| Better known these days as Duxford Air Museum, this was one of the first airfields to be opened by the newly formed RAF during WW1 in 1918.
Located 8 miles South of Cambridge, just off the M11, West of the Duxford village, the base was primarily used as a fighter station and played a key part in the Battle of Britain during WW2. The site closed in 1961 though was held by the MOD as an inactive site for several years. The base had begun to fall into disrepair, until MGM studios used it to film "The Battle of Britain" in 1968. Whilst the film makers drew criticism for inflicting more damage to the site during their few weeks of filming than the Luftwaffe had managed during the whole of WW2, even blowing up one of the original WW1 hangers without permission in the process, the film did have the positive affect of awakening public interest in the preservation of military heritage. Shortly afterwards the base was sold off to the Imperial war museum and today houses one of the largest collections of military and civil aircraft in Europe, as well as having one of the finest collections of tanks, military vehicles and naval exhibits in the country Whilst the museum, which is primarily based on the old tech site, outwardly looks quite different to its war time days, most of the old buildings still remain, having been painstakingly preserved, including the original guard room, station HQ, ops block and control towers, though not all are open to the public. The old domestic site, including the old officer’s mess, based on the opposite side of the A505 to the museum, is also owned by the museum and although the buildings have been preserved, they’re not generally open to the public, as they’re used for storage by their archives division. The majority of photos shown here have been selected to show what remains of the original buildings, as opposed to the Museums displays. The museum is well worth a day out for anyone with an interest in military or aviation heritage. For details, checkout the link on the main page. |
Welcome to Duxford air museum. 700x525 |
The original main entrance off the A505 (now the staff entrance). 700x525 |
Main entrance as it looked in 1961. 700x400 |
Main entrance again, this time looking out, 700x525 |
The former guard room next to main entrance, now offices. 700x525 |
Former station HQ by main entrance, now the museum headquarters. 700x525 |
The old ops block. 700x510 |
The restored operations room, with plotting board. 700x525 |
The restored operations room, another view. 700x525 |
Another view along the top floor of the ops room. 700x525 |
The original control tower, still in use. 700x525 |
The original control tower, front view. 700x525 |
View accross the airfield showing main ident square in front of tower. 700x525 |
Control tower, another view. 700x525 |
View along the old peri track showing the tower to the left, and the original hangers to the right. 899x632 |
These old Bellman hangers were the forerunner to the T2. These are, I believe, a post war addition. 700x525 |
Nissen huts with fire tender shed. 1024x768 |
The original "Fire station" sign is still there! 700x525 |
View along the old main road round the site. 700x525 |
This peculiar contraption is apparently for opening the hanger doors. 525x700 |
Original flight huts, now museum workshops. 700x525 |
The old firing range. 700x525 |
Inside the airspace hanger, an original Lancaster. 700x525 |
Close up of the lanc. 700x525 |
