The de Havilland Aircraft Museum, formerly the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, is a volunteer-run aviation museum in

London Colney London Colney () is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, close to Junction 22 of the M25 motorway. It is near St Albans and part of the St Albans District. At the time of the 2001 census ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The collection is built around the definitive prototype and restoration shops for the

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

and also includes several examples of the

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 ...

– the third operational jet aircraft in the world. The museum is the largest such museum devoted to one manufacturer in the country.

History

Salisbury Hall

The site has been occupied by a number of large manor houses since the 9th Century. The present house was built around 1668 by the London banker James Hoare, bringing with it associations with Charles II and

Nell Gwynne Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...

, who lived in a cottage by the bridge to the Hall. The Hall subsequently passed through various hands, and during the latter part of the 19th century was occupied by a succession of farmers. However, about 1905

Lady Randolph Churchill Jennie Spencer-Churchill (; 9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921), known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was an American-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the mother of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Early ...

, as Mrs. Cornwallis West, came here to live. Her son,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, became a regular visitor. During the 1930s,

Sir Nigel Gresley Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rail ...

, of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

, was in residence. He was responsible for the A4 Pacific steam locomotives, one of which,

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

, still holds the world speed record for steam locomotives of . It is believed that the locomotive was named after the ducks in the moat. In September 1939, the

de Havilland Aircraft Company The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...

established the Mosquito design team in the Hall, the prototype Mosquito, E0234/W4050, subsequently being built in the adjacent buildings, to the side of Salisbury Hall. Which have since been demolished. After the acquisition of

Airspeed Ltd Airspeed Limited was established in 1931 to build aeroplanes in York, England, by A. H. Tiltman and Nevil Shute Norway (the aeronautical engineer and novelist, who used his forenames as his pen-name). The other directors were A. E. Hewitt, ...

assembled a design team, headed by aircraft designer Hessell Tiltman.Mrazek 1977, pg. 70. Tiltman's design efforts were initially carried out at the

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...

technical school at

Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess o ...

, before relocating to Salisbury Hall,

. The Airspeed building were behind Salisbury Hall and have since been demolished. Part of the site of the former

building was is now covered by the new Geoffrey de Havilland Hangar. Nell Gwynne's cottage, meanwhile, was the centre of a silk worm farm, which supplied the silk for the Queen's wedding and Coronation robes. After de Havilland left in 1947 the Hall slipped into a derelict condition. When Walter Goldsmith, a retired army major, purchased Salisbury Hall, he soon came to realise that it had been used by de Havilland during the war. On contacting Bill Baird, then in charge of PR at de Havilland at Hatfield, he discovered that the company had used it as the design centre for the Mosquito, and that Baird had squirrelled the original prototype away in the Fiddlebridge stores, just off the airfield at Hatfield. Having resisted several calls to burn the aircraft, Baird was delighted to find someone who could offer the old aircraft a home. de Havilland carried out basic restoration work at Hatfield, and Goldsmith accepted the aircraft back at Salisbury Hall in 1959.

Prototype Mosquito

The prototype Mosquito became the first aircraft to be displayed at Salisbury Hall, and was followed by examples of the

and

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

in 1968. In 1970, the collection was joined by a further example of the de Havilland Mosquito, which had been donated by Liverpool Corporation, following its use in the film ''

Mosquito Squadron ''Mosquito Squadron'' is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum. The raid echoes Operation Jericho, a combined RAF– Maquis raid which freed French prisoners from Amiens jail i ...

''. The collection was later expanded, with examples of the single-seat Vampire, Sea Venom,

Sea Vixen The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen is a British twin-engine, twin boom-tailed, two-seat, carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter flown by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during the 1950s through to the early 1970s. The Sea Vixen was designed by ...

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

and

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

all arriving by 1978. Additionally, the fuselage of a Mosquito FB6 arrived in 1976; it is now the only survivor of the most numerous sub-type to be preserved in Europe. The museum houses the fuselage of the last surviving square-windowed

de Havilland Comet 1 The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...

, the world's first jet airliner.

Later history

The supporters' society has been responsible for the restoration and conservation of many of the exhibits, starting with the Chipmunk in 1978, an airframe which was subsequently restored by members once more between 2003 and 2007. The supporters were also active in building a hangar to house the ex-Liverpool Mosquito in 1980, and then completely restoring the aircraft, a task they completed in 1990. The supporters' society has also been responsible for work on a Tiger Moth, Hornet Moth, Mosquito 6, Heron, Dove, several Vampires and many other aircraft in the collection. In 2001, it was recognised that the prototype Mosquito was in dire need of conservation work. This work was supported by

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenue ...

. and the Heritage Lottery fund. The prototype Mosquito restoration was completed in December 2015 almost to the minute of its 75th anniversary. It is now on display with the other two Mosquitos in the Walter Goldsmith Hangar. In January 2016 the museum opened a new hangar initially named the Geoffrey de Havilland Hangar. This hangar was later renamed the Amy Johnson Hangar when the new new hangar opened and is now used for workshops where the public can see the volunteers working on museum projects. The museum opened the new Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Hangar in February 2020.

Collection

Aircraft on display

De Havilland Aircraft Museum Hertfordshire

* Airspeed Horsa I/II ''BAPC.232'' – Composite fuselage * British Aerospace 146-100 ''G-JEAO'' – Fuselage only *

Cierva C.24 The de Havilland C.24 was a two-seat autogyro built by de Havilland at its Stag Lane works in England in 1931 Design and development The C.24 was built in 1931 using a Cierva rotor head coupled to the cabin of a de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth ...

''G-ABLM'' – On permanent loan from the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

* de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird ''J7326'' – Fuselage only * de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth ''G-ANRX'' * de Havilland DH.82 Queen Bee ''LF789'' – Fuselage only * de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth ''G-ADOT'' *

de Havilland DH.88 Comet The de Havilland DH.88 Comet is a British two-seat, twin-engined aircraft built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was developed specifically to participate in the 1934 England-Australia MacRobertson Air Race from the United Kingdom to ...

''G-ACSR'' – Replica * de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI ''TA122/TW233'' * de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito TT(B)35 ''TA634'' * de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.6 ''J-1008'' * de Havilland DH.103 Hornet ''VX250'' – Tail section * de Havilland DH.104 Dove 8 G-AREA * de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1A ''F-BGNX'' – Fuselage only * de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1A ''G-ANAV'' – Nose section * de Havilland DH.106 Comet C.2(R) ''XK695'' – Cockpit section * de Havilland DH.106 Comet 2 – Nose section * de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen FAW.2 ''XJ565'' *

de Havilland DH.114 Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, ...

''G-AOTI'' * de Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.11 ''XJ772'' * de Havilland DH.125 Series 1 ''G-ARYC'' * de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 ''WP790'' * Hawker Siddeley HS.121 Trident 2E ''G-AVFH''

Aircraft in storage

* de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito TT.35 ''TJ118'' – Fuselage, with nose section removed. * de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.5 ''VV217'' * de Havilland DH.104 Dove 6 ''D-IFSB'' – On loan to ARG Fishburn * de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB.4 ''WR539'' * de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB.50 ''J-1632'' * de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB.54 ''J-1790'' * de Havilland DH.112 Venom NF.3 ''WX853'' * de Havilland DH.113 Vampire NF.10 ''WM729'' – fuselage pod only * de Havilland DH.125 Jet Dragon ''G-ARYA'' – Cockpit section only

Aircraft under restoration

* de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide ''G-AKDW'' * de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito I ''W4050'' * de Havilland DH.112 Sea Venom FAW.22 ''XG730''

Engines on display

;Piston engines *

de Havilland Gipsy The de Havilland Gipsy is a British air-cooled four-cylinder in-line aircraft engine designed by Frank Halford in 1927 to replace the ADC Cirrus in the de Havilland DH.60 Moth light biplane. Initially developed as an upright 5 litre (3 ...

de Havilland Gipsy Major The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintag ...

de Havilland Gipsy Minor The de Havilland Gipsy Minor or Gipsy Junior is a British four-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine that was used primarily in the de Havilland Moth Minor monoplane, both products being developed in the late 1930s. Design and development The ...

de Havilland Gipsy Queen The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is a British six-cylinder aero engine of capacity that was developed in 1936 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military aircraft use. Produced between 1936 ...

de Havilland Gipsy Twelve The de Havilland Gipsy Twelve was a British aero engine developed by the de Havilland Engine Company in 1937. Approximately 95 were manufactured. It was known as the Gipsy King in Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United ...

Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was late ...

;Gas turbine engines * de Havilland Ghost *

de Havilland Goblin The de Havilland Goblin, originally designated as the Halford H-1, is an early turbojet engine designed by Frank Halford and built by de Havilland. The Goblin was the second British jet engine to fly, after Whittle's Power Jets W.1, and the ...

de Havilland Gyron The de Havilland PS.23 or PS.52 Gyron, originally the Halford H-4, was Frank Halford's last turbojet design while working for de Havilland. Intended to outpower any design then under construction, the Gyron was the most powerful engine of its ...

de Havilland Gyron Junior The de Havilland Gyron Junior was a military turbojet engine design of the 1950s developed by the de Havilland Engine Company and later produced by Bristol Siddeley. The Gyron Junior was a scaled-down derivative of the de Havilland Gyron. ...

Rolls-Royce Gnome The Rolls-Royce Gnome is a British turboshaft engine originally developed by the de Havilland Engine Company as a licence-built General Electric T58, an American mid-1950s design. The Gnome came to Rolls-Royce after their takeover of Bristol S ...

;Rocket engines * de Havilland Super Sprite *

de Havilland Spectre The de Havilland Spectre is a rocket engine that was built by the de Havilland Engine Company in the 1950s. It was one element of the intended mixed power-plant for combination rocket-jet interceptor aircraft of the Royal Air Force, such as t ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

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

External links

Official websitePhotogallery on LeteckeMotory.cz
{{authority control Aerospace museums in England De Havilland Military aviation museums in England Museums in Hertfordshire Museums established in 1959 1959 establishments in England Shenley