Sywell Aviation Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 2001 |
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| Location | Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire |
| Type | Aviation museum |
The Sywell Aviation Museum is a cool place to visit in Northamptonshire, England. It's right next to the planes at Sywell Aerodrome! This museum shows you the amazing history of flying in Northamptonshire, from the very first flights to today. They especially focus on planes and stories from World War II.
Friendly volunteers run the museum. It's open from Easter Saturday until the end of September.
Contents
Museum History
The Sywell Aviation Museum first opened its doors in May 2001. Its buildings are special: they are old Nissen huts! These huts are curved, metal buildings that were used during wartime.
The first three huts came from a former American airfield called Bentwaters. Later, in 2011 and 2012, two more huts were added. These came from an old prisoner-of-war (POW) camp. Now, the museum has five huts all lined up in a row!
Inside the museum, you'll find lots of cool displays. These include old aircraft parts found by archaeologists, parts of plane cockpits, and military uniforms. They also have models of planes. A special part of the museum is its collection of aircraft bombs and missiles. Some of these are even displayed on an original World War II RAF bomb trolley!
Inside the Museum: Cool Displays
The museum has different areas, each with its own theme. Let's explore them!
The Paul Morgan Hall
This hall tells the story of Sywell Aerodrome. You can learn about how planes were trained here during wartime. There's even a real LINK Trainer, which was used to teach pilots how to fly without leaving the ground! You can also see the cockpit of a de Havilland Vampire T.11 jet fighter.
The RAF Hall
In the RAF Hall, you'll see uniforms and gear from the Royal Air Force (RAF). There's a complete World War II bomb train, which carried bombs. You can also step inside an Anderson shelter, a small metal shelter used to protect people during air raids. There's even a display of a wartime kitchen and information about the Home Guard.
The Main Hall
This hall shows parts of planes that crashed locally, like the Vickers Wellington and B-17 Flying Fortress. You can learn about World War I flying, including the Zeppelin airships that flew over Northamptonshire. There's also information about a famous local pilot, Major Mick Mannock. Kids can even try out the cockpit of a de Havilland Chipmunk plane!
The American Hall
This hall focuses on American air forces during World War II. It highlights three main groups: the 315th Troop Carrier Group, the 20th Fighter Group, and the 305th Bomb Group. You can see original operation boards and a pretend USAAF station armoury. There's also the front cockpit of a North American T-6 Harvard trainer plane.
The POW/Cold War Hall
This hall covers the 1942 Wellingborough Blitz bombing raid. It also tells stories of RAF pilots who escaped and avoided capture, and prisoners of war. You'll learn about the Cold War era, including the powerful THOR missiles used in Northamptonshire. An Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire jet engine is also on display.
Outside the Museum: Big Planes!
Outside the museum, you can see some impressive aircraft.
A Hawker Hunter F.2 jet fighter is displayed. This is very special because it's the only complete F.2 model left in the world! You can also usually see the cockpit of an English Electric Canberra TT.18.
In March 2021, the museum got another complete plane: a Handley Page Jetstream 200. This plane was a demonstration model in the 1970s. It even won a famous air race in 1971! The museum plans to fix it up and use it as a classroom.
Aircraft You Can See
Here are some of the aircraft and cockpits on display at the museum:
- de Havilland Vampire T.11 XD599 (cockpit)
- de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10 WG419 (cockpit)
- Hawker Hunter F.2 WN904
- English Electric Canberra TT.18 (cockpit)*
- North American Harvard IIB KF650 (front cockpit)*
- Slingsby Grasshopper TX.1 WZ820 (stored)
- de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth G-AOES (cockpit, stored, under restoration)
- Handley Page HP-137 Jetstream 200 G-RAVL (under restoration)
(*privately owned)
Awards Won by Sywell Aviation Museum
The Sywell Aviation Museum has won many awards for being a great museum!
- Museum of the Year and Best Exhibition 2007
- Highly Commended, Best Special Project 2011 & 2012
- Best Special Project and Peoples' Choice Awards 2013
- Best Community Project 2014
- Highly Commended Best Community Project 2018
- In July 2019, the museum won The Peoples' Choice Award. This means visitors voted it the best museum in Northamptonshire for 2019 and 2020!
- Highly Commended Best Special Project 2021
- Winner Best Event - Museum Grand Opening & 21st Birthday Party - Northants Heritage Awards October 2022
Visiting the Museum
The museum opens on Easter Saturday and usually closes at the end of September. It is open between 10:30 AM and 4:30 PM each weekend and on bank holidays during its open season. Sometimes it's also open on weekday afternoons. If you have a group, you can arrange a special visit or guided tour.
It's free to enter the museum, but donations are a great way to help support their work!
See also
- List of aerospace museums
Images for kids
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Hawker Hunter on display
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