Gloster Meteor F8 Prone Position
A much modified Meteor F8 fighter, the ‘prone position’ Meteor, was used to evaluate the advantages of coping with the effects of gravity while flying lying down. …
Collection: Aircraft
Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3
Famous throughout the world as the first jet fighter capable of vertical take off and landing, the Harrier was utilised by the Royal Air Force as a …
Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a Komet
The only rocket propelled interceptor ever to be used operationally, the Me163 Komet was deployed by the Luftwaffe in a desperate attempt to combat the Allied strategic …
Short Brothers Belfast
Design of this long-range, strategic transport aircraft began in February 1959, with the first flight in January 1964. Only ten of the originally ordered thirty Belfasts were …
Vickers Valiant B1
The Valiant was the first of Bomber Command’s V class aircraft and established Britain’s air-borne nuclear deterrent force before pioneering operational in-flight refuelling in the Royal Air …
Sopwith Pup
The Pup, thought of by its pilots as the perfect flying machine, was used extensively by the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps both …
Avro Rota
By 1934, the autogyro form of aircraft, developed by Señor Juan de la Cierva, a Spaniard, was sufficiently advanced for the Royal Air Force to order a …
British Aircraft Corporation Lightning F6
The Lightning was the Royal Air Force’s first truly supersonic aircraft and its introduction immediately doubled maximum speeds in Fighter Command. Such a major advance called for …
Douglas Dakota
The Douglas C47, known as the Dakota in the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth services, became the world’s best known transport aircraft. The type saw widespread use …
Handley Page Halifax II
The Halifax shared with the Lancaster the major burden of Bomber Command’s night bombing campaign against Nazi Germany but unlike the Lancaster, which only served as a …
Hawker Siddeley Hunter F6A
The Hunter is remembered by its pilots as a delight to fly, and served with 22 air arms world wide. A single seat fighter, 415 Hunter F …
Messerschmitt Me 410A-1-U2
The last in a series of twin engined ‘destroyers’ manufactured by Messerschmitt, the Me410 was used by the Luftwaffe in a variety of roles. The origins of …
Short Sunderland MR5
By the start of World War Two in September 1939 three squadrons had been equipped with the Sunderlands. Seven hundred and forty-nine Sunderlands were built, and they …
Vickers Varsity T Mk I
The Varsity was a versatile twin piston-engined aircraft brought into RAF service in 1951 for crew training as a replacement for the Wellington T10. The aircraft had …
Avro Vulcan B2
The Vulcan was the world’s first large bomber to employ a delta-wing form, which offers a unique combination of good load carrying capabilities, high subsonic speed at …