Sywell Aviation Museum is based at Sywell Aerodrome in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England. It is sited in the aircraft viewing car park at the aerodrome. It documents the history of flying in Northamptonshire from the early days to the present day with particular emphasis on the Second World War. The museum is run by the Sywell Aviation Museum Trust and is run by volunteers; it is closed during the winter months and reopens each Easter Saturday.

History

The Sywell Aviation Museum opened originally in May 2001 using three

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of Corrugated galvanised iron, corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British ...

s from the former USAAF airfield at Bentwaters as its buildings. These were followed in 2011 and 2012 with the addition of two more Nissen huts from a former POW camp at Snape Farm, Derbyshire. All buildings are erected in a row, making five in total. Inside the museum can be found various displays on the history of aviation in Northamptonshire including aviation archaeology, aircraft cockpits, uniforms and models. A particular museum speciality is aircraft ordnance of which the museum has a wide variety from WW1 flechette darts to a concrete mockup of Britain's Blue Danube nuclear bomb. Missiles, rockets and bombs are also displayed, some on an original WW2 RAF bomb trolley towed by a WW2 RAF bomb tractor.

Internal displays

The displays are themed into the following halls:

The Paul Morgan Hall

The Paul Morgan Hall (Sywell Hall) charts the history of Sywell and including information on the aerodrome, RAF flying training there, a wartime LINK Trainer, and the museum's de Havilland Vampire T.11 jet fighter cockpit.

The RAF Hall

The RAF Hall has displays of RAF uniforms and equipment, a complete WW2 bomb train, an

Anderson shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

, wartime kitchen and extensive display on the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

The Main Hall

The Main Hall displays archaeological remains from

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

and B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft from local crashes. The story of WW1 in the air is also told as are the

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

raids over Northamptonshire in WW1 and information about local ace Major

Mick Mannock Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock (24 May 1887 – 26 July 1918) was a British flying ace in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War. Mannock was a pioneer of fighter aircraft tactics in aerial warfare. At the time ...

. The museum's de Havilland Chipmunk cockpit is available for children to try out.

The American Hall

The American Hall concentrates on three main units - the 315th Troop Carrier Group (Spanhoe), 20th Fighter Group (Kings Cliffe) and 305th Bomb Group (Chelveston) and displays original operation boards from the 20th FG, a mockup of a USAAF station armoury and B-17 cheek gunner's position. The front cockpit of a North American T-6 Harvard trainer is also on show.

The POW/Cold War Hall

The POW/Cold War Hall covers the 1942 Wellingborough Blitz bombing raid, RAF escape and evasion and prisoners of war and the Cold War era, including use of THOR missiles in Northamptonshire. An

Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire is a British turbojet engine that was produced by Armstrong Siddeley in the 1950s. It was the ultimate development of work that had started as the Metrovick F.2 in 1940, evolving into an advanced axial flow de ...

jet engine is displayed. which used to power the museum's Hawker Hunter.

External displays

A Hawker Hunter F.2 jet fighter is displayed outside the museum - it is the only complete F.2 mark left in existence. An English Electric Canberra TT.18 cockpit is also usually on show. In March 2021, the museum's second complete airframe - Handley Page Jetstream 200 G-RAVL arrived at Sywell from Cranfield Airfield. The machine was the demonstrator for Sywell-based Jetstream Ltd in the 1970s and won the Daily Express National Air Race between Sywell-Biggin Hill on 12 June 1971. The aircraft is to be restored and used as a classroom.

Aircraft on display

* 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 The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

''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)

List of awards won by Sywell Aviation Museum at the Northamptonshire Heritage Awards

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 at the Northamptonshire Heritage Awards voted for by the visiting public as 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 information

The museum opens on Easter Saturday and closes usually at the end of September. It is open between 1030 and 1630 each weekend and bank holiday during its open season and selected weekday afternoons. Group visits/guided tours are available by prior arrangement. Entry is free but donations are encouraged.

References

External links

*https://www.sywellaviationmuseum.org.uk/ *http://www.airscene.co.uk/aviation_museums/UK/sywell_aviation_museum.php *http://www.northamptonshireheritageforum.co.uk/awards.html *https://www.sywellaviationmuseum.org.uk/exhibits/external-displays/handley-page-jetstream-g-ravl/ *https://www.northamptonshireheritageforum.co.uk/latest-news/and-the-winners-are {{authority control Museums in Northamptonshire Aerospace museums in England 1998 establishments in England Military aviation museums in England World War II museums in the United Kingdom