Wings Museum facts for kids
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Wings Museum entrance on Brantridge Lane
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| Location | Balcombe, West Sussex |
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| Type | Aviation museum |
The Wings Museum is an exciting aviation museum in Sussex, United Kingdom. It's a place where you can explore amazing aircraft and items from the past. The museum is inside a large building, like a hangar, that used to be part of a farm. It's about 12,000 square feet (1,115 square meters) in size.
The museum mostly shows things from World War II. These include flying gear and other items. Many of these pieces were given to the museum. Others were found and fixed up by helpful volunteers.
Contents
Museum History and Development
The Wings Museum has moved a few times to get to where it is today. It started in a different spot before finding its current home.
Early Beginnings and Relocation
The museum first opened at Redhill Aerodrome. This was its original location for some time. By the year 2011, the museum moved to its current home. This new spot is on Brantridge Lane. It is located between the villages of Handcross and Balcombe.
Special Events and Restorations
In 2013, the museum helped raise money for a special memorial. This was for the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park. It helps remember brave airmen.
In 2015, volunteers at the museum did something amazing. They fixed up a Bristol Beaufighter Mk1f airplane. This plane had crashed 75 years before. It was a big project to bring it back to life.
Exploring the Aircraft Collection
The Wings Museum has a fantastic collection of aircraft. Many of these are from World War II. Some of the planes are very rare. In fact, some are the only ones of their type in the UK.
Walk Inside a D-Day Plane
One of the coolest things you can do is walk inside a Douglas C-47 Dakota. This plane's body, called a fuselage, is complete. This exact plane was used during D-Day. D-Day was a very important event in World War II. Later, this same plane was used in the TV show Band of Brothers.
Aircraft with Turbine Engines
Some aircraft use turbine engines. These are like jet engines.
- Hawker Siddeley Kestrel XS694: This aircraft is currently being fixed up. Some of its parts are kept safely in storage.
Aircraft with Piston Engines
Many older planes use piston engines. These are like car engines.
- North American B-25J-25-NC 44-30861: This plane is also being restored by the museum's team.
- Bell P-63 Kingcobra - 43-11137: This aircraft is being fixed up. The museum has five more of these planes stored away.
- Douglas A-20 Boston: This plane is shown just as it was found. It gives you a real look at history.
- Nakajima B5N2 Kate: This aircraft has a very large fuselage and wing section.
- Douglas C-47 Dakota: This is the fuselage from the Band of Brothers TV series. You can walk inside it!
- Hawker Hurricane: This is a wreck of a famous fighter plane.
- Handley Page Hampden TB.1 P1273: This is another aircraft wreck on display.
Aircraft Cockpits to See
The museum also has several aircraft cockpits. These are the parts where the pilot sits.
- Douglas A-26 Invader 43-22649
- Bristol Beaufighter 1f
- Curtis Helldiver SB2C-5: This cockpit is kept in storage.
- Jet Provost XM486: This cockpit is also in storage.
- English Electric Canberra: Another cockpit in storage.
- De Havilland Chipmunk WD377
- North American B-25 Mitchell
Flight Simulators
You can also try out a flight simulator.
- Link trainer: This is a type of machine that helped pilots practice flying.
Powerful Piston Engines
The museum displays several powerful piston engines.
- Rolls-Royce Merlin: There are five of these engines. One of them can even run! It's a special way to remember the past.
- Junkers Jumo 211
- Daimler Benz 610
See also
- List of aerospace museums
