X

A tour of the Royal Air Force Museum (pictures)

The Royal Air Force Museum London houses over 100 aircraft from the past 100 years. From delicate WWI planes, to iconic WWII fighters and bombers, to jet aircraft from the '40s and to the present day. Here's a huge photo tour.

Geoffrey Morrison
Geoffrey Morrison is a writer/photographer about tech and travel for CNET, The New York Times, and other web and print publications. He's also the Editor-at-Large for The Wirecutter. He has written for Sound&Vision magazine, Home Theater magazine, and was the Editor-in-Chief of Home Entertainment magazine. He is NIST and ISF trained, and has a degree in Television/Radio from Ithaca College. His bestselling novel, Undersea, and its sequel, Undersea Atrophia, are available in paperback and digitally on Amazon. He spends most of the year as a digital nomad, living and working while traveling around the world. You can follow his travels at BaldNomad.com and on his YouTube channel.
Geoffrey Morrison
1.jpg
1 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Colindale

Opened in 1972, the RAF Museum fills five hangars with warplanes from the past 100 years: restored WWI fighters, seaplanes, WWII fighters and bombers, and jet aircraft from the Cold War's earliest days, to the Harrier and the F-35.

I've been to a lot of air museums, but the RAF Museum had many planes I'd never seen before, and many that are the only ones in existence. If you're in London, definitely head up to Hendon, especially since you can't beat the entrance price: free.

Unless you drive there, you enter the grounds after a short walk from the Colindale station on the Northern Line. It's about a 15 minute walk.

For the full story behind the tour, check out A tour of the Royal Air Force Museum.

2.jpg
2 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Greeters

In the center of the complex, surrounded by the parking lot, actually, are a Spitfire and a Hurricane.

img6343.jpg
3 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Milestones of Flight Hall

There's quite a mix of aircraft in the Milestones of Flight Hall. Up close, here, you can see the Eurofighter Typhoon; off to the left is a P-51D Mustang.

img6349.jpg
4 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Mossie

One of my favorite WWII planes, the de Havilland Mosquito.

img6355.jpg
5 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Lightning II

A mock-up of the new F-35 Lightning II.

img6357.jpg
6 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

First Allied Jet

Here's a wonderfully well-preserved Gloster Meteor, the first operational allied jet. The visual difference between it and the Mosquito adjacent is extreme, especially considering they're from the same era.

img6362.jpg
7 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Jump jet

I was surprised at how small the Harrier is in person. A big station wagon wouldn't be much smaller, really. This one's all engine (you can see the top of the engine at the bottom of the frame).

img6371.jpg
8 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Power

The legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, used in...well, practically everything on the Allied side in WWII.

img6373.jpg
9 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Where's the propeller?

Right next to the Merlin and the Mosquito is a Me262, the only jet aircraft to see air-to-air combat in WWII. Its Jumo 004 engine must have been quite a sight in an age of propellers.

img6375.jpg
10 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Me(an)

It's a mean looking aircraft, and could almost pass for a modern-day jet. Hard to imagine this was flying at the same time as Spitfires and Hurricanes.

img6392.jpg
11 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The Bomber Hall

The sprawling Bomber Hall (though, I guess it'd have to be), features some iconic and rarely seen aircraft. This display features a Handley Page Halifax salvaged from a lake in Norway after a belly landing.

img6400.jpg
12 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Liberator

The B-24 Liberator. Though not as famous as the B-17, it was faster, carried more, and had a longer range.

img6420.jpg
13 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The Icon

The famed B-17. Probably the most recognizeable bomber in history.

img6422.jpg
14 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Which one?

Which model B-17 is it? Easy to tell with this photo...

img6426.jpg
15 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Shrike

This Fw 190 was modified with a second seat after production, but not much else is known about its history.

img6430.jpg
16 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Bomber and interceptor

In the background, the easily recognizable B-25. In the foreground is one of Germany's more bizarre aircraft, the tiny He 162 "People's Fighter."

img6436.jpg
17 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

All wing

The Avro Vulcan is so massive, it's hard to get it all in one photo. Here you can see some of its bomb load, under its massive delta wing.

img6447.jpg
18 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Like night

The huge wing does a great job shadowing the walkway.

img6448.jpg
19 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

B-17 and Bf109G

While the planes are rightfully the stars of the show, the other objects, like engines and cars, add to the character.

It's also interesting to see these two nemeses side by side, especially noting how small the Bf109 really is.

img6450.jpg
20 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b

Pretty big for a WWI plane, the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b was a fighter, bomber, and anti-submarine aircraft.

img6451.jpg
21 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Exposed

Not much protection from the elements, or anything else, plus it was powered by an engine that probably has less power than the one in your car.

img6455.jpg
22 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Lancaster

In the center of the bomber hangar is the impressively massive Avro Lancaster. I've seen B-17s and B-24s up close (even before this tour), but neither are as huge as the Lancaster.

img6456.jpg
23 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Merlins

Just imagine one of these huge beasts rumbling down the runway or soaring overhead.

They were powered by Merlins as well.

img6457.jpg
24 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

S-Sugar

This Lancaster flew 137 sorties.

img6459.jpg
25 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Big bombs

Because of its cavernous bomb bay, the Lancaster carried the huge "blockbuster" bombs of the day.

img6468.jpg
26 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

It's a boat!

Along with bombers, I adore seaplanes. Probably from watching too much "TaleSpin" as a kid.

This is a Supermarine Stranraer.

img6488.jpg
27 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe

The Snipe was intended as a replacement for Sopwith's excellent Camel (which we'll see later).

img6491.jpg
28 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Airco DH.9A

The DH.9A was a WWI bomber, but only came into service toward the end of the war.

Standing close to them, it's interesting how little size difference there is between most WWI bombers and the fighters (compared with later versions of the same types of aircraft, anyway).

Note the wooden wheels.

img6494.jpg
29 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

F4

It's not just all propeller craft at the RAF Museum; there are quite a lot of modern jet aircraft, like this F4 Phantom.

img6499.jpg
30 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Cockpit

The cockpit for the F4. Sadly, you couldn't get in this one (there's a small jet trainer you can sit in, though).

img6497.jpg
31 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Part of one hangar

Here you can get a sense of the overall size of the place: this is roughly one quarter of the Historic Hall. The Bomber Hall is a little smaller, but not much.

img6508.jpg
32 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Thunderbolt

The beefy Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. It was equipped with eight .50 caliber machine guns, plus this model could carry 2,000 pounds of bombs. Fierce, and the predecessor (namesake-wise, anyway) of the epic A-10.

img6510.jpg
33 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Seems to be missing something...

While I'd love to take a flight in a WWI airplane, I can't say I'd be at ease. Not sure why...

img6520.jpg
34 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Engine experimentation

The early years of flight saw some fascinating experiments with planes, engines and everything.

This is a Napier Dagger, which has an "H" cylinder configuration (as opposed to the more familiar "V" or in-line designs).

img6522.jpg
35 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Grrrr

Did every P-40 have teeth painted on?

img6526.jpg
36 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Aww, so cute.

Can I have one? It's adorable: a tiny jet trainer called the BAC Jet Provost.

img6527.jpg
37 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Lightning

The BAC Lightning F.6, with its unusual over-wing fuel tanks.

img6542.jpg
38 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

OK, I get it

Either this was a coincedence, or someone amused themselves with this sign placement.

img6528.jpg
39 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Pronounced "Canbra"

The English Electric Canberra PR.3. While built as a (very) high-altitude light bomber, it also worked well as a surveillance aircraft for the same reason.

The American version was called the B-57.

img6530.jpg
40 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

de Havilland Vampire

The Vampire entered service just after WWII, and certainly looked a lot weirder than its (rather staid-looking) contemporary, the Meteor.

img6531.jpg
41 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Two into one

Despite the two intakes, the Vampire was powered by a single turbojet.

img6532.jpg
42 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Booms

Though not related, there is some resemblance to the P-38, right?

img6545.jpg
43 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Battle of Britain Hall

The Battle of Britain Hall shows what life was like in Britain during the Blitz.

img6549.jpg
44 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Daffy

The Boulton Paul Defiant was a two-seat interceptor where the pilot had no weapons, relying on a gunner with a turret. Not awesome against fighters, but it did do well against bombers.

img6553.jpg
45 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Bf 110

This is the only intact Bf 110 in existence. Most effective as a long-range and night fighter, it also was used as a fighter-bomber.

img6556.jpg
46 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

88

This Junkers Ju 88 was given to the British by its pilot, who defected and landed at what is now Aberdeen International Airport. The co-pilot was also in on the defection, but the radio operator was not.

It was all orchestrated by the Secret Service.

img6561.jpg
47 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Light bomber

The He 111 was already pretty old when WWII started, but continued to be used until the end of the war.

img6563.jpg
48 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Legend I

The legendary Hawker Hurricane. The RAF Museum's description: "Hurricanes destroyed more enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain than did all the other air and ground defenses combined."

img6569.jpg
49 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Legend II

And the Hurricane's legendary (and more famous) counterpart, the Supermarine Spitfire.

img6572.jpg
50 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Powered by...

What's inside? Oh yeah, that Merlin again...

img6579.jpg
51 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Stuka

Hard to miss the inverted gull wings of the Ju 87.

img6581.jpg
52 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Dive bomber

That iconic wail of a dive bomber on attack? Made from a siren attached to the landing gear.

img6595.jpg
53 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

V-1

Basically the WWII version of the cruise missile, the V-1 used a pulsejet engine.

img6593.jpg
54 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

I call him Bubba.

The Short Sunderland seaplane. The name "Flying Boat" has never seemed more apt. Note how an engineer can crawl through the huge wing and work on the engine (not in flight, presumably).

img6607.jpg
55 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Up front

Inside the Short Sunderland. Sorry about the mediocre picture, but with the lights facing scratched plastic...

This is the forward gunner position. He could winch the gun turret out of the way to secure lines after landing.

img6609.jpg
56 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Loo

With missions lasting many hours, it's not like you can pull over for a pit stop.

img6612.jpg
57 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Bunks

Some missions had multiple crews so some could rest while the others were on duty.

img6614.jpg
58 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Mess

There's even a small galley, with a propane stove.

img6626.jpg
59 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Bomb bay

During normal flight, the hatches would be closed, and those bomb racks would be inside the boat. Plane. Boatplane.

img6618.jpg
60 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Tailgunner

Here a tailgunner works his way forward out of the long tail of the Sunderland.

img6633.jpg
61 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Stubby

The wings were much wider than the Sunderland was long.

img6634.jpg
62 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

V-2

Where the V-1 was a cruise missile, the V-2 was the first ballistic missile.

img6637.jpg
63 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Duck

The business end of the V-2.

img6649.jpg
64 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The Grahame-White Factory

The WWI hangar is called the Grahame-White Factory (its own interesting story). When I was there it was in the process of being redone for the 100th Anniversary of the Great War.

The fuselage in the foreground is a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter.

img6650.jpg
65 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

3 and 2

These aircraft are now at the other RAF Museum, at Cosford. The foreground is a Sopwith Triplane, the other the legendary Sopwith Camel.

img6651.jpg
66 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Three must be better than two (or one)

This is one of two remaining Sopwith Triplanes, and it was restored to flying condition.

img6653.jpg
67 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Camel

Certainly one of the most famous WWI aircraft, up there with the Fokker Triplane (though the Camel was aguably the better plane)

img6654.jpg
68 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Where's the middle?

The rather bizarre, but still rather cool-looking, French Caudron G3.

img6656.jpg
69 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Sesquiplane

This design is called "sesquiplane," meaning one of the wing pairs is smaller than the other.

img6657.jpg
70 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Struts

All the aircraft are beautifully maintained, looking like they just rolled out of the factory.

img6659.jpg
71 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Albatros DVa

The quite gorgeous Albatros DVa, with its in-line liquid-cooled engine (hence the smooth shape).

img6660.jpg
72 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Lines

Though sleek in lines, the DVa didn't perform as well as its British adversaries.

img6662.jpg
73 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a

The boxy (but fast) Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a.

img6663.jpg
74 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Avro 504k

The Avro 504k (the skid was stock), which was used early in the war, but was soon replaced by better performing airplanes.

img6667.jpg
75 of 75 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Into the wild blue...

The RAF Museum was one of the best air museums I've ever been to, and well worth a trip out of London for any airplane buff. And it's free!

For the full story behind the tour, check out A tour of the Royal Air Force Museum.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos