Yorkshire Air Museum
by Julien Dixon

The pictures are from a visit to the Yorkshire Air Museum, in Elvington, near York.

More details can be found at http://www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk

The following is a brief history/look at the museum.

The current Yorkshire Air Museum is sited on what was RAF Elvington, named as many RAF bases were for the local village of Elvington.

RAF Elvington was completely rebuilt from a grass airfield to have three runways in 1942, as a sub-station of RAF Pocklington. Grouped with RAF Melbourne, the three airfields became known as '42 Base', within 4 Group.The first operational aircraft were the Whitley bombers of 77 Squadron, these were soon replaced by Handley Page Halifax bombers. In early 1944, 77 Squadron moved to Full Sutton and Elvington became host to two Free French Squadrons operating within No.4 Group: No. 346 (Guyenne) and No.347 (Tunisie).

In October 1945, the French Squadrons left for Bordeaux and Elvington became part of 40 Group Maintenance Command until 1952 when it became part of the expansion programme for USAF Strategic Air Command. The runway was lengthened to 1.92 miles, the longest in the north of England. However the base never became operational and it was vacated in 1958. In the early 1960s, the Blackburn Aircraft Company at Brough, near Hull, used the runway for test flying the prototype Buccaneer aircraft. Afterwards, the RAF flying training schools at Church Fenton and Linton-on-Ouse used the runway for circuits and landings. RAF Elvington finally closed in March 1992.

By early 1980s, the original air traffic control tower and adjacent buildings were derelict and overgrown. Every year, a service at the French Memorial in Elvington Village had attracted an increasing band of veterans, some of whom had married local girls and stayed in the area. One memorable summer, a French film crew used the airfield to dramatise a novel by distinguished writer Jules Roy, about his experiences as an aircrew Bomb Aimer with the French squadrons here.

In 1983, inspired by local resident Rachel Semlyen, who had the idea for a memorial museum while walking her dog across the site, a band of devoted volunteers set to work to clear 40 years' of undergrowth and to restore and upgrade the buildings. The museum's first Open Day was on 11th August 1985. Always self-supporting, the museum was able to buy the land and buildings in the summer of 1993. A wartime film made by the French authorities showed Elvington as it had been in 1944. The volunteer workers were thus able to set up an accurate replica, right down to the packet of Woodbine cigarettes on top of the 'ops' desk in the control tower.

The Yorkshire Air Museum opened to the public for the first time on 31st May 1986. In the years since, we have had a great and growing support from a wide range of interested parties and now have a membership numbering one thousand, worldwide, with a thriving Yorkshire Air Museum (Canada) Branch.

The Museum is split into 5 major collections,

1.       Aircraft Collection. This spans all eras of flight from the Wright Brothers to Modern Jets. Highlights include a full size replica Wright Flyer, replica WWI aircraft, Halifax Bomber (rebuilt), Mosquito (Original), a rare original Waco Glider, Buccaneer, Meteor, Victor Tanker. The Yorkshire Air Museum is the first independent museum in the United Kingdom to acquire a Tornado, and is the first museum in the country to display the current front-line GR.4 version.

2.       Air Gunners Collection. This collection is dedicated to the memory of the 20,000 Air Gunners who died in WWII and is believed to the only one of its type. The display includes Gun Turrets (some very rare), weapons and many person effects.

3.       Barnes Wallis Collection. This collections contains many items relating to the works of Barnes Wallis, of note is an original Bouncing Bomb (practice).

4.       Uniform Collection. This is a very large collection of RAF, WAAF and WRAF uniforms, medals and Aircrew brevets. Elvington also has a large collection of French Airforce uniforms.

5.       Military Vehicles Collection. The museum has a growing collection of military vehicles which are being restored to original condition, these are both aircraft related and Non aircraft related.

Also on the site are the 609 Sqn and Airborne Forces Display, Airmans Billet, Home Guard HQ, French Officers Mess.

 Personal View.

Must say that first impressions do not do the museum justice, it looks a little uninspiring as you first approach the gate. However once you start viewing the aircraft and the exhibitions you soon start to realize what a gem of a museum this is. Although primarily a military museum there is something for all people to look at. I visited with my parents as they were living in the area time and they are not the most interested in Aircraft that I know!

The aircraft are impressive, it was good to see the reproduction Wright Flyer and then to look at some modern jets to see how far things have come.  The Halifax in the hanger is quite something to look at, even much more so when you realize it was found being used as a chicken coop! Another highlight for me was the Waco Glider restoration, this is a much used airframe which does not get nearly the attention it deserves.

The other exhibitions and buildings are well worth a look. The control tower has been impressively restored to its wartime condition and recorded audio gives a more lifelike appeal to the building. The 609 Sqn Display is worth seeing as many personal items have been loaned or donated. The Air Gunners collection is quite impressive and unlike anything I have seen before. The display of Gun Turrets, guns and again many more personal effects gives you some idea of the kind of conditions these men operated in and unfortunately how hazardous it was. The Barnes Wallace display gives a good account of his works and quite impressive is a full size practice bomb of the type used by the Dambusters which was recovered from one of the practice grounds and restored.

Overall I would say a great place for a day out if you are in this part of the UK and plenty to do if it is raining (as it prone to in Yorkshire!)

September 2006

Editor's note: Julien provided quite a few close-up shots of landing gear and the such. I did not use them as you can find stuff like that anywhere and I wanted to concentrate on the aircraft, not on bits of them. However, since I didn't get many full shots (probably due to the crowding), I've pared things down to the best I could do.