The Imperial War Museum (IWM) organisation is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting the history of Great Britain’s military history. There are five different IWM branches throughout the United Kingdom – the IWM London, which is the main branch; the HMS Belfast, which is a WWII-era cruiser permanently moored on the Thames as a floating museum; the Churchill War Rooms; the IWM North, located in Manchester; and the IWM Duxford in Cambridgeshire, which is dedicated to the history of civil and military aviation.
The main exhibition hangar at IWM Duxford, housing an assortment of military and civil aircraft from throughout the 20th century.
There are approximately 200 different vehicles on display at IWM Duxford, the majority of which are aircraft. There are also some exhibits dedicated to land warfare, displaying tanks and other armoured vehicles. However the historical significance of Duxford extends far beyond the impressive displays it houses. The museum is located on a functioning airfield, which saw active service as an RAF base at the end of WWI and throughout WWII. The base played an important role during the Battle of Britain. Since Duxford was located close to Britain’s east coast, it proved a crucial point from which to intercept Luftwaffe aircraft which were bound for London on bombing raids. Even though most of the fighter aircraft stationed at Duxford during WWII were Hawker Hurricanes (the RAF’s mainstay during the Battle of Britain), the No.19 Squadron stationed at Duxford was the first to operate the state of the art Supermarine Spitfire before the war in August 1938.
An RAF pilot in his Hawker Hurricane – these two (and many other pairings like them) would be instrumental in thwarting Germany’s invasion of Britain.
Aside from the iconic Hurricane and Spitfire, the museum houses other rare and interesting aircraft that would otherwise be inaccessible to the public. Indeed, one of the great virtues of museums is that they provide the opportunity to get ‘up close and personal’ with artefacts which, either due to the passing of time or because of their specialised use, one would never normally encounter in everyday life. One such example from Duxford includes a pre-production model of the Concorde, of which twenty aircraft would eventually be built. The Concorde on display at Duxford (G-AXDN 101) once concluded a trans-Atlantic flight in 2hr56mins – the fastest ever recorded for any Concorde.
The Concorde is the longest aircraft in the main hangar. Daily tours are available of the cockpit and cabin. Also visible in the foreground is an Avro Lancaster Bomber.
Having written a previous post focusing on aircraft roundels and insignia, I found it interesting to wander through the exhibition hangars at Duxford and found some noteworthy examples.
After the defeat of Poland in 1939 following the invasion by German and Soviet forces many Polish aviators were evacuated. Most of these pilots found their way to France where units of the Polish Air Force were reconstituted, flying French hardware (mainly the poorly rated Caudron C.714 fighter plane). After the surrender of France in 1940 around 150 Polish pilots once again relocated, this time to the United Kingdom. Like the French Air Force, the RAF was initially sceptical about the ability of the Polish airmen. However, given the losses the RAF was suffering at the hands of the Luftwaffe at that time, there existed a desperate need for fighter pilots. Polish fighter and bomber squadrons were created within the RAF and soon proved their worth. At that stage, the Polish pilots were probably the most experienced Allied airmen of the war, having flown against the Luftwaffe in Poland and France. This experience, combined with the potent Hurricane and Spitfire fighters, made a crucial difference in the air war above Britain in 1940. Of all the British and Commonwealth squadrons stationed in Britain at that time, the Polish squadrons were the most effective. IWM Duxford as an example of one of these Polish RAF Spitfires that flew with the No.317 Polish Fighter Squadron.
A Supermarine Spitfire from No.317 squadron. The squadron insignia is displayed behind the cockpit, above the letter ‘C’. Note the RAF and Polish Air Force roundels
Detail of the Polish Air Force roundel on the fuselage beneath the engine exhaust outlets.
Since the Polish airmen integrated completely with the RAF, all the Polish squadrons operated aircraft in RAF livery. However, the Polish Air Force roundel, which is actually square, was also displayed on the fuselage. Polish pilots also wore RAF uniforms and rank insignia, but retained their distinctive Polish Air Force pilot wings.
Also on display is another Spitfire with ties to the RAF and the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). As with their Polish counterparts, many Dutch pilots flew in the RAF after the invasion of the Netherlands and the low countries in May 1940. These pilots also flew RAF aircraft throughout the war. After WWII, many of the Dutch RAF squadrons were used to rebuild a post-war RNLAF. As a result, the Dutch continued to fly British fighters such as Spitfires during the colonial wars of independence that emerged after WWII.
RNLAF Spitfire of No.322 Squadron. Note the green colour scheme and the distinctive Dutch roundel.
Spitfire H-53 served with No.322 Squadron RAF during WWII. This squadron was in particular tasked with intercepting V-1 flying rocket bombs that were launched at London from sites in France. After the war the squadron was continued in the RNLAF, also as No.322 Squadron, in honour of its wartime service.
In an interesting coincidence, a neighbouring hangar at the museum houses a Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter that was shot down over England during the Battle of Britain. The display shows the downed aircraft being guarded by a British tommy, somewhere in the English countryside.
A downed Messerschmitt. Note the curved propeller blades caused by impact with the ground.
On closer inspection it becomes apparent that this Messerschmitt was involved in the invasion of the France and the Netherlands in 1940. As is customary with most aircraft, the air to air victories of the pilot are indicated somewhere on the fuselage. In this case they are painted on the tail rudder. It can be seen that the pilot of this Bf-109 shot down five enemy aircraft in one month, including two Dutch, one French and two British planes. The two Dutch kills occurred on the same day (13 May 1940). The Dutch officially surrendered on the following day, the 14th of May.
The rudder sporting the victories of the downed Bf-109. Compare the first two roundels with that of the RNLAF Spitfire, discussed above.
The British/Dutch Spitfire and the German Messerschmitt on display at Duxford are typical of the fighter aircraft that took part in the Battle of Britain and aerial conflict in general during WWII. They could conceivably have ecnountered one another in actual combat, and it’s a privilege to see these two warriors of the sky in the flesh.
Fast forward some six decades and the face of aerial combat has changed drastically. An example of 21st century airpower is the Eurofighter typhoon, which was developed through the collaboration of various European aircraft manufacturers. Since its introduction in 2003, eight countries have adopted the Eurofighter. The main users are Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The Eurofighter Typhoon on display at IWM Duxford.
Despite being a contemporary aircraft, Duxford has a Eurofighter Typhoon on display. This particular aircraft is one of the early developmental models manufactured in the UK and used for testing purposes in the late 1990s. As a developmental model, it has some unusual insignia. It sports two roundels. The one to the rear of the cockpit is the standard RAF low visibility roundel used on grey paint schemes. Towards the middle of the cockpit appears another roundel. This emblem is a composite of the German, UK, Spanish and Italian roundels. This unique emblem is a fitting representation of the cooperation between these countries in developing and manufacturing the Eurofighter.
The Imperial War Museum at Duxford, like the other branches of the IWM, is a highlight for any enthusiast of military history. There are only a handful places in the world where such a diverse assortment of aircraft are concentrated in one place. This makes Duxford a valuable resource for popular history. And as history recedes further into the past, the value of museums such as Duxford will continue to grow. Here’s hoping that with this passage of time, the task of preserving history in this manner will receive the recognition and support it deserves.
anapophist 