Had a superb day at the BA Archives and Museum last week, although I was primarily there for research I also took the chance for a tour around the museum – nice to learn about civil aviation for a change, and certainly learnt a lot. For anyone interested, it’s based at Heathrow Airport, just across the road and around the corner from Hatton Cross Underground Station/Bus Station
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/museum-collection/public/en_gb
The research facilities are brilliant – a world apart from other archives i’ve visited where you get given your items and told to sit quietly in the corner
Captain’s Uniform, Imperial Airways 1924-1939
Uniform button
Armstrong Whitworth Argosy ‘City of Glasgow’
de Havilland DH91 Albatross ‘Frobisher’
Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat
Bell from the passengers’ waiting area at Port Bell, Lake Victoria. Originally marked as ‘Imperial Airways’ but when it was merged with British Airways to form BOAC the ‘Imperial’ war ordered to be taken off – after this happened, it was mentioned the tone of the bell was lower!
Armstrong Whitworth Ensign
Handley Page HP.42
Handley Page HP.42 Propeller
Prototype model of Concorde in BOAC colours
Mascot? of a British Airways Lockheed 10a Electra, with ‘BRITISH’ on the starboard wing and ‘AIRWAYS’ on the port wing
BOAC Boeing 314 Clipper and de Havilland Mosquito
Avro Lancastrian
Boeing Stratocruiser
de Havilland Comet I
Display relating to Barbara Harrison, George Cross
BOAC 1967 ‘paper’ dress
British European Airways Vickers Viking
By: Rlangham - 31st March 2025 at 10:14
Lockheed Constellation, made by Lockheed – supposedly made from scrap aluminium from the production line
Concorde nose cone
By: Mr Creosote - 31st March 2025 at 10:13
Fascinating stuff. Thanks for taking the trouble to post. 🙂
By: l.garey - 31st March 2025 at 10:07
I am sure they would love to have it. Does not take up too much space!
Laurence
By: G-ASEA - 31st March 2025 at 10:07
Very intresting i didnt know about it. We found an Imperial Airways button at the crash site of the BOAC Short Sunderland G-AGES on Mt Brandon, Ireland.
Dave
By: l.garey - 31st March 2025 at 10:07
I agree that the BA Museum and Archive is a great place, and the people who run it, on very much a voluntary basis, are so keen to help. I was doing some research on the opening up of the Imperial route through the Middle East in the 1930s a year or two back. They have a seriously large and professional archive of Imperial, BOAC, BEA and onward. Rivals (and partly duplicates) the Kew National Archives on those subjects. But let them know you are coming, as they are not always open.
They deserve a bigger home, and it would be nice if BA could help them out!
Laurence
By: darnsarf - 31st March 2025 at 10:06
BOAC Boeing 314 Clipper and de Havilland Mosquito
Haven’t seen that combination before, was it our version of the Mistel perhaps.. ?
:p
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February 27, 2010 at 8:46 pm