Imperial War Museum Duxford
 Exterior of the American Air Museum |
|
| Data | |
|---|---|
| place | Duxford , UK |
| Art |
Military museum
|
| opening | 1977 |
| Number of visitors (annually) | 387,000 |
| management |
Richard Ashton
|
| Website | |
| Duxford Aerodrome | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | EGSU |
| IATA code | QFO |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 38 m (125 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 8 miles south of Cambridge |
| Street |
|
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1919 |
| operator | IWM Duxford |
| Runways | |
| 06/24 | 1503 m × 47 m asphalt |
| 06/24 | 880 m × 25 m grass |
The Imperial War Museum Duxford is an English military museum near Duxford . It is located on the site of a former military airfield around 20 kilometers south of Cambridge and is part of London's Imperial War Museum .
In the museum complex mainly large exhibits are exhibited that would not find a place in other branches. The main focus of the museum is on aircraft. However, other areas that are relevant to Great Britain (military) history are also covered.
history
RAF Duxford
Today's Aerodrome is a former military airfield of the Royal Air Force (RAF), which they called Royal Air Force Station Duxford ( RAF Duxford for short ). The facility was built in October 1917 during the time of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The construction cost £ 460,000 at the time . It was planned to station around 800 soldiers there. The official opening took place in September 1918, even during the RAF era. In April 1920 the No. 2 Flying Training School opened. From 1924 fighter pilots were stationed there.
In 1938, the 19th Squadron, stationed in Duxford since 1931, was the RAF's first operational squadron to receive the Spitfire . At the height of the Battle of Britain the station housed two more squadrons of the Fighter Command , the 310th and the 242nd Squadron formed by exiled Czechs , the latter was equipped with Hurricane and was under the command of Douglas Bader .
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took over the field in June 1943 as one of a total of 28 airfields. Parts of the 8th US Air Force were stationed on the base , which were launching attacks on the German Reich . RAF Duxford was the headquarters of the 66th Fighter Wing from summer 1943 until autumn 1945 . As early as October 1942, the 350th Fighter Group was the first US air force to be located here for a few months , which was replaced in the spring by the 78th Fighter Group , which had three squadrons . The group flew Lockheed P-38 , P-47C Thunderbolt, and P-51H Mustang , one after the other . In October 1945 the group returned to the United States. The RAF Fowlmere satellite airfield, which was used during the war, was near Duxford.
In November 1945 the airfield was returned to the RAF Fighter Command. The last official take-off of the Royal Air Force from Duxford took place on July 31, 1961. The concrete runway, which still exists today, was completed in 1951 and as a result Duxford was the stationing site of jet fighters of the Hunter and Javelin types . The "Coronation Flypast" for the newly crowned Queen Elisabeth II took place in 1953 in Duxford. During the Cold War , the RAF stations in southern England declined and Duxford was closed in 1961.
Duxford Aerodrome for use as a museum
First of all, the film Battle of Britain was made on the airfield now known as Duxford Aerodrome . The Imperial War Museum first used the facility in 1971 when it rented half of the hangars. In 1973 the three remaining hangars were placed under monument protection on the initiative of the museum. From 1976 the facility was officially part of the Imperial War Museum. The airfield belonging to the museum is still used for aviation purposes and is also the venue for airshows.
Exhibition areas
The museum is divided into the following exhibition areas:
Aerospace
The museum exhibits around 200 civil and military aircraft (including a Concorde , a B-52 bomber and an SR-71 Blackbird ).
marine
Submarines, torpedoes and naval warplanes are shown here.
Land warfare
Here are tanks , military vehicles and artillery pieces from the 20th century on display, u. a. two T-34s , a Jagdpanzer IV , an M3 Lee / Grant and an M4 Sherman .
The American Air Museum
The largest collection of American military aircraft outside of the United States is shown here. The building was designed by the architect Sir Norman Foster .
Trivia
- In 1968 Harry Saltzman's film Battle of Britain was shot here. One of the original four hangars from the First World War was blown up "for reasons of authenticity".
- After the airfield was closed, there were plans to use the facility as a prison or an amusement park, among other things.
- On July 3, 2012, Formula 1 test driver María de Villota had an accident on the grounds of the Imperial War Museum Duxford in a collision with the tailgate of a team truck. She sustained severe head and face injuries. She died on October 11, 2013 from the long-term effects of the accident.
literature
- The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum (Ed.): ImperialWar Museum - Duxford . 3. Edition. Jarrold and Sons, Norwich 1988, ISBN 0-901627-35-6 .
Web links
- Official site (English)
- American Air Museum (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 31, 2010 ; Retrieved May 21, 2010 .
- ^ Airfield information. (No longer available online.) In: duxford.iwm.org.uk. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011 ; Retrieved October 4, 2010 .
- ↑ Dominik Sharaf: "Crash in Duxford: De Villota critically injured". Motorsport-Total.com, July 3, 2012, accessed June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Confirmed: De Villota's death as a result of the Formula 1 accident. Motorsport-Total.com, October 12, 2013, accessed June 27, 2018 .