Visiting the RAF Museum at Hendon

If you would like to help support this blog, please donate through Paypal here!

£5.00


For my Dad’s birthday we took a trip into London to visit the RAF museum at Hendon. It’s a site we haven’t visited in about 10 years and truth be told I had forgotten the scale of the museum. It’s a huge place with a vast and interesting collection, of which there were certainly things I wasn’t expecting to see!

Admission to the museum is free and it’s a 5 minute walk from the Colindale underground station on the Northern Line. If you live in, or around, London, I highly suggest you take a day out to explore the museum for yourself.

As always, I’m going to present the exhibitions that really stood out to me, but I won’t be covering everything the museum has to offer. So if you want to see everything that’s there, you’ll have to take a trip out to support the museum!

Once we entered the museum ground, the first hanger we went into contained the gift shop, a small cafe, and a collection of aircraft and vehicles which acted as a taste of what was to come.

The first thing I laid eyes on was of course from the First World War;  De Havilland’s DH9A which was a British two-seat long range bomber which first entered service in 1918. Note the bomb racks under the wings.

DSC_0001DSC_0002DSC_0004

Here we have a 1924 Trojan Tender with RAF markings. An unusual little truck. I love the solid wheels.

DSC_0003

Folland Gnat used by the Red Arrows display team. When I was a kid I used to think these little jets were so cool!

DSC_0007

Mk1a Spitfire. A symbol of the British victory of the Battle of Britain.

DSC_0009

Between the entrance building and Hanger 1 were two boats. It’s nice to see the Marine Branch of the RAF represented.

DSC_0011

The next building to the right was this beautiful Edwardian era building which was one of the original buildings on the aerodrome.

DSC_0012

Inside was the preserved office of Claude Grahame-White, who founded the aerodrome.

DSC_0013DSC_0014DSC_0015

Here’s a photograph of a photograph of the original entrance. Check out the car; why can’t we have class like that now?

DSC_0016

This massive Pegasus trophy was won by Reginald Carr for winning a 315 mile air race from Hendon to Brooklands. Brooklands is one of my favourite places in the country and you’ll be able to find a few write ups of events there in the archives of this site.

DSC_0017

The Edwardian building led into Hanger 1. Hanger 1 holds most of the collections WW1 (and earlier) era vehicles.

First off is this Bleriot XXVII. I have featured Bleriots on this blog on write-ups of events at both Shuttleworth and Stow Maries. This is a different aircraft though owned by Richard Nash.

Louis Bleriot was, of course, famous for flying one of his creations over the English Channel in 1909. The aircraft he used now lives in the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

DSC_0022DSC_0024

Check out the suspension on the landing gear.

DSC_0023

Avro 504k. Of note is the skid on the front of the aircraft to stop it tipping forward when landing on less than perfect ground.

DSC_0026DSC_0028
DSC_0029

The Caudron G.3 was a really unusual little training aircraft. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

DSC_0033DSC_0034DSC_0035

Sopwith Triplane:

DSC_0037DSC_0038

Royal Aircraft Factory SE5:

DSC_0039DSC_0040

This truck is pure class!

DSC_0041DSC_0043

I’d love to daily drive something like this little Ford truck. 3 litre displacement over four cylinders. I bet it had quite a punch in it’s day!

DSC_0045

How unusual is the little brake light hanging from the tail gate?

DSC_0058

Sopwith Camel diving down from the ceiling.

DSC_0047

Tailed closely by a large bomber.

DSC_0048

A Fokker DVII intercepts from the other side of the room.

DSC_0044DSC_0049

Back on the ground we have an Albatros D.V. Stow Maries in Essex are also looking after one of these.

DSC_0050DSC_0051

The Sopwith Dolphin is an interesting little plane. I’d never heard of one until now!

DSC_0054DSC_0056

There’s a lot more in the WW1 section of the museum including a great demonstration of an interrupter gear and how it works. To see that though, you’ll have to visit the museum!

The other hangers contained plenty of aircraft from the 1920s up to the present day.

Here we have a P-40. These were used extensively by the RAF in North Africa.

DSC_0060

The P-47 Thunderbolt is a massive thing. It certainly has presence in the room!

DSC_0064DSC_0067

The ground attack Typhoon also has a lot of presence. These things had devastating fire power and destroyed hundreds of German tanks in the Falaise Pocket.

DSC_0068DSC_0070

The Beaufighter was another fantastic British ground attack aircraft. It’s not the prettiest of things but it packed a mean punch!

DSC_0071

This is one of the autoloading cannons it could be equipped with:

DSC_0073

AW101 Heliliner. As the name denotes, it looks like an airliner inside with lots of seats. One of these would make the ultimate private aircraft. *sigh* when I win the lottery.

DSC_0081
Scammels, affectionately known as mechanical horses, were used by the railways a lot. The RAF appear to have used them too!

DSC_0083

Gyrocopter. I’d never heard of one before and trying to figure out how the thing worked hurt my head. I think I need a RC one or to properly see one in action to really understand it.

DSC_0084

Messerschmidt 109. One of several rare German aircraft cared for by the museum.

DSC_0089DSC_0090DSC_0116

Other World War 2 era German aircraft in the collection include the JU87 Stuka. These were famous for the screaming sound they made as they dived. This is te first time I think I’ve seen one in person:

DSC_0105DSC_0106DSC_0108

Another first for me was the Heinkel He111. This particular one was built to drop paratroopers. I’m surprised that any of these have survived and have been preserved to be honest as they were used extensively during the blitz.

DSC_0107DSC_0109

The Messerschmidt 110. A multipurpose aircraft used by the Germans. I’ve always known them as a light bomber or ground attack aircraft but this one appears to be configured for reconnaissance.

DSC_0099DSC_0100DSC_0101

The Focke-Wulf 190 was one of the Third Reich’s best aircraft in my opinion as it was so versatile and could be used in a number of roles. This particular one was a twin seat training variant.

DSC_0117
DSC_0118

Another really unexpected German find was this He162. It’s a wooden bodied jet designed to be mass produced. It looks… interesting… to fly.

DSC_0121DSC_0123DSC_0125

Speaking of jets, De Havilland Vampires are one of my favourite jet aircraft.

DSC_0095

Finally, one of my favourite aircraft; the P-51 Mustang. A lot of these survived the war and were converted to racers. Several are still used in events such as the Reno Air Races, an event I would love to cover sometime in the future.

DSC_0097DSC_0098DSC_0133

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! If you would like to help me make even better quality content on a more regular basis please donate via paypal through the button at the top or paypal me directly at motorsportformentalhealth@yahoo.co.uk.

You can also join my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/motorsportformentalhealth

If you would like to stay up to date with all my blog posts please subscribe to the blog via email (from the box at the bottom of the page) or follow me on the following social media platforms:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/motorsportformentalhealth/
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-francis-b45025137/

Twitter: @richardmsfmh
Instagram: @motorsport4mentalhealth
Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ-j8broFg4i2rWIBy6W82Q

By Richard Francis

Leave a Reply