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ISSUE
239 - September 2012
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North East Land, Sea & Air Museum, Sunderland, UK |
By Kevin Moore, Contributing
Editor & Photographer
Watford, Ontario, Canada |
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Probably the most popular of the aircraft at the museum is the Avro Vulcan,
the most beautiful jet age bomber ever built! |
In north-east England, tucked away on a small patch of land that once was part of a busy World War II RAF base in Sunderland you'll find the NELASM. With its rather unassuming 'hangar' and out-buildings and off the beaten path, it's easy to miss if you aren't actually looking for it. However, if you do miss it, then you're missing out on an opportunity to enjoy a wonderful, if not underfunded and understaffed, museum. |
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The museum's original sign now displayed as part of the museum artifacts. |
RAF Sunderland no longer exists, nor does the runway. In fact, you'd never know there was once a large RAF base here if not for the information you'll find within the museum once you arrive. The loss of the runways was a huge blow to the museum and has made it more difficult for the museum to survive. Lack of vision on the part of some area politicians means the museum must work much harder to attract visitors and in obtaining aircraft in the years to come. |
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Once you enter the museum grounds, to your immediate left, you'll see the Bristol Bloodhound Mk1 missle, left. Immediately after the missile is the massive BAC Lightning, right. |
One of the first things you notice when you pull into the parking lot is the lack of glitz most museums seem to have. As you walk toward the main museum building, if you look to your left you'll see an unusual looking Bristol Bloodhound Mk 1 missile and a stunning example of a BAC Lightning that the museum volunteers and staff have beautifully restored. |
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Though she's a little worse-for-wear, having been exposed to the elements, the future
looks good for the Vulcan, left. Pilot's seat and instrument panel of the Vulcan, right. |
The next thing you notice and, really, you can't miss it, is their Avro Vulcan, parked on the grass immediately east of the main building. The first of its type to be released to an independent museum in the UK, the airplane was flown in by two RAF pilots in 1983. The weather has been less than kind to the airplane but the museum plans to restore the airplane to its former glory in the years to come. |
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The tail section remains of a Heinkel HE 111H-4 that crashed on the summit of Eastman's Cairn in Scotland, left. An assortment of wartime gas masks on display, right. |
Before entering into the main 'hangar,' you pass by an assortment of window and other displays from a piece of a Heinkel HE 111H-4 bomber (that is thought to have suffered engine failure and crashed into a mountain top in Scotland), to gas masks, search lights and a vintage wartime fire pump, among many other items. |
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One of the wartime search lights the museum has on display, left. The Sigmund Fire Pump, used during World War II by the National Fire Service (NFS) and the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), formed to fight fires created as a result of German bombing, right. |
Once inside the museum you find an unexpected variety of aircraft and assorted aviation memorabilia tightly packed in, what really is, a relatively small space. The history inside the museum isn't just related to aviation in the UK, but from various parts of the world and different eras. |
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A USAFE (Europe) F-86D Sabre received by the museum in 1987
after five years of negotiations. |
One of the first aircraft you see is a USAFE F-86D. This Sabre spent several years with the USAF in the United States before being transferred to the USAF European Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Bentwaters, Suffolk. From there it spent time in Germany, France and finally Italy with the USAF before being removed from the USAF inventory and transferred to the Greek Air Force in 1960. It eventually ended up in the hands of the museum in 1987. |
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When the British took control of Port Stanley during the Falklands War, this Pucara was one of a few that were seized. It was sent back to the UK by ship and eventually loaned to the museum in 1994. |
An unusual airplane to find in the UK is the Pucara. This airplane was once flown by the Argentinean Air Force but was captured by the British in Port Stanly during the Falklands War. The airplane was airlifted by a Chinook helicopter to an awaiting ship in Port William and made the trip to Southampton, UK. It has been on loan to the museum since 1994. |
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In need of some TLC but in otherwise good shape is this example of the Avro Anson. |
Sitting beside the Pucara and looking a little rough is an Avro Anson. Once used for coastal reconnaissance during World War II, Ansons served with the RAF for more than 30 years. They first flew with the RAF in 1935 and started with Coastal Command a year later. It was the first RAF aircraft with retractable undercarriage, though it was known as being notoriously difficult and awkward to use. Though the airplane was not designed to be a fighter aircraft, during the battle of Dunkirk, one Anson was attacked by three Messerschmitt 109's, managing to shoot down two of them. More than 10,000 Ansons were built with almost 3000 of those built in Canada. |
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The museum's Gloster Meteor (F.8) once flew with
an aerobatic team called "The Evergreens." |
Another famous RAF aircraft was the Gloster Meteor. The museum's version is a Meteor F.8 which first flew in 1948 and entered service with the RAF in 1949. The aircraft was the last single-seat version of the fighter with an ejection seat and fully transparent canopy. The airplane flew with several squadrons in an assortment of rolls including a stint with College of Air Warfare in Manby where it flew with the units aerobatic team, the Evergreens. In 1974 this aircraft slated for scrap but was purchased by the museum in 1975 and was dismantled and shipped to Sunderland. |
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Two of a few of the museum's helicopters, the Westland Widgeon (Dragonfly), left,
and the Sikorsky S-51, right. |
Two helicopters that you'll find on the museum floor are the Westland Widgeon and the Sikorsky S-51. The Widgeon was a development of an earlier design called the Dragonfly, though it was not very successful and only 15 were built. The museum's example was once used in an Anthony Hopkins movie called "Where Eight Bells Toll" and was acquired by the museum in 1993. The Sikorsky S-51 was mainly used by the US Army Air Force but was originally designed for commercial use. In 1947 Westland Helicopters were licensed to produce the aircraft for the British Navy and the Royal Air Force. This example was the museum's first exhibit and was fully restored in 2008. |
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The nose section of the DH Comet jet airliner, left. A USAF F-84F Thunderstreak, right. |
There are many more exhibits and aircraft inside the main building. You'll find the nose section of a DH Comet, a Short SD-330, T-33, Dassault Mystere, Hawker Hunter, F-84 and much more. There are also display cabinets with an assortment of memorabilia, propellers and signs on walls, and so much more. The museum's not particularly large, but it's full! |
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The museum has more than aircraft as seen here with a Quick-Firing 25-pounder gun, left, and a 1000lb general purpose bomb, right. |
The museum doesn't just exhibit aircraft but also has an assortment of weapons and vehicles such as the Quick-Firing 25-pounder gun. The museum's example is a Mk II carriage with a 25-pounder Mk I gun. There is also a 1000lb general purpose bomb, German incendiary phosphor bomb, and a DH Sprite ATO (Assisted Take Off Unit). There are also several assorted military trucks, aircraft parts such as ejection seats, engines and civilian aircraft. |
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The mighty Canberra bomber sitting on the grass in front of the main museum 'hangar,' left. Inside one of the other buildings sits this beautiful example of a Sea Venom, right. |
Stepping outside you also notice a mighty Canberra sitting in the grass between the main building and the other smaller storage buildings. You also might get the opportunity to look inside one of these other storage and maintenance buildings where various other aircraft are housed including an F-100, Westland Gazelle, Westland Whirlwind, Jet Provost, DH Dove, a sailplane in one building and the Sea Vixen and Sea Venom, and more, in another. Volunteers work hard on restoring the museum's airplanes but more help is needed. |
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The museum has several display cases full of memorabilia such as this "British Monoplanes Identification" booklet, left, and "Uniforms, Badges and Intelligence Data, etc of the German Forces" booklet, right. |
If you live in the North-East of England and can volunteer your time, your experience and knowledge, and your love of aircraft to the museum, they're always looking for any help they can get. Airplanes need restoration. Artifacts and memorabilia need sorting, cleaning and displaying. Storage facilities need sorting and tidying and even cleaning. If you aren't local enough to physically assist the museum, maybe you can assist financially. Donations are always needed and welcomed. You might even have something you're willing to donate to the museum which they will gladly take and appreciate. |
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The iconic DH Vampire, left. It's not just about powered aircraft
as seen by this Carman M.100S Glider, right. |
If you're visiting the Sunderland area make a point of dropping in to visit the museum. Browse the museum floor and spend a few quid in the gift shop or drop a pound or ten in the donation box. The museum is only a short 10-15 minute drive from Newcastle as well and it's easy to get to, right off the A19. The only thing missing at the North East Land, Sea and Air Museum… is YOU! |
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In the museums inventory of exhibits are an assortment of military tanks and vehicles. |
For more information on the North East Land, Sea & Air Museum: nelsam.org.uk |
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This is the starboard wing of a P-40 Tomahawk Mk I AH 744 which crashed 10/2/1943 at Red Gill Moss Co. in Durham, UK. The pilot, F.O. H.E. Wright, was killed in the crash. The wing was recovered in 1984 by members of the NELSAM |
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RAF Pilot display including an officers tunic, leather flying jacket and flying helmet, left. A part from a crashed Me109 E4 that had been shot down by an RAF pilot who, himself, was shot down later on the same day, right. |
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Another look at the Vulcan. Even needing some work, she's still a beautiful airplane! |
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A simple but beautiful memorial to the memory of those who fought in the RAF. The museum could do well selling miniature stone tribute pieces such as the flying boots, goggles and flying helmet seen in the foreground of the memorial. |
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