De Havilland Aircraft Museum

Last updated

de Havilland Aircraft Museum
London-Colney (32911621602).jpg
Hertfordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Hertfordshire
Former name
  • Mosquito Aircraft Museum
  • de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre
Established1959 (1959)
Location London Colney, Hertfordshire, UK
Coordinates 51°42′39″N0°16′16″W / 51.710833°N 0.271111°W / 51.710833; -0.271111
Type Aviation museum
Website dehavillandmuseum.co.uk

The de Havilland Aircraft Museum, formerly the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, is a volunteer-run aviation museum in London Colney, Hertfordshire, England. [1]

Contents

The collection is built around the definitive prototype and restoration shops for the de Havilland Mosquito and also includes several examples of the de Havilland Vampire – the third operational jet aircraft in the world. The museum is the largest such museum devoted to one manufacturer in the country.

History

Salisbury Hall

Salisbury Hall Salisbury Hall.jpg
Salisbury Hall

The site has been occupied by a number of large manor houses since the 9th century. The present house was built around 1668 by the London banker James Hoare, bringing with it associations with Charles II and Nell Gwynne, who lived in a cottage by the bridge to the Hall. The Hall subsequently passed through various hands, and during the latter part of the 19th century was occupied by a succession of farmers. However, about 1905 Lady Randolph Churchill, as Mrs Cornwallis West, came here to live. Her son, Winston Churchill, became a regular visitor.

During the 1930s, Sir Nigel Gresley, of the London and North Eastern Railway, was in residence. He was responsible for the A4 Pacific steam locomotives, one of which, Mallard, still holds the world speed record for steam locomotives of 126 mph (203 km/h). It is believed that the locomotive was named after the ducks in the moat.

In September 1939, the de Havilland Aircraft Company established the Mosquito design team in the Hall, the prototype Mosquito, E0234/W4050, subsequently being built in the adjacent buildings, to the side of Salisbury Hall. Which have since been demolished.

After the acquisition of Airspeed Ltd by de Havilland Aircraft Company Airspeed Ltd assembled a design team, headed by aircraft designer Hessell Tiltman. [2] Tiltman's design efforts were initially carried out at the de Havilland technical school at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, before relocating to Salisbury Hall, London Colney. [2] The Airspeed building were behind Salisbury Hall and have since been demolished. Part of the site of the former Airspeed Ltd building was is now covered by the new Geoffrey de Havilland Hangar.

Nell Gwynne's cottage, meanwhile, was the centre of a silk worm farm, which supplied the silk for the Queen's wedding and Coronation robes.

After de Havilland left in 1947 the Hall slipped into a derelict condition. [3]

When Walter Goldsmith, a retired army major, purchased Salisbury Hall, he soon came to realise that it had been used by de Havilland during the war. On contacting Bill Baird, then in charge of PR at de Havilland at Hatfield, he discovered that the company had used it as the design centre for the Mosquito, and that Baird had squirrelled the original prototype away in the Fiddlebridge stores, just off the airfield at Hatfield. Having resisted several calls to burn the aircraft, Baird was delighted to find someone who could offer the old aircraft a home. de Havilland carried out basic restoration work at Hatfield, and Goldsmith accepted the aircraft back at Salisbury Hall in 1959.

Prototype Mosquito

The prototype Mosquito became the first aircraft to be displayed at Salisbury Hall, and was followed by examples of the de Havilland Vampire and Venom in 1968. In 1970, the collection was joined by a further example of the de Havilland Mosquito, which had been donated by Liverpool Corporation, following its use in the film Mosquito Squadron . [4] [ failed verification ]

The collection was later expanded, with examples of the single-seat Vampire, Sea Venom, Sea Vixen, Chipmunk and Dove all arriving by 1978. Additionally, the fuselage of a Mosquito FB6 arrived in 1976; it is now the only survivor of the most numerous sub-type to be preserved in Europe. The museum houses the fuselage of the last surviving square-windowed de Havilland Comet 1, the world's first jet airliner.

Later history

The supporters' society has been responsible for the restoration and conservation of many of the exhibits, starting with the Chipmunk in 1978, an airframe which was subsequently restored by members once more between 2003 and 2007. The supporters were also active in building a hangar to house the ex-Liverpool Mosquito in 1980, and then completely restoring the aircraft, a task they completed in 1990. The supporters' society has also been responsible for work on a Tiger Moth, Hornet Moth, Mosquito 6, Heron, Dove, several Vampires and many other aircraft in the collection.

In 2001, it was recognised that the prototype Mosquito was in dire need of conservation work. This work was supported by BAE Systems. [5] and the Heritage Lottery fund. The prototype Mosquito restoration was completed in December 2015 almost to the minute of its 75th anniversary. [6] It is now on display with the other two Mosquitos in the Walter Goldsmith Hangar.

In January 2016 the museum opened a new hangar initially named the Geoffrey de Havilland Hangar. This hangar was later renamed the Amy Johnson Hangar when the new hangar opened and is now used for workshops where the public can see the volunteers working on museum projects.

The museum opened the new Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Hangar in February 2020. [7] [8]

Collection

Aircraft on display

DH.82 Tiger Moth, G-ANRX, with crop spraying equipment TigerGANRX.JPG
DH.82 Tiger Moth, G-ANRX, with crop spraying equipment
DH.98 Mosquito prototype De Havilland Mosquito - Prototype 1.jpg
DH.98 Mosquito prototype
Comet 2 flight deck CometNose.JPG
Comet 2 flight deck
DH.104 Dove 8 De Havilland Aircraft Museum Hertfordshire.jpg
DH.104 Dove 8

Aircraft in storage

Aircraft under restoration

Engines on display

One of two Gyron Juniors on display DHGyronJunior.JPG
One of two Gyron Juniors on display
Piston engines
Gas turbine engines
Rocket engines

See also

Related Research Articles

de Havilland Mosquito British multi-role combat aircraft of WW2

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or "Mossie". Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, nicknamed it "Freeman's Folly", alluding to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, who defended Geoffrey de Havilland and his design concept against orders to scrap the project. In 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.

de Havilland Comet First commercial jet airliner

The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wing roots, a pressurised cabin, and large windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and was commercially promising at its debut in 1952.

de Havilland 1920–1963 aircraft manufacturer

The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire.

de Havilland Hornet Twin-piston engined fighter aircraft developed by de Havilland

The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet, developed by de Havilland, was a fighter aircraft driven by two piston engines. It further exploited the wooden construction techniques that had been pioneered by the de Havilland Mosquito. Development of the Hornet had started during the Second World War as a private venture. The aircraft was to conduct long range fighter operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan but the war ended before the Hornet reached operational squadron status.

de Havilland Vampire Fighter aircraft; first single-engine jet in RAF service

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet engine.

de Havilland Sea Vixen Carrier-based fighter aircraft family

The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen is a British twin-engine, twin boom-tailed, two-seat, carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter flown by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm from the 1950s to the early 1970s. The Sea Vixen was designed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company during the late 1940s at its Hatfield aircraft factory in Hertfordshire, developed from the company's earlier first generation jet fighters. It was later called the Hawker Siddeley Sea Vixen after de Havilland was absorbed by the Hawker Siddeley Corporation in 1960.

de Havilland Venom Fighter aircraft family

The de Havilland DH 112 Venom is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Much of its design was derived from the de Havilland Vampire, the firm's first jet-powered combat aircraft; it was initially referred to as the Vampire FB 8 prior to the adoption of the Venom name.

de Havilland Sea Venom Carrier-based fighter aircraft family

The de Havilland Sea Venom is a British postwar carrier-capable jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Venom. It served with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and with the Royal Australian Navy. The French Navy operated the Aquilon, developed from the Sea Venom FAW.20, built under licence by SNCASE (Sud-Est).

de Havilland Ghost 1940s British turbojet aircraft engine

The de Havilland Ghost was the de Havilland Engine Company's second design of a turbojet engine to enter production and the world's first gas turbine engine to enter airline service. The Ghost powered the de Havilland Venom, de Havilland Comet and SAAB 29 Tunnan. It was a scaled-up development of the Goblin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Force Museum of New Zealand</span> Military and Aviation Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Air Force Museum of New Zealand, formerly called The Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum, is located at Wigram, the RNZAF's first operational base, in Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. It opened on 1 April 1987 as part of the celebrations for the RNZAF's 50th anniversary, and is primarily a museum of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, its predecessor, the New Zealand Permanent Air Force and New Zealand squadrons of the Royal Air Force. The Air Force Museum of New Zealand's mission is to preserve and present the history of New Zealand military aviation for commemoration, learning, inspiration and enjoyment.

de Havilland DH 108 1945 British experimental aircraft

The de Havilland DH 108 "Swallow" was a British experimental aircraft designed by John Carver Meadows Frost in October 1945. The DH 108 featured a tailless, swept wing with a single vertical stabilizer, similar to the layout of the wartime German Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet. Initially designed to evaluate swept wing handling characteristics at low and high subsonic speeds for the proposed early tailless design of the Comet airliner, three examples of the DH 108 were built to Air Ministry specifications E.18/45. With the adoption of a conventional tail for the Comet, the aircraft were used instead to investigate swept wing handling up to supersonic speeds. All three prototypes were lost in fatal crashes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum</span> Aviation museum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an aviation museum located at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Mount Hope, Ontario, Canada. The museum has 47 military jets and propeller-driven aircraft on display.

The de Havilland Engine Company was an offshoot of the de Havilland aircraft building company, which started life as the 'Engine Division of the de Havilland Aircraft Company' in 1926 producing the famous de Havilland Gipsy aero-engine. The company was merged with Bristol Siddeley (BSEL) engines in 1961 with BSEL subsequently becoming part of Rolls-Royce Limited in 1968.

de Havilland DH.60 Moth 1925 utility aircraft family

The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.

de Havilland Gipsy 1920s British piston aircraft engine

The de Havilland Gipsy is a British air-cooled four-cylinder in-line aircraft engine designed by Frank Halford in 1927 to replace the ADC Cirrus in the de Havilland DH.60 Moth light biplane. Initially developed as an upright 5 litre capacity engine, later versions were designed to run inverted with increased capacity and power.

Hatfield Aerodrome was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the English town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Aviation Museum</span> Aerospace museum in Port Adelaide, South Australia

The South Australian Aviation Museum, located in Port Adelaide, South Australia, is an aviation museum which displays aircraft, aircraft engines, and rockets of relevance to South Australia, and the history of aviation and the aerospace industry in Australia.

Ralph Marcus Hare (1914-2009) was a British aircraft engineer. He was a longtime engineer at the aviation firm de Havilland and worked on the production and development of the de Havilland Mosquito.

References

Notes

  1. Ellis 2004, p.79.
  2. 1 2 Mrazek 1977, pg. 70.
  3. "de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre - incorporating the Mosquito Aircraft Museum". Culture 24. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  4. Birtles, Philip (January 2016). "MUSEUM HISTORY". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  5. Ellis 2004, p.80.
  6. "Restored WWII Mosquito unveiled at de Havilland Museum on 75th anniversary of maiden flight". The Herts Advertiser. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  7. "NEW HANGAR PROJECT". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  8. Davies, Alan (16 February 2020). "What to see at new-look de Havilland Aircraft Museum". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  9. "AIRSPEED AS.51 & 58 HORSA GLIDER". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  10. "BRITISH AEROSPACE BAE 146-100". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  11. "DE HAVILLAND CIERVA C.24 AUTOGIRO". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  12. "DE HAVILLAND DH53 HUMMING BIRD". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  13. "DE HAVILLAND DH82A TIGER MOTH". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  14. "DE HAVILLAND DH82B QUEEN BEE". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  15. "DE HAVILLAND DH87B HORNET MOTH". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  16. "DE HAVILLAND DH88 COMET RACER". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  17. "DE HAVILLAND DH98 MOSQUITO FB MK.VI". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  18. "DE HAVILLAND DH98 MOSQUITO B.MK.35". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  19. "DE HAVILLAND DH100 VAMPIRE FB.6". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  20. "DE HAVILLAND DH103 SEA HORNET NF.21 (TAIL SECTION)". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  21. "DE HAVILLAND DH104 DOVE MK.8". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  22. "DE HAVILLAND DH106 COMET 1A". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  23. "COMET G-ANAV FOR MAGS". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  24. "DE HAVILLAND DH106 COMET 2R". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  25. "DE HAVILLAND DH106 COMET 4". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  26. "DE HAVILLAND DH110 SEA VIXEN FAW.2". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  27. "DE HAVILLAND DH114 HERON MK.2D". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  28. "DE HAVILLAND DH115 VAMPIRE T.11". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  29. "DE HAVILLAND DH125". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  30. "DE HAVILLAND DHC1 CHIPMUNK T.MK.10". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  31. "DE HAVILLAND DH121 TRIDENT". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  32. "DE HAVILLAND DH 100 VAMPIRE FB5 VV217". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  33. "DE HAVILLAND DH112 VENOM FB.4". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  34. "DE HAVILLAND DH112 VENOM NF.3". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  35. "DE HAVILLAND DH113 VAMPIRE NF10". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  36. "DE HAVILLAND DH89A DRAGON RAPIDE". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  37. "DE HAVILLAND DH98 MOSQUITO PROTOTYPE". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  38. "DE HAVILLAND DH112 SEA VENOM FAW.22". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  39. "DE HAVILLAND GIPSY III". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  40. "DE HAVILLAND GIPSY MAJOR". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  41. "DE HAVILLAND GIPSY QUEEN 30". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  42. "DE HAVILLAND GIPSY TWELVE". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  43. "DE HAVILLAND GHOST MK. 104". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  44. "DE HAVILLAND GOBLIN 35". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  45. "DE HAVILLAND GYRON". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  46. "DE HAVILLAND GYRON JUNIOR". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  47. "DE HAVILLAND GNOME". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  48. "DE HAVILLAND SUPER SPRITE". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  49. "DE HAVILLAND SPECTRE ROCKET". de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Retrieved 21 September 2020.

Bibliography