I visited the RAF Museum at Hendon this week after a 3 year gap. How sad it looked. The Milestones building entrance up a lot of steps with a major display area (I believe it was a fighter control scenario?) screened off. One of the video screens on the balcony was covered over with a paper sign ‘out of order’. I didn’t bother to climb the rest of the staircase to see if the ‘Control tower’ was still working. Others have commented before on some of the choices selected for the Milestones, my only reservation is of the FSM F35 which has yet to see service yet.
Then the Bomber Command hall! The Tornado and Buccaneer were behind fencing and the whole area looked like the ‘bomb damaged’ scenario had spread over from the other end! The whole hall looked like a faded shop that was having a ‘Closing down sale’! If any of this was as the result of the flooding in July why was nothing being done? I note that the cafe by the Wessex in the other hall which I had read was closed was all cleaned up and opened.
The original historic hangar hall was ok but I gazed wistfully up the stairs at the long closed gallery although you could just walk up to view the aircraft from above.
The Art gallery at the top of the entrance stairs had a ‘Biggles’ exhibition (for children?) I once spent a half hour up there with the likes of Cuneo and fellow war artists. I remember how sad I felt some years ago when I first found it closed.
The Graham White factory has been spoiled by suspending some airframes. I could see the Vimy up there but what were the others? Why were they put up there? There is plenty of room still on the floor.
Lastly the Battle of Britain hall. Again some the displays that I remembered were missing
I had expected with the 75th anniversary it would have been spruced up, at least the lights were on! It was nice to see the Defiant and the Battle both beautifully restored by M.A.P.S. at Rochester in prominent and properly lit positions. They haven’t been given any further commissions recently I believe, another waste of resources.
All around the site I saw boards with incomplete information unlike the Mosquito museum as we have noted in its thread.
All around the site also there were collecting boxes. ‘Please give £3 to help keep this museum free.’ How does that add up?
It is all very sad compared to my first visit over 40 years ago, when just the main building and the galleries kept us interested all one Sunday afternoon. All done in 2 hours this time.
So sad.
mmitch.
I do not totally agree with your options, MMitch.
I was Hendon and Cosford last year.
Cosford was really great, very friendly and helpful staff.
The 2 knocks was too expensive food and a not well laid out Cold War museum (for a new structure)
Hendon was different
It was like being in a cave!!!!
RAF hall on BoB side was quite dark (Sunderland side was OK).
But the bomber hall was so dark as to abandon all hope for photographs. I can see reason not to bleach the paint, but put them in total dark??
Welcome hall was first experience for me. It was open, but, well, not a good intro to the RAF history.
When did the Fairey Battle moved to BoB Hall? It was Bomber hall last I saw. The CR.42 was next to Defiant then.
OH! Yes, I do recall the upper galleries. Was sorry to see them closed off. In some respects I do see some decline in offerings.
Having visited both Cosford and Hendon this year I would like to add to the debate. Are the RAF Museums ‘sad’, in my opinion no, they have however been allowed to decay and can they be certainly improved. The decay problem is mostly likely a case of the reduction in funding of the past few years, and perhaps some decisions made by past management, new management this year will hopefully see things improve, but dont expect any increase in the annual budget.
It is a shame that the management do not seem to be interactive with either the enthusiast or the wider general public. I have asked questions of IWM Duxford and received answers, they also have an active Twitter feed. RAFM dont seem to engage the same way. The staff on the ground seem to have the same problem, speak to a guide or engineer at DX and you will have a conversation, and if safe, the oppertunity to photograph something inside the barrier close up or to move a sign board. At Hendon I obtained a ‘tripod pass’ and proceeded to take some long exposure shots, granted the beeping form the timed exposure on my camera did echo around the G-W building but having been asked what I was doing I was then watched by security as I carried on around. I told the security person that the long exposure was due to the low light levels and the location of the overhead spot lights he stated nobody else had ever complained. Clearly he had no idea of what he was employed to watch over.
I do agree with mmitch the Bomber Command Hall is an untidy mess, although I did not see any fences. If the museum has ‘work in progress’ it can be excused, if it is daily maintenance thats gone wrong it can not. If certain areas of the museum have to be closed because work can not be carried at after hours then better that than what we see today.
Again its a personal opinion, but a little can go along way to improve things. Suggest that it is time to move away from the themed BoB, Milestones and Bomber Command areas, the G-W does stand alone and works well. But better signage leading the way to the G-W. (I understand a plan is in place to do just that) As non enthusiast general public make up the bulk of the visitors they are one who need the information. Maybe a colour coded map show each aircraft and its role or era, I disagree with the audio tour or phone app because if thats the case you might as well stay at home and watch the DVD, but if it is what the bulk of the visitors want then so be it, but for it to work it will cost money, and then there will be even less to spend on paint.
I concur with this opinion.
The Do 17 is worth every penny, as there is no other survivor (about 1/3 of BoB LW bombers was the this).
Building one from scratch would cost more (unless crude white glass mockup).
An Smartphone App is far more useful that one thinks!
Today there are tiny radio markers that will activate a display when one gets close to it. Many museums in past have audio and visual displays, so an App that can do the same would be far cheaper in long run.
The BIG FUBAR at RAFM Hendon.
I am not sure when this happened, could have been decades, perhaps back to 1982?
Behind the Spit in the blast pen is a display of LW artifacts.
In a case there is rudder of Do-17 (was that in bomber hall at one time??)
In that case, and in the surrounding cases, I could items miss attributed to different aircraft!
For example, an MG-17 from a Do-17 (only the night fighter ever had MG-17)
An odd pot attributed as a Do-17 spinner (all LW spinners had holes! There is a tread of this discussion in this forums)
Couple of other things.
I wrote RAFM and they agreed the MG-17 can’t be Do-17, but they did not seem inclined to correct that right away.
SO, you get your moneys worth (its free after all).
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