Royal Air Force Millom or more simply RAF Millom is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

station located in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

, England

History

Opened in January 1941 as No.2 bombing and

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

nery school and in summer became No. 2 Air Observer School. In 1942 it became No. 2 Observer Advanced Flying Unit until 1945, and in 1946 it was put under care and maintenance until 1953 when it was reopened for a 12-month period as No.1 Officer Cadet Training Unit. No. 1 O.C.T.U. departed the station in September 1953, and relocated to

RAF Jurby Royal Air Force Station Jurby or more simply RAF Jurby is a former Royal Air Force station built in the north west of the Isle of Man. It was opened in 1939 on of land acquired by the Air Ministry in 1937, under the control of No. 29 Group, ...

on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. The following units were here at some point: * 'R' Flight of

No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF This is a List of Anti-aircraft co-operation units of the Royal Air Force. Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF (1931–36) became Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight, ...

* No. 2 Air Observers School RAF * No. 2 Bombing & Gunnery School RAF * No. 2 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit RAF * No. 14 Air Crew Holding Unit RAF *

776 Naval Air Squadron 776 Naval Air Squadron (776 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...

822 Naval Air Squadron 822 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadron before and during World War II. History Pre-war 822 squadron was formed on 3 April 1933 from a merger of No's 442 and 449 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flights at Netheravon and posted ...

Museum

The RAF Millom Aviation & Military Museum was a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

bombing and gunnery school, located in

Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southwest Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furnes ...

. RAF Millom was then again put under care and maintenance until the 1960s when various army regiments passed through.

HM Prison Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wale ...

took it over in 1967. The museum project originated in a very small way in 1992, however due to a great deal of hard work by volunteers and ex-servicemen and women of the old

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Millom the collection has all but outgrown the present buildings and the yard.

Museum closure

The museum was in financial difficulties during the summer of 2010 and was asked to vacate its current main site by the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

– owners of the buildings the museum occupies which is part of the original airfield now occupied by

HM Prison Haverigg HM Prison Haverigg is a Category D men's prison, located in village of Haverigg (near Millom) in Cumbria, and historically in Cumberland, England. The prison is situated just outside the Lake District National Park. Haverigg Prison is oper ...

. Negotiations failed regarding a new lease agreement. The permanent closure was confirmed on 1 September 2010 with outstanding debts being the driving force. Much of the museum's exhibits were on loan and have been returned to owners. Millom Discovery Centre now has some of the exhibits relating to the very local area, but is limited for space.

Current use

The site is now

In popular culture

In July 2005, the archaeological television programme ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

'', along with members of RAF Millom Museum, took part in a major project to excavate the crash sites of two

Douglas A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Col ...

aircraft that had collided shortly after take-off over marshes close to the then

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

BAD 2 airbase at Warton in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

on 29 November 1944. The aircraft had been en route to

Brétigny, Oise Brétigny () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Population See also * Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 679 communes of the Oise department of France. The communes cooperate in the followi ...

in northern France to take up service with the 641st Bombardment Squadron of the

409th Bombardment Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

."A-26B Invaders - Warton - 29th November 1944 - Bombers in the Marsh."
''Lancashire Investigative Team.''

References

Citations

{{Reflist

External links

The Cumbria Directory - RAF Millom Museum

Museums in Cumbria Military aviation museums in England Military and war museums in England World War II museums in the United Kingdom Millom Whicham