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John vd Biggelaar
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RAF museum LondonJuly 21st, 2023

July 26, 2023 · in Aviation · · 47 · 521

Good day all,

During our family holiday trip to , I was able to spent half a day at the RAF . Personally, I could have spent multiple days at the museum, unfortunately my family was not into that. It was therefore a relatively quick visit and I was mainly taking as much pictures as possible. Still I'm very happy that my family did spent those exiting moments with me. Surprisingly, the entrance of the museum is even free. To support those enthusiasts keeping all those aircraft in perfect condition, and have a nice remembrance, I bought a nice book about the Spitfire history in the souvenir shop. There are six halls packed full with very interesting aircraft. You are even able to walk through the Short Sunderland, this aircraft is so big, it could as well be a large apartment, very impressive. For me it was also the first time facing so many German aircraft and even Japanese aircraft of WWII. It was really one of my best days ever and felt like a little boy in a toy store. If any of you has ever the change of visiting London, this museum should definitely be on your list.

Below the list of the aircraft seen that day and the corresponding picture of it: (if you see any mistake in the order of the list, please let me know)

1 - De Havilland DH9A

2 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb

3 - Hawker Siddeley Gnat T1

4 - Westland Sea King HAR3

5 - Short Sunderland MR5

6 - Bleriot XXVII

7 - Avro 504K

8 - Caudron G3

9 - Sopwith Triplane

10 - Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b

11 - Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a

12 - Bristol Fb2 Fighter

13 - Sopwith F1 Camel

14 - Fokker DVII

15 - Albatros DVa

16 - Royal Aircraft Factory RE8

17 - Vickers FB5 Gunbus

18 - Sopwith 5F1 Dolphin

19 - Royal Aircraft Factory BE2b

20 - Eurofighter Typhoon

21 - Panavia Tornado

22 - Hawker Siddely Buccaneer S2B

23 - Sepecat Jaguar

24 - British Aerospace Harrier GR9a

25 - Focke Wulf Fw190A8-R1

26 - Junkers Ju87D-G2

27 - Heinkel He111H-20

28 - Avro Anson MkI

29 - Handley Page Halifax II

30 - Avro Lancaster I

31 - Consolidated B24L Liberator

32 - Kawasaki Ki100-1b

33 - Mitsubishi Ki43 III Dinah

34 - Yokosukha MXYZ Ohka Model 11 Baka

35 - Airspeed Oxford MkI

36 - Messerschmitt Bf110G-4

37 - Fairey Battle MkI

38 - de Havilland Mosquito B35

39 - Avro Vulcan

40 - Westland Lysander

41 - Messerschmitt Me163B-1a Komet

42 - North American P51D Mustang

43 - Heinkel He162 Salamander

44 - Boeing B17 Flying Fortress

45 - Messerschmitt Bf109E-3

46 - Fiat CR42 Falco

47 - de Havilland Vampire F3

48 - Hawker Tempest V

49 - Gloster Meteor F8

50 - English Electric Canberra PR3

51 - British Aircraft Corporation Provost T5a

52 - British Aircraft Corporation Lightning F6

53 - Curtiss Kittyhawk III

54 - Taylorcraft Auster MkI

55 - Hawker Hart

56 - Hawker Typhoon Ib

57 - North American Hardvard IIb

58 - McDonnall Douglas Phantom FGR2

59 - Supermarine Spitfire MkXVI

60 - Bristol Bulldog

61 - Sopwith Snipe

62 - Supermarine Southampton I

63 - Bristol Beaufighter TFX

64 - Bristol Beaufort

65 - Lockheed Hudson

66 - Supermarine Stranraer

67 - Westland Gazelle

68 - Westland Belvedere HC1

69 - Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly

70 - Hawker Hurricane MkI

71 - Supermarine Spitfire MkI

72 - Panavia Tornado F3

73 - Myself in front of my favorite aircraft

Reader reactions:
13  Awesome 3  1  3 

74 additional images. Click to enlarge.


47 responses

  1. John, looks like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing the photos!

  2. John, thank you for sharing your photos of your visit to this great museum. I was there 5 years ago and would love to go back to it again and spend more time there. I was there for 2 hours and missed quite a bit of it.

  3. Someday I'd love to cross the pond and visit there but until then, thanks for sharing, John. Great pics! Love all the WW1 birds.

  4. Wow, lots of nice exhibits
    great pics

  5. Wonderful pics, John! You obviously had a superb time there.
    Thanks for sharing!

    • @fiveten, I absolutely did have the time of my life. Incredible to see so much aircraft brought together and presented in such a way that you can every detail of it. Luckily not too many people so capturing the entire aircraft without people was ideal.

  6. Wow looks like an amazing place but you're right half a day is not nearly enough, incidentally most museums and galleries are free in the U.K.

  7. Thanks for share those pictures! Awesome...

  8. Great photos John. I visited the museum back in 1994. I didn't have anywhere near the number of planes it has now back then.

  9. John,besides the great pics,nice to see you happy around all those aircraft.Thank you very much for sharing the photos.

  10. Been there twice, just about the same as marriages!
    @johnb
    Good selection, one that truly left an impression on me was the Lancaster! Big and bad!
    Also have a fun memory sitting with my kids in a Gnat (was it? I really can’t tell by now…) cockpit moving the control grip much their joy…oh! and also a Messerschmitt T-shirt from the gift shop on my way out
    A must see museum for sure. Thanks for sharing my friend

  11. You obviously had a great time there, @johnb, I hope you find the time to return to what is obviously a terrific museum, maybe organize an iModeler day out and meet up with some friends.

  12. Excellent pics and tons of eye candy to view. Yep, half a day wouldn't be enough but it looks you none the less had an enjoyable time.

  13. I would O.D on all of those aircraft. You have my sympathies John. 3 hours is not enough time to go through the museum. Being the Family Guy has its compromises. However, your photos where time well spent. Thanks , for sharing. Still working on my Mustang. Getting ready to decal the kit. Knock on wood.

  14. I have been planning to go there next month (family trip to London) and your photo report has whetted my appetite. I can hardly wait!

  15. Thanks for sharing your adventure , John @johnb !
    Some great aircraft on display there.

  16. Woah John @johnb, looks like you had a spectacular day! The photos are fantastic reference! Does your family even realize what an awesome dad you are considering you spent only half a day there? I could spend an entire day just looking at that gorgeous Spitfire Mk.1.

    • @fxrob, is was spectacular indeed. Ofcourse I made some more close up pictures as well. Spending just half a day kept at least the family spirit positive. I do now have a reason for another visit sometime.

  17. It's a great place John. Glad you enjoyed it 👍

  18. Nice pics John!

  19. Great pictures! It looks very analogous to the USAF Museum in the states, and that is also free. I find the young kids enjoy it while I stretch my time looking for new to me information. Anyway, a wonderful show of various aircraft, thank you for sharing

  20. This looks like one of the great airplane Meccas. Will have to visit if I ever am in England. Thanks for sharing your travel pics.

  21. Great pics John, thank you.
    Living in Australia, it's unlikely I'll get to see these aircraft myself anytime soon so it's great to have these.
    All the best,
    Paul.

  22. Thanks for sharing these fantastic photos, John @johnb. There are so many great air museums in England there is no way one can get to them all with out making multiple trips to London and Manchester. Members of my family are not all that interested either. We solved the problem by going in different directions on the same day. I‘ve learned to go by myself.

  23. Great! Do You have more photos of Beaufort?

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