly, we’ll be undertaking detailed conservation work on the aircraft and objects in the American Air Museum to ensure that this important collection is kept in good historical condition for future generations to enjoy.

This large-scale conservation project will involve lowering suspended aircraft from the ceiling, taking out the large plate glass wall from the rear of the American Air Museum and removing all aircraft from the building. This huge undertaking should prove fascinating for visitors, who will be able to see the work in progress.

Diane Lees, Director-General of Imperial War Museums said: “I am delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has supported the American Air Museum redevelopment. This exciting project will bring to life Anglo-American relations past, present and future, in a way that enthralls and engages. Whoever we are, wherever we live, this is our story and one that we can work together on for the benefit of future generations.”

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the East of England said: “The American Air Museum has possibly the best collection of US military aircraft outside the USA. This project will give IWM Duxford the opportunity to overhaul the displays and galleries and bring many of the fascinating stories of the First World War, Second World War, and more recent conflicts to life in new and exciting ways which will give many people the opportunity to get involved. We look forward, in particular, to the museum’s interpretation of the Freeman Collection of photographs, many of which have never before been seen by the public.”

www.iwm.org.uk

IWM Duxford air shows announced for 2014

Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

IWM Duxford Spitfire

We are delighted to announce our air show season for 2014.

We start, in May, by commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in magnificent style. July sees the nostalgia spectacular that is the Flying Legends Air Show while The Duxford Air Show, in September, offers a celebration of all things flying.

Tickets for all three air shows are now on sale. If you need your tickets delivered in time for Christmas, we recommend that you buy them before Friday 13 December, for UK delivery.

The D-Day Anniversary Air

Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May

The D-Day Anniversary Air Show commemorates the 70th anniversary of this decisive military campaign, demonstrating the vital role that aerial warfare played in the invasion of Normandy.

The air show will feature fighter, bomber and transport aircraft types that would have been seen over the beaches of France, together with thrilling ground content, including a march past by Normandy veterans and serving personnel from the Parachute Regiment. This special D-Day anniversary air show is not to be missed.

Flying Legends Air Show

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July

The Flying Legends Air Show is famous the world over for its unique presentation of historic piston-engined aircraft in rare combinations and remarkable flying displays. Complimenting the ‘wow!’ factor in the air is the authentic 1940s atmosphere that can be experienced across the museum. It’s the closest you can get to being back at RAF Duxford in its flying heyday.

The flying display promises an unmissable fusion of power, sound, excitement and nostalgia as iconic piston-engined aircraft from across the globe perform their breathtaking flights over IWM Duxford’s historic airfield.

The Duxford Air Show

Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September

The Duxford Air Show is a celebration of aviation in its many diverse and varied forms. Combinations of historic aircraft, contemporary jets, mind-boggling aerobatics and those quirky, did-I-really-just-see-that displays make The Duxford Air Show an entertaining aerial spectacle with a fabulous family atmosphere.

Air show tickets and hospitality passes are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.iwm.org.uk.

Come with us Back to the Forties at IWM Duxford

Thursday, August 29th, 2013

Duxford Back to the Forties

Enjoy two-for-one admission if you come dressed to impress in your Forties finery

Join us for our brand new event, Back to the Forties, on Sunday 29 September, as we time-travel back to Britain on the Second World War Home Front.

Come dressed in your 1940s finery, clutching your Back to the Forties voucher, which you can download from the IWM website at http://www.iwm.org.uk/events/iwm-duxford/back-to-the-forties and enjoy two-for-one entry to Back to the Forties and the whole of IWM Duxford (Sunday 29 September only).

We’re also holding a Best Dressed competition; our sartorial experts will be scrutinising entrants to find that perfectly authentic Forties look.

You’ll meet a range of wartime characters, including Land Army girls, a char lady, a wartime bobbie, a member of the Home Guard, an ARP Warden and civilians going about their daily life. Watch out for the wartime spivs who will try to charm you into buying their black market wares!

There’ll be the opportunity to sing along with your favourite 1940s songs as we hear from vocal entertainers Marina Mae, Nina Rae and Pete Wayre. Learn some nifty dance moves from our lindy hop dancers and find out how to look your best despite the clothing coupons with Harry and Edna’s Fashion on the Ration display and our Make-do-and-Mend activities.

Learn how to cook up a storm despite the ration book, discover how to put out an incendiary bomb with the National Fire Service, have a go at wartime games and visit the Women’s Voluntary Service with their indispensable tea wagon.

Listen to the authentic snap and crackle of the wartime 78s played by our gramophone DJ and be inspired to do your bit for the war effort with rousing speeches by the great wartime leader, Winston Churchill.

Living history groups bring to life the British and American forces on the Home Front. See a recreated RAF Operations Room as it would have been in the midst of the Battle of Britain in 1940, with live demonstrations showing who was in charge and how the operations room functioned as aircraft were called to ‘scramble!’

There will also be a display of RAF navigational equipment; an RAF airfield observation post, with period equipment and an RAF vehicle with Bomber Command markings; and an RAF aircrew poised to be called into action at any moment.

See a British Red Cross tent with medical equipment and tools, Home Front items and Fred, the resident casualty, who has certainly been in the wars!

There’s a display of a 1940s jeep and equipment used by British airborne troops and also of American airborne troops during D-Day.

GI 41-45 represent the 41st American Armoured Infantry on check point duty, complete with jeeps, tents and sandbags. USAAF B-17 Crews present a static dispersal point as they await their next bombing mission.

See members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force manning a Chain Home Radar Receiver Station and enjoy the gallic delights of a period 1940s French café.

We’ll also have a glorious array of period vehicles, both military and civilian. Proving that it wasn’t all war work and no play, we’ve also got a 1940s picnic scene complete with period vehicle.

Wing Co Joe’s Café will be getting into the wartime mood with some vintage decorations and a specially created Dig for Victory menu, including leek and potato soup, corn beef hash and stout gravy, chicken broth and dumplings and Dig for Victory vegetable crumble.

Ladies can indulge in some fabulously forties hair and make-up demonstrations and make some vintage purchases at our pop-up shops.

Join us for a trip back in time to the Second World War Home Front and remember, it’s unpatriotic not to look your 1940s best!

www.iwm.org.uk