Malta Aviation Museum is an aircraft museum situated on the site of the 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 ...

airfield in the village of

Ta'Qali Ta' Qali is a wide open space in the limits of Attard and Mosta in central and northern Malta respectively, which contains the national football stadium, the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre, Ta' Qali National Park, a crafts village, and a nat ...

, on the island of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. The museum, based in three hangars, covers the history of aviation on the island with exhibits, particularly from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and post-war periods. The museum is involved in the preservation and restoration of aircraft, some of which are in airworthy condition. In 2021, a new Main Exhibition Hangar was funded by the EU.

List of exhibits

Main Exhibition Hangar

Exhibits include *

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, 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 turb ...

x2 * Douglas Dakota * Cessna Birddog * North American Texan *

Piper Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...

* Fiat G.91 *

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 ...

Cockpit * Agusta Bell 47G helicopter

Air Battle of Malta Memorial Hangar

This hangar, purpose-built and opened in 2005, features airframes from the Second World War period, several examples restored from casualties of the

Battle of Malta The Battle of Malta took place on 8 July 1283 in the entrance to the Grand Harbour, the principal harbour of Malta, as part of the War of the Sicilian Vespers. An Aragonese fleet of galleys, commanded by Roger of Lauria, attacked and defeated ...

. *

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraf ...

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 b ...

IIa Z3055 *

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 Gri ...

IX (EN199) *

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also us ...

(fuselage skeleton)

Romney Exhibition Hangar

The space, which includes the museum entrance and restoration workshop, has exhibits including: *

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

Link Trainer The term Link Trainer, also known as the "Blue box" and "Pilot Trainer" is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by Link Aviation Devices, founded and headed by Ed Link, based o ...

* Sea Venom *

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...

Gallery

Malta Aviation Museum 240915 Hurricane Z3055 02.jpg, Hawker Hurricane Z3055 Malta Aviation Museum 240915 Fiat G.91R 01.jpg, Fiat G.91R/1B Malta Aviation Museum 240915 Spitfire EN199 01.jpg, Supermarine Spitfire F Mk.IXe EN199 Hawker Sea Hawk FGA.6 ‘WV826 - O-161’ (50196590971).jpg, Hawker Sea Hawk FGA.6 WV826 Malta Aviation Museum 240915 Agusta Bell 47G-2 01.jpg, Armed Forces of Malta Agusta Bell 47G-2 AS7201 Malta Aviation Museum 240915 Tiger Moth 02.jpg, de Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth

Bibliography

* Ogden, Bob. Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe. 2006. Air-Britain (Historians) Limited. Tonbridge, Kent. .

References

{{reflist Museums in Malta Attard