Welcome to the Aviation Museums Section. As this section grows I shall put up much more detailed, illustrated pages including lists of aircraft at each museum, photographs and other information.
For now, this page serves as a list of museums, mostly in Britain, that have an aviation connection to a greater or lesser extent. Some of these museums are obviously of national significance, IWM, RAF Hendon, RAF Cosford, Flixton, Newark, Shuttleworth, etc. and their major content is specifically aviation related.
Other museums have very little aviation content, but may contain something related to aviation that is of significance to their geographic area, perhaps due to a local person who had a significant connection with aviation.
Before you drive for miles to find that aviation icon, use the links below to make sure you are going to find what you are looking for. But bear in mind that the smaller museums may well contain the greater surprises.
And please bear with me if there are errors or om missions. If you spot any required corrections, particularly wrong or unserviceable links, or museums which have been left out, or which should no longer be included, please email me. Any anecdotes or stories related to any museum or its contents would also be greatly appreciated.
I am Norfolk based but travel quite extensively and I offer illustrated talks on aviation related topics, including aviation pioneers, warbirds, historic aircraft and the men who flew them, where these aircraft can be found in some of these great museums. If you are interested in hearing a talk please just email me. Thank you.
100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum, Dickleburg, Norfolk
306 Bombardment Group Museum, Thurleigh, Bedfordshire
Battle Of Britain Bunker, London
Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight Visitor Centre, Lincolnshire
Bentwaters Cold War Museum, Woodbridge, Suffolk
Berkshire Aviation Museum, Woodley, Berkshire
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, Old Sarum, Wiltshire
Bournemouth Aviation Museum, Hurn, Dorset
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Avon
Bruntingthorpe Aircraft Museum, Lutterworth, Leicestershire
Charnwood Museum, Loughborough, Leicestershire
Classic Air Force, Newquay, Cornwall
Classic Air Force Airbase, Coventry, Warwickshire
Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre, North Rauceby, Lincolnshire
Croydon Airport Visitor Centre, Croydon, London
Davidstow Airfield & Cornwall At War Museum, Camelford, Cornwall
De Havilland Aircraft Museum, Colney, Hertfordshire
Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery, Yorkshire
Dunkeswell Memorial Museum, Devon; Alas, Curently Closed.
Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum, Dumfries & Galloway
East Essex Aviation Museum, Essex
East Midlands Aeropark, East Midlands Airport, Derbyshire
Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum, Hampshire
Fenland & West Norfolk Aviation Museum, Cambridgeshire
Firepower - Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London
Fleet Air Arm Museum, RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset
Gatwick Aviation Museum, Surrey
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Cheshire
Halesworth Airfield Museum, Suffolk
Harrington Aviation Museum, Northamptonshire
Helicopter Museum, Weston Super Mare, Somerset
Highland Aviation Museum, Inverness
Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
Jet Age Museum, Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Lanarkshire
Kent Battle Of Britain Museum, Hawkinge, Kent
Lashenden Air Warfare Museum, Headcorn, Kent
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire
Manchester Airport Runway Visitor Park, Manchester
Manx Aviation & Military Museum, Ronaldsway Airport, Isle Of Man
Martlesham Heath Control Tower Museum, Suffolk
Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre, Lincolnshire
Midland Air Museum, Coventry, Warwickshire
Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, Angus
Muckleburgh Collection, Weybourne, Norfolk
Museum Of Army Flying, Middle Wallop, Hampshire
Museum Of Science & Industry, Manchester
National Museum Of Flight, East Lothian
National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh
Newark Air Museum, Nottinghamshire
Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Norfolk
North East Land, Sea & Air Museum, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear
North Weald Airfield Museum, Essex
Norwich City Aviation Museum, Norfolk
Oban War & Peace Museum, Argyll
Parham Airfield Museum, Framlingham, Suffolk
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire
REME Museum Of Technology, Arborfield, Berkshire
REME Museum Of Technology, Lyneham, Wiltshire - Opening Soon, we hope.
Romney Marsh Wartime Collection, Brenzett, Kent
Rougham Tower Association, Suffolk
Royal Air Force Air Defence Museum, Neatishead, Norfolk
Royal Air Force Bircham Newton Heritage Centre, Norfolk
Royal Air Force Manston History Museum, Kent
Royal Air Force Manston Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum, Ramsgate, Kent
Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford,
Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London
Royal Air Force Scampton Heritage Centre, Lincolnshire
Royal Air Force Wickenby Memorial Collection, Lincolnshire
Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham, Kent
Science Museum, South Kensington, London
Science Museum, Wroughton, Wiltshire
Seething Control Tower Museum, Seething, Norfolk
Shoreham Aircraft Museum, Kent
Shoreham Airport Visitor Centre, Sussex
Shuttleworth Collection, Bedfordshire
Snibston Discovery Museum, Coalville, Leicestershire
Solent Sky, Southampton, Hampshire
Solway Aviation Museum, Carlise Airport, Cumbria
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, Doncaster, Yorkshire
Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group, Merseyside
Stondon Motor Museum, Henlow, Bedfordshire
Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome, Purleigh, Essex
Sywell Aviation Museum, Northamptonshire
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Sussex
Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre, Wolverhampton, west Midlands
Thameside Aviation Museum, East Tilbury, Essex
ThinkTank Birmingham Science Museum, West Midlands
Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall Thorpe, Lincolnshire
Trenchard Museum, RAF Halton, Berkshire
Ulster Aviation Collection, Lisburn, County Antrim
Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Hollywood, County Down
Vulcan Experience, Doncaster, Yorkshire
Wartime Aircraft Recovery Group Museum, Sleap Aerodrome, Shropshire - No Known Website
Wattisham Station Heritage, Suffolk
Wellington Aviation Museum, Moreton In The Marsh, Gloucestershire
Wellesbourne Wartime Museum, Warwickshire
Welsh Spitfire Museum, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire
Wings Museum, Balcombe, West Sussex
Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, Yorkshire