The Tangmere Military Aviation Museum is 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 these ...

located on the former site of

RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. The museum was opened in June 1982. Many aerospace exhibits covering the First World War to the Cold War are on display including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

Aircraft on display

The museum aircraft are housed in two hangars with a small number on display externally. Several exhibits are on loan from the

Royal Air Force Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * Ro ...

including the

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...

used by

Neville Duke Neville Frederick Duke, (11 January 1922 – 7 April 2007) was a British test pilot and fighter ace of the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of 27 enemy aircraft. After the war, Duke was acknowledged as one of the world's fo ...

to break the

airspeed record An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which also ratifies any claims. Speed records ...

in 1953.

Piston engine aircraft

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

– replica *

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

''K5054'' – replica *

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

– replica

Jet aircraft

* de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 ''XJ580'' * de Havilland Vampire T.11 ''XH313'' *

English Electric Lightning F.53 The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...

''ZF578'' * Gloster Meteor F.4 ''EE549'' *

Gloster Meteor F.8 The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered ...

''WA829/WA984'' * Hawker Hunter F.3 ''WB188'' * Hawker Hunter F.5 ''WP190'' * Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 ''XV744'' * McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2 ''XV408'' * Supermarine Swift FR.5 ''WK281''

Aircraft cockpits

* de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10 ''WZ876'' * English Electric Canberra B.2 ''WE113'' *

Hawker Hunter F.4 The following is a list of variants of the Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft: Prototypes ;Hawker P.1067 :Prototype, first flight 20 July 1951, three built with the first later modified as a Hunter Mk 3 for the successful World Speed Record attem ...

''WV332'' * Percival Provost T.1 ''XF840'' * Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5A – replica * Supermarine Spitfire IX – under construction

Helicopters

Westland Wessex HU.5 The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes ...

''XS511''

Simulators

* Air Combat Simulator *

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...

* Red Simulators

Aircraft engines

Piston engines

Rolls-Royce Griffon The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre (2,240 cu in) capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. In keeping with company convention, the Griffon was named after a bird of prey, ...

Gas turbine engines

Rolls-Royce Derwent The Rolls-Royce RB.37 Derwent is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine, the second Rolls-Royce jet engine to enter production. It was an improved version of the Rolls-Royce Welland, which itself was a renamed version of Frank ...

Rolls-Royce Nene The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 w ...

* Rolls-Royce Palouste

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Ellis, Ken. ''Wrecks and Relics - 19th Edition'', Midland Publishing, Hinckley, Leicestershire. 2004.

External links

Tangmere Military Aviation Museum
{{Coord, 50.8467, N, 0.7147, W, source:wikidata, display=title Military aviation museums in England Museums in West Sussex