Cosford's mega-hangar

I asked Hendon about the Valiant, and although i did not get a direct answer, I got the distinct impression that there are no plans to move it to Cosford.

Whilst it would be nice to have a Fort dressed up as a “Kipper Kite” (Coastal Command aircraft),the one at Hendon,being a G, is the wrong version.IIRC,Coastal only operated B17E’s and F’s (as the Fortress IIa and II respectively),so the only version the RAFM’s example could portray would be the Fortress III which was used by 100 Group for special purposes such as ‘spoofing’ and radio jamming.It would need a huge amount of work doing to it to convert the RAFM’s Fort to this configuration,so personally i’d like to see her stay as she is and to see the money going elsewhere,eg a complete restoration of the Hampden.

B17

That B17 would look fabulous in Coastal command colors and would be the only aircraft preseved in this scheme as a memorial to all coastal command crews.

As far as the space in the Bomber Command Hall (okay, “On Target” exhibition) is concerned, I do wonder exactly how much space will become available when the Valiant moves. Her port wing is, if memory serves, above the Halifax fuselage, so space would be limited. I’d *like* to think that space could be found to accommodate the Hampden restoration, Elliott Smock’s Whitley project, and a long term restoration of the Mickle Fell Stirling.

Imagine the end result; one building containing unique surviving examples of the Whitley and Stirling, along with the highest-opped surviving Lancaster, an ex-Tirpitz raid Halifax, and fifty percent of the world’s surviving Wellington and Hampden population. If pitched right, that’s GOT to be worth Lottery funding on historical grounds alone.

The Vulcan, Victor and Valiant are large aircraft but if the building is going to link the top and bottom hangers then its going to be one hell of a building.
Plenty of room for the Belfast too(my favourite exhibit at Cosford). The height of the tail may be a problem though!

Neal

I agree that it is not representative of the role that RAF Catalinas performed, but then again that did not seem to trouble the RAF Museum when they acquired it. It does however have one link to the RAF as at least one RDanAF Catalina crew member had also flown on them in a Norwegian squadron in RAF Coastal Command during WWII. I should like to correct respectively add to its function in the Danish AF: It was not only an aerial survey a/c, but served as a SAR and transport aircraft as well, mostly in the harsh environment on Greenland, but also as support aircraft for scientific expeditions to Africa. In fact, 23 years continuous operation of this type of aircraft in the aforementioned Arctic environment is quite a feat in my opinion, and more or less disregarded in the Catalina books that I have seen.

Kenneth – I was aware of the example at Cosford. The reason I suggested getting another one was because the Cosford machine isn’t that representative of the examples operated by the RAF and it wouldn’t be a good idea to modify her from her present state as a aerial survey machine which was her role with
No 721 Squadron RDAF.

Then acquire a PBY

There already is a PBY at Cosford, namely PBY-6A (which AFAIK is not supposed to have a front turret) L-866 of 721 Squadron of the Royal Danish Air Force. This was a (rather generously) donated by the RDanAF in 1974, and was repainted (using not quite correct colours) some years ago. It is one of only three ex RDanAF Catalinas existing today, out of 16 PBY-5A and -6A used between 1948 and 1970.

Apologies all round,Spey is quite right,G-AOVF is not an ex-RAF example,don’t know why I thought it was.Sorry…

David-I agree with you entirely that the Bomber Hall has become a bit of a dumping ground, and has quite an odd selection of regular content.

Yes, the main doors are right behind the Lanc, and yes, these have been exceptional times for aircraft movements in and around Hendon, but come ON, the state of the Bomber Hall sometimes! 😡

Ant

Just to clarify which Britannia are you talking about. The Britannia displayed at Cosford is not in military markings and has never been in service with the RAF as far as I know. The aircraft is
G-AOVF and is painted in BOAC colours

Regards

The Valiant, Victor and Vulcan cannot be considered small airframes so would take up a lot of room.

Bearing this in mind, what about the Belfast, as this airframe never seems to mentioned when discussing Cosford and I wonder if it would this be under cover as well?

Just a minor point-is the Britannia part of BA’s collection or does it belong to RAFM?It currently wears a military scheme and has an RAF history,so presumably it’s owned by the museum and will go under cover?

I think the RAFM needs to have a serious think about what they are doing. I cannot see how they can justify having a Vulcan undercover at Hendon and the same at Cosford. Surely the Comet deserves a roof over it’s head? With an example at Lyneham looking increasingly threatened surely they have the
ability to achieve something worthwhile by bringing one undercover.
I am of the opinion that if the museum concept works at
Filton they could actually lend some machines from Cosford and actually improve the place. I am thinking for example of the Bristol
188 – even maybe the Comet 1 – what greater start could the museum have than to have a Concorde sat next to a Comet 1 ?
If the Valiant moves from Hendon – maybe it’s time they
re- jigged that as well ! Move the B-17 to Cosford to sit next to the B-24 -even paint her in RAF markings . Then acquire a PBY
and have it restored to wartime spec i.e turret and put it in the
Valiant’s place. In reality the Bomber Command hall is a bit of a
odd ball with the USAAF schemed B-17 and B-25 – surely it could loose the title and be rejigged to include the elements which are neglected i.e Coastal Command, Transport and Photo Reconnaisance .

Originally posted by Lancman
[B]The rice and chips (half and half) Hampden …

😀 😀

It will be the only museum where you can view a victor and vulcan on display inside a hangar..!

…and a Valiant!

Wonder what they’ll do with the freed-up space in the Bomber Hall at Hendon? The rice and chips (half and half) Hampden when it’s finished I suppose, but what else?

I popped into Cosford a few weeks ago, the BAC 1-11 was parked down by the VC10 and the Argosy was parked on the airfield side near the shooting range.

Neal

If, this does go ahead as suggested a few months ago in the form of a structure which will link the top and bottom hangars, it will be enormous. Yes, it will be good toget the outdoor exhibits in from the cold as it were, but what about the British Airways collection? They have a Comet, Viscount, Britannia, Trident, BAC 1-11, VC10, 707 or 720 and a Trident. Unless they move them all together down to the bottom of the hill or put one or two airframes where the Andover and Neptune are I can’t see where they’ll go.

Regards,

kev35

great news!!

Having never been able to visit Cosford, I am very pleased to hear that they will be able to place most of the outside aircraft indoors. It will be the only museum where you can view a victor and vulcan on display inside a hangar..!

Re: Cosford’s mega-hangar

Originally posted by Steve Bond
Talking to someone at Hendon yesterday, it seems it is around 95% certain that Cosford will be able to go ahead with erecting a huge building to bring all the RAF Museum owned aircraft which are currently sitting outside, into the warm and dry.

This is excellent news, but the downside is that this does NOT apply to the airliner collection. They are looked after by funds from British Airways, and essentially lodge with the RAF Museum collection.

Good news Steve:)