Duxford today

As mentioned in the post below I called in at Duxford today for a look at their Scramble exhibition but I did of course also have a wander around the rest of the museum as well

Duxford 'Scramble' exhibition

As has been the case for the last three years or so Duxford have a winter exhibition in the front space of the super hangar. As in the past this is really just an excuse to re-position a handful of airframes in to a themed exhibition, this time being the summer of 1940 so the fall of France and the start of the Battle of Britain and title Scramble. It started today. In all honesty it probably isn't worth a special trip if you have done airshows and/or the museum previously but I was heading home from Norfolk today so this was a good excuse for a small diversion and a wander around for a couple of hours.

Anyway, here are some shots from the exhibition.

Old Buckenham

Old Buckenham in Norfolk is still an active airstrip albeit a lot quiter than it was from 1943 to 1945 when it was home to the USAAF 453rd Bombardment Group and their Consolidated Liberators. There is a museum to the group on the airfield but is is open seasonally which does not include winter time so yesterday, as I knew in advance, I was out of luck. However, there is a nice memorial on the airfield which is easy to access along with a mural in a bus shelter in the village.

Hethel

Hethel Airfield in Norfolk was home to the Liberators of the 389th Bombardment Group. The airfield had other uses post WWII and from 1966 has been home to Lotus cars but a memorial to the war time activity can be found in the grounds of the nearby All Saints church.

6 Group Royal Observer Corps

Spotted this in Wymondham Abbey today

Harrier GR7

An old Airfix kit. Went together ok but a bit of silvering on the decals unfortunately.

Fortress in Pegwell Bay

On 1st December 1943 a B17G desparately low on fuel and with three engines out failed in a galiant attempt to put down at RAF Manston after retuning from a bombing raid and ended up in the waters of Pegwell Bay close to Sandwich. Despite the loss of the aircraft all 10 crew escaped to fight another day and, at very low tides, scant remains of the B-17 can still be seen. Earlier this week a memorial board was erected to serve as a tribute to airmen of WWII.

No Sywell 2

The team behind the well received 2024 air show at Sywell have announced that there will not be a sequel in 2025. The driving force behind the show was the late Richard Grace and to honour his memory the 2024 show will be a one off.

Hampden project

The Handley Page Hampden project at Cosford that I last saw a couple of years or so ago is apparently almost finished and will soon be moved to Hendon. Sadly 'finished' in the eyes of the RAFM means just the fuselage and whilst the museum has the wings there are no plans to restore them and attach them to the aircraft fuselage. It all seems rather disappointing to me and still means that if you want to see what a complete Hampden looks like you need to go to Langley in Canada. At least I have had that pleasure.

Argosy refurb

Staying with the Midlands Air Museum their Argosy is currently getting a clean and pressure wash in readiness for a repaint.

MAM Phantom

Much like their Meteor, the Phantom at the Midland Air Museum was looking very tired when I saw it three years ago but I'm pleased to see that it has now had a repaint and is looking much improved.

Duxford 18 11 24

After a psuedo anniversary weekend in Norfolk, which included a festive train ride, we came home today via the M11 which was a good excuse to pop in to Duxford. It's only a couple of months since I was last there and as it is now off season not a lot has changed. No sign of activity on the Beau of course nor the CR42 but many of the regulars are undergoing winter maintenance and the hangars are full of overwintering aircraft. There will be some musical chairs soon as Duxford hosts another winter exhibition in the front of the super hangar, this time devoted to the fall of France. Anyway, I still snapped off a few shots.