The Shoreham Aircraft Museum is located in the village of Shoreham near Sevenoaks in Kent, England, on the south-east edge of Greater London. [1] It was founded by volunteers in 1978 and is dedicated to the airmen who fought in the skies over southern England during the Second World War. [2]
The museum houses aviation relics excavated by the Shoreham Aircraft Preservation Society over 30 years. These relics come from crashed RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft and are displayed alongside personal accounts of those involved. A particular focus is the Battle of Britain period.
Many aircraft types are represented in the collection, including recovered engine examples from the following:
The museum has collections of flying helmets, uniforms, insignia and Home Front memorabilia, along with photos and other items which have been donated by ex-pilots and private individuals. The museum also holds a collection of original paintings and prints by the aviation artist Geoff Nutkins. Other examples of his work can be seen at the RAF College in Cranwell, the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon and The RAF Club in Piccadilly, London.
There is also a tearoom and garden serving cream teas and homemade cakes. The museum is open from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from Easter until the end of October each year. The tearoom and garden only is also open on Saturdays and is free to enter.
All current and ex-military service personnel can enter the museum free of charge.
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing, and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record for aircraft, achieving a speed of 727.63 mph.
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. In addition to the type's principal use for ab initio training, the Second World War had RAF Tiger Moths operating in other capacities, including maritime surveillance and defensive anti-invasion preparations; some aircraft were even outfitted to function as armed light bombers.
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Australian Air Force and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War.
Shoreham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 5.2 miles north of Sevenoaks.
The BAC Jet Provost is a British jet trainer aircraft that was in use with the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1955 to 1993. It was originally developed by Hunting Percival from the earlier piston engine-powered Percival Provost basic trainer, and later produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). In addition to the multiple RAF orders, the Jet Provost, sometimes with light armament, was exported to many air forces worldwide. The design was also further developed into a more heavily armed ground attack variant under the name BAC Strikemaster.
Shoreham railway station serves Shoreham in Kent, England. It is 22 miles 52 chains (36.5 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Eynsford and Otford. Train services are provided by Thameslink.
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Brighton City Airport, also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in the parish of Lancing in West Sussex, England. It has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
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The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, amongst other aircraft types, called for a British-designed short-haul feeder for airlines.
The Percival P.56 Provost is a basic trainer aircraft that was designed and manufactured by British aviation company Percival.
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Marden Airfield was an airfield in Marden, Kent, United Kingdom. It was operation from 1917 to 1935. Initially a Royal Flying Corps airfield during the First World War it was used post-war as an Emergency Landing Strip, RAF Marden by the Royal Air Force. It was also known as Pagehurst Emergency Landing Ground. Later serving as a civil Emergency Landing Ground, the airfield closed in 1935. The site housed a Royal Air Force transmitter station during the Second World War.
On 29 September 1934, an Airspeed Courier of London, Scottish & Provincial Airways Ltd crashed just north of Shoreham, Kent. The aircraft was on a scheduled international passenger flight from Heston Aerodrome west of London to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. All four people on board were killed. Two people were injured by flying débris.
The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum (SYAM) is a Volunteer led museum located at Lakeside in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It occupies the former site of the Royal Air Force Station, RAF Doncaster. The museum occupies the last remaining original buildings from RAF Doncaster in the shape of a Bellman hangar, two wooden Air Ministry 'Billet Huts' (Buildings 19 and 21) and various smaller structures. The museum has also erected an more modern ex Air Training Corps Cadet Hut alongside Building 21 to house its World War Two Collection.
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51°20′02″N0°10′39″E / 51.3339°N 0.1774°E