A Visit To the RAF MANSTON Museum

RAF MANSTON MUSEUM

This museum is housed in original airfield buildings located at the edge of the “original” airfield site. It is adjacent to and shares the same large car park as the Spitfire Museum. The excellent Merlin café can be entered from the car park where they serve a very good selection of freshly cooked homemade meals and sandwiches cut to order. Well worth a visit in itself.

The RAF Manston Museum does exactly what it says on the tin and more covering more than the RAF activities at the airfield. The two museums complement each other very well.

Outside the entrance door is a V1 mounted as if in flight, on entering we received a very warm welcome with a short discussion on the latest news about the CPO. A very small entrance charge is made, currently £2, but as ever please consider making a further donation. Photography is permitted.

We were advised to start by going up to what appeared to be a mezzanine floor and gallery. In the mezzanine is a large well-made model of Manston Airfield Railway terminal and other labelled artefacts including various period magazines and publications. There is also a view down into a workshop. You then proceed along the gallery where the history of the airfield, including its civil use, is told with many interesting picture and details about some notable events.

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From the gallery there is a view down internally onto part of the museum and externally to the outside exhibits and over the airfield.

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To the rear outside there is a yard containing several jet aeroplanes and vehicle exhibits. Here is the recent arrival XR770 Lightening looking a bit sad for itself at the moment but no doubt in time she will be brought up to the high standard of the other airframes exhibited.

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And I wonder what’s under here…..

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From this area you can look across the road at the RAF Intelligence hut still existent and looking quite good.

Our time was now up and there was still much to see so we will certainly be going back and will add more then. I did pop through to see the display about the bouncing bomb which included a recovered example and a diorama of Reculver.

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Our day was: arrived at 10:00 for breakfast at the Merlin. Entered museum at about 11:00 and left at 15:30 for late lunch at the Merlin then on to Reculver. There are various other seaside towns nearby to placate the kids, the nearest being Ramsgate.

We like to read up on most of the displays and we shall probably need another whole day.

A museum very well worth a visit with interesting well-presented displays about Manston Airfield together with information about other local places of interest such as the huge first war military dock built at Richborough Port, of which now nothing remains, and the various channel batteries which included the big guns Winnie and Pooh.

This museum and the Spitfire museum complement each other very well and the Merlin Café is the icing on the cake, together they make an excellent day out although you will probably need to make more than one visit.

Did I mention the Merlin Cafe? Highly recommend the homemade steak dinner!