Review: RAF Museum — Battle of Britain experience in London (Includes interview and first-hand account)

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the Second World War air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) during the summer and autumn of 1940. It is regarded by historians as a pivotal point in the war. It was the first major battle ever to be fought in skies and it mixed aerial dogfights with heavy bombing of towns and cities.

Gladiator K8042 aircraft, 1937-1945. This was the last bi-plane used by the British. It saw action early on during the war.

Tim Sandle

The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane. It was primarily used as a training aircraft. It was used throughout the second world war to train pilots.

Tim Sandle

Located in Hendon, North London is the Battle of Britain Museum.

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War. The aircraft was powered by one 890 hp (664 kW) Bristol Mercury XII radial piston engine.

Tim Sandle

The museum includes some new exhibits this year to mark the 75th anniversary of the conflict. The aircraft collection contains the most comprehensive selection of aircraft from both sides that fought in the Battle of Britain.

Boulton Paul Defiant, a British interceptor aircraft. The Defiant found use in gunnery training, target towing, electronic countermeasures and air-sea rescue. Among RAF pilots it had the nickname “Daffy”.

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The first part of the museum displays some recreated street scenes, showing people going about their everyday business on the eve of war being declared.

A man, ready to ‘dig for victory’ discusses the coming of war with a police officer.

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During the war, children were evacuated from the cities into the countryside due to risk of bombing.

Tim Sandle

There are also other recreated scenes from the era. These include a wartime office.

A recreated communications office at the RAF museum, Hendon.

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And part of a London Tube station, decorated with wartime posters.

A recreation of Covent Garden underground station, crica 1940.

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And the familiar face of Winston Churchill, who was Prime Minister between 1940 and 1945. This waxwork shows Churchill seated behind a desk in a recreation of his war office in Downing Street.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, DL, FRS, RA (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.

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The main part of the museum displays aircraft from the main 1940 air battles. For example, the Bristol Blenheim light bomber.

The Bristol Blenheim was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter.

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A German Messerschmitt Bf 110. During World War II Messerschmitt became a major design supplier, their Bf 109 and Bf 110 forming the vast majority of fighter strength for the first half of the war.

The Messerschmitt first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force

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The Messerschmitt Bf 109 became the most important fighter in the Luftwaffe as Germany.

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The risks and horrors of the war are also clearly marked. One such example is the wreckage of a damage dBritish Hurricane.

A preserved wreckage from a British Hurricane aircraft, circa 1940.

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Opposing the German air fighters was the British spitfire. The craft on display is a Supermarine Spitfire Mark I. The British Supermarine Spitfire was the only Allied fighter aircraft of the Second World War to fight in front line service, from the beginnings of the conflict, in September 1939, through to the end in August 1945.

The Mark I Spitfire had a maximum speed of 362 mph (583 km/h) at 18,500 ft (5,600 m), with a maximum rate of climb of 2,490 ft/min at 10,000 ft (3,000 m).

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Also on display was a German bomber, the Heinkel H111-H. The aeroplane is distinguished by its extensively glazed “greenhouse” nose.

Heinkel H111-H. The plane reached a speed of 380 km/h (230 mph), powered by a 447 kW (600 hp) BMW VI engine.

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Aircraft from other countries also feature, such as this Fiat design from Italy.

The Fiat CR.42 Falco was a single-seat sesquiplane fighter that served primarily in Italy’s Regia Aeronautica before and during World War II.When production was stopped in 1942, a total of 1,784 CR.42s had been built.

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The largest plane on display is the “short” Sunderland. an anti-submarine aircraft. The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber.

The thick wings of the Short Sunderland carried the four nacelle-mounted Pegasus engines and accommodated six drum fuel tanks with a total capacity of 9,200 litres (2,025 Imperial gallons, 2,430 U.S. gallons).

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Visitors are allowed to talk through the entire length of the well-preserved Sunderland.

Inside the depths of the Short Sunderland at the Hendon Museum. The Sunderland was the first RAF flying boat to be fitted with power-operated gun turrets.

Tim Sandle

The Hendon RAF Battle of Britain Museum is a great place to learn about the conflict that shaped World War II. The displays show craft from all sides in the conflict, complete with useful facts. The emphasis is on the importance of the Battle of Britain; however, the war is not glorified, instead the importance is balanced with respect for the lives lost. The museum is free to visit and worth checking out if you are in London.

A selection of World War II aircraft on display at the Battle of Britain Museum, Hendon, London.

Tim Sandle