de Havilland Aircraft Museum Facts for Kids

de Havilland Aircraft Museum

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Former name	Mosquito Aircraft Museum de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre
Established	1959 (1959)
Location	London Colney, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Type	Aviation museum

The de Havilland Aircraft Museum is a special museum in Hertfordshire, England, run by volunteers who love airplanes. It is the only museum in the country dedicated to just one aircraft maker: the de Havilland company.

The museum's goal is to protect the amazing history of de Havilland aircraft. They want to show everyone how this company helped create new and exciting technology for British aviation.

The collection started with the very first de Havilland Mosquito ever built. This famous plane was designed and built right here! The museum also has several de Havilland Vampire jets, which was the third jet-powered aircraft to ever fly.

The Museum's Story
The Aircraft Collection
See also

The Museum's Story

Salisbury Hall: A Historic Home

Salisbury Hall, where the Mosquito was designed.

The museum is located at a place called Salisbury Hall, which has a long and interesting history. The current house was built around 1668 for a banker named James Hoare. It is said that King Charles II and his friend Nell Gwynne were connected to the hall.

Over the years, many different people lived here. In the early 1900s, Lady Randolph Churchill, the mother of Winston Churchill, lived at the hall. This meant that the future prime minister was a frequent visitor.

Later, in the 1930s, Sir Nigel Gresley lived here. He was a famous railway engineer who designed the Mallard, the world's fastest steam train. It is believed he named the locomotive after the ducks living in the moat around the hall!

A Secret Wartime Project

In 1939, at the start of World War II, the de Havilland Aircraft Company needed a secret place to design a new plane. They chose Salisbury Hall. Here, a team worked on the famous de Havilland Mosquito. The very first Mosquito prototype, W4050, was built in sheds next to the hall.

After the war ended, de Havilland left in 1947, and the beautiful hall became neglected and run-down.

Saving the First Mosquito

A retired army major named Walter Goldsmith bought the old hall. He soon learned about its secret wartime past. He contacted de Havilland and found out that the original Mosquito prototype still existed! It had been hidden away and was almost thrown out.

Mr. Goldsmith offered to give the historic plane a home at Salisbury Hall. De Havilland fixed up the plane, and in 1959, it returned to the place where it was born. This was the beginning of the museum.

Growing the Collection

The prototype Mosquito was the first plane on display. Soon, other famous de Havilland aircraft joined it, like the de Havilland Vampire and Venom. In 1970, another Mosquito arrived. This one had been used in the movie Mosquito Squadron.

Over the years, the museum added more planes, including a Sea Vixen, a Chipmunk, and a Dove. The museum also has the body of the world's first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet 1.

Volunteers have done amazing work restoring these planes. In 2001, they began a huge project to conserve the original Mosquito prototype, which was finished in 2015 for its 75th anniversary. Today, you can see it displayed with two other Mosquitos in one of the museum's hangars.

The Aircraft Collection

The museum has a fantastic collection of aircraft. Some are fully restored, while others are still being worked on by the dedicated volunteers.

Aircraft on Display

The DH.82 Tiger Moth, a classic training plane.

The first-ever DH.98 Mosquito, W4050, a centerpiece of the museum.

The flight deck of a Comet 2 jet airliner.

The DH.104 Dove 8, a small passenger plane.

Here are some of the amazing planes you can see at the museum:

Airspeed Horsa I/II BAPC.232 – The body of a WWII glider
British Aerospace 146-100 G-JEAO – The body of a modern jet
Cierva C.24 G-ABLM – An early type of autogyro
de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird J7326 – The body of a very light aircraft
de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth G-ANRX
de Havilland DH.82 Queen Bee LF789 – The body of a radio-controlled drone
de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth G-ADOT
de Havilland DH.88 Comet G-ACSR – A replica of a famous racing plane
de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito Prototype W4050
de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI TA122/TW233
de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito TT(B)35 TA634
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.6 J-1008
de Havilland DH.103 Hornet VX250 – The tail section of a fighter plane
de Havilland DH.104 Dove 8 G-AREA
de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1A F-BGNX – The body of the first jet airliner
de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1A G-ANAV – The nose section
de Havilland DH.106 Comet C.2(R) XK695 – The cockpit section
de Havilland DH.106 Comet 2 – The nose section
de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen FAW.2 XJ565
de Havilland DH.114 Heron G-AOTI
de Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.11 XJ772
de Havilland DH.125 Series 1 G-ARYC
de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 WP790
Hawker Siddeley HS.121 Trident 2E G-AVFH

Aircraft in Storage

These planes are waiting for their turn to be restored and displayed.

de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito TT.35 TJ118 – Fuselage, with nose section removed.
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.5 VV217
de Havilland DH.104 Dove 6 D-IFSB
de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB.4 WR539
de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB.50 J-1632
de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB.54 J-1790
de Havilland DH.112 Venom NF.3 WX853
de Havilland DH.113 Vampire NF.10 WM729 – fuselage pod only
de Havilland DH.125 Jet Dragon G-ARYA – Cockpit section only

Aircraft Under Restoration

Volunteers are currently working on these exciting projects.

de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-AKDW
de Havilland DH.112 Sea Venom FAW.22 XG730

Engines on Display

A look at some of the powerful engines in the museum's collection.

The museum also has a large collection of engines that powered these amazing aircraft. You can see how aviation technology changed over time, from piston engines to powerful jets.

Piston Engines

de Havilland Iris (replica)
de Havilland Gipsy
de Havilland Gipsy Major
de Havilland Gipsy Queen
de Havilland Gipsy Twelve
Rolls-Royce Merlin

Gas Turbine (Jet) Engines

de Havilland Ghost
de Havilland Goblin
de Havilland Gyron
de Havilland Gyron Junior
Rolls-Royce Gnome

Turboprop Engines

de Havilland H3

Rocket Engines

de Havilland Super Sprite
de Havilland Spectre

de Havilland Aircraft Museum facts for kids

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