The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial is an

aviation museum An aviation museum, air museum, or air and space museum is a museum exhibiting the history and artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual, replica or accurate reproduction aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, models, dioramas ...

in Elvington, York on the site of the former RAF Elvington airfield, a

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 ...

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

station. The museum was founded, and first opened to the public, in the mid 1980s. The museum is one of the largest independent air museums in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. It is also the only Allied Air Forces Memorial in Europe. The museum is an accredited museum under Arts Council accreditation scheme. It is a Member of Friends of the Few ( Battle of Britain Memorial), the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, ...

, the Museums Association and the Association of Independent Museums. The Museum is a registered charity (No. 516766) dedicated to the history of aviation and was also set up as a Memorial to all allied air forces personnel, particularly those who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

Site

The parkland site includes buildings and hangars, some of which are

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

. It incorporates a managed environment area and a DEFRA and

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and en ...

supported self sustainability project called "Nature of Flight". The museum is situated next to a 10,000 ft runway, which is privately owned.

History

Whilst the Royal Air Force carried on using the runway for aircraft landing and take off training until 1992, the buildings and hangars had long been abandoned. In 1980 Rachel Semlyen approached the owners of "what was then an abandoned and derelict wartime site, with the idea of restoring the buildings and creating a museum". In 1983, a group started clearing the undergrowth and the site was ready to be unveiled as the Yorkshire Air Museum in 1986.

Events

The Museum undertakes several annual events each year within the general attraction / entertainment area as well as educational / academic events for specific audiences, plus several corporate events in association with companies such as Bentley, Porsche, banking, government agencies etc. The unique annual Allied Air Forces Memorial Day takes place in September.

Exhibits

The Museum has 49 aircraft spanning the development of aviation from 1853 up to the latest GR4 Tornado. Several aircraft including Victor, Nimrod, Buccaneer, Sea Devon, SE5a, Eastchurch Kitten, DC3 Dakota are kept live and operated on special "Thunder Days" during the year. Over 20 historic vehicles and a Registered Archive containing over 500,000 historic artefacts and documents are also preserved at the Museum, which is also the Official Archive for the National Aircrew Association and National Air Gunners Association. It is nationally registered and accredited through DCMS/Arts Council England and is a registered charity. Elvington - YAM 16-6-2015 10-21-15

A permanent exhibition on

was opened at the museum by life member,

Sir David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

. In 2010 a new exhibition called "Pioneers of Aviation", and funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, was opened featuring the lives and achievements of Sir

George Cayley Sir George Cayley, 6th Baronet (27 December 1773 – 15 December 1857) was an English engineer, inventor, and aviator. He is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him to be the first true scientific aer ...

, Sir

Barnes Wallis Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attac ...

, Robert Blackburn,

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect ...

and

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records du ...

. Principal on-site businesses include: Restaurant, Retail Shop, Events, Aircraft Operation Engineering Workshops, Archives and Corporate Business Suite. The museum is also a location for TV and film companies. * Building 1 – Airborne Forces Display &

No. 609 Squadron RAF No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in the Second World War active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Fo ...

Room * Building 2 – Uniform Display * Building 3 – Air Gunners' Exhibition * Building 4 – Archives & Reference Library * Building 5 – Museum Shop * Building 7 – Memorial Garden * Building 8 – Museum HQ, Main Entrance * Building 9 – Against the Odds * Building 10 – Elvington Corporate Room * Building 11 – Museum

NAAFI The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs ...

Restaurant * Building 12 – Control Tower * Building 13 – French Officers' Mess * Building 14 – Airmens Billet and Station MT Display * Building 15 – Royal Observer Corp * Building 16 – Signal Square * Building 17 – Hangar T2 Main Aircraft exhibition * Building 18 – Archive & Collections Building * Building 19 –

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidatio ...

Aircraft Workshop * Building 20 – Pioneer of Aviation Exhibition

Collection

Aircraft on display

;Pre-World War II *

Avro 504K The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

– Replica *

Blackburn Mercury The Blackburn Mercury was an early British aircraft designed as a pilot trainer for the Blackburn Flying School, Filey, in 1911. It was an enlarged, two-seat version of the Second Monoplane that flew earlier that year. It was a mid-wing monop ...

– Replica * Cayley Glider – Replica * Mignet HM.14 Pou-du-Ciel * Port Victoria P.V.8 Eastchurch Kitten Replica * Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2c – Replica * Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a – Replica *

Wright Flyer The ''Wright Flyer'' (also known as the ''Kitty Hawk'', ''Flyer'' I or the 1903 ''Flyer'') made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown b ...

– Replica ;World War II * Avro Anson T.21 ''VV901'' * Douglas Dakota IV ''KN353'' * Fairchild Argus II ''FK338'' * Gloster Meteor F.8 ''WL168'' * Gloster Meteor NF.14 ''WS788'' * Handley Page Halifax III ''LV907'' * Hawker Hurricane I – Replica * Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 – Replica * Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet ''RA854'' * Supermarine Spitfire I – Replica *

Waco Hadrian Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

''237123'' ;Post World War II * Air Command Commander Elite * Beagle Terrier 2 ''TJ704'' *

Canadair CT-133 Silver Star The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (company model number CL-30) is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005. The Canadian version was powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turboj ...

''133417'' * de Havilland Devon C.2 ''VP967'' * de Havilland Vampire T.11 ''XH278'' *

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Clif ...

Prototype 001 * Mainair Demon * Saunders-Roe Skeeter AOP.12 ''XM553'' * Westland Dragonfly HR.5 ''WH991'' ;Cold War * BAC Jet Provost T.4 ''XP640'' * Blackburn Buccaneer S.2 ''XN974'' * Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B ''XX901'' * British Aerospace Harrier GR.3 ''XV748'' * British Aerospace Nimrod MR.2 ''XV250'' * Dassault Mirage IIIE ''538'' * Dassault Mirage IVA ''45/BR'' * English Electric Canberra T.4 ''WH846'' * English Electric Lightning F.6 ''XS903'' *

Fairey Gannet AEW.3 The Fairey Gannet AEW.3 is a variant of the Fairey Gannet anti-submarine warfare aircraft intended to be used in the airborne early warning (AEW) role on aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. It was introduced to service in 1959 to replace the ...

''XL502'' * Gloster Javelin FAW.9 ''XH767'' * Handley Page Victor K.2 ''XL231'' * Hawker Hunter FGA.78 ''QA10'' * Hawker Hunter T.7 ''XL572'' * Panavia Tornado GR.1 ''ZA354'' * Panavia Tornado GR.4 ''XZ631''

Ground vehicles

YAM Range Rover Airport Crash Tender - Elvington - BB

;Second World War * Thompson Brothers Aircraft Refueller * 1938 Ford Model E * 1940 "

Tilly Tilly may refer to: Places France * Tilly, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Tilly, Indre, in the Indre ''département'' * Tilly, Yvelines, in the Yvelines ''département'' Elsewhere * Tilly, Belgium, a village in the municipality of Viller ...

" Standard 12 hp Mkl RAF Utility Vehicle * 1941 Chevrolet 4x4 CMP * 1942

Austin K2 The Austin K2/Y is a British heavy military ambulance that was used by all Commonwealth services during the Second World War. Built by Austin, it was based on the 1938 Austin K30 30-cwt light truck which as the K2 chassis was built during the w ...

Wagon * 1942 Thornycroft ‘Amazon’ Coles Crane ;Cold War * 1947 Commer one and a half deck airport coach * 1949 Citroen 11BL * 1948 David Brown VIG.2 Aircraft Tractor * 1949 David Brown VIG.3 Aircraft Tractor * 1951 David Brown GP Airfield Tractor * 1953

Alvis Saracen The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed and produced by Alvis since 1952. It has been used by a variety of operators around the world, and is still in use in secondary roles in some countries. The Saracen became a ...

12ton APC * 1953

Austin Champ The Austin Champ was a military and civilian jeep-like vehicle made by the Austin Motor Company in the 1950s. The army version was officially known as "Truck, 1/4 ton, CT, 4×4, Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1" however the civilian name "Champ" was un ...

Cargo 4x4 General Purpose Vehicle * 1956

Green Goddess The Green Goddess is the colloquial name for the RLHZ Self Propelled Pump manufactured by Bedford Vehicles, a fire engine used originally by the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), and latterly held in reserve by the Home Office until 2004, and a ...

Self Propelled Pump * 1958

Commer Commer was a British manufacturer of commercial and military vehicles from 1905 until 1979. Commer vehicles included car-derived vans, light vans, medium to heavy commercial trucks, and buses. The company also designed and built some of its own ...

Q4 Bikini Fire Pump Unit * 1958 Lansing Aircraft Carrier Type Tug * 1959 Daimler Ferret ASC MK.2/3/7 * 1966

Chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

Main Battle Tank * 1970 Douglas P3 nuclear aircraft 25 tonne tug * 1971 Pathfinder Fire Engine 35ton (ex.

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those ...

) * 1972 TACR2 Range Rover - 6 wheeled fast response fire unit * 1974 GMC 6 wheeled fast response airfield fire truck * 1976 Dennis Mercury 17.5 tonne aircraft tug * Pathfinder Fire Engine

References

External links

Yorkshire Air Museum
{{authority control Aerospace museums in England Museums in York Museums established in 1986 World War II museums in the United Kingdom Military aviation museums in England 1986 establishments in England