Lashenden Air Warfare Museum facts for kids

The Lashenden Air Warfare Museum is an exciting aviation museum located at Lashenden (Headcorn) Airfield in Kent, southeast England. It's a fantastic place to discover amazing aircraft and learn about air battles from history.

What Can You See?

The museum is packed with interesting items that tell stories of air warfare. You'll find a variety of unique exhibits, from special aircraft to clever defense structures.

Unique Aircraft

The museum displays some very rare aircraft. One of these is a Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg. This was a special version of the famous V-1 flying bomb, but it was designed to be flown by a pilot!

You can also see a Focke-Achgelis Fa 330A-1 gyro-kite. This unusual aircraft was used by German U-boats (submarines) during World War II. It would be launched from the submarine to help them look around and spot things from above, like a flying lookout post!

Pop-Up Forts

A Pickett-Hamilton Fort at the museum. This fort could pop up from the ground to defend airfields.

One of the most interesting exhibits is a Pickett-Hamilton Fort. Imagine a small, strong concrete bunker that could pop up from the ground! These were used during World War II to protect airfields. When not needed, they would lower themselves to be flat with the ground, making them hard to spot.

The fort at the museum was found and dug up from RAF Manston, another airfield in Kent. It has been carefully put back together. You can even see its clever inside parts through a special window.

More to Explore

Beyond the main exhibits, the museum has a large collection of different aircraft parts. You can also see many items that belonged to pilots and aircrews, like uniforms, equipment, and other cool things that help tell the story of air warfare.