RAF Museum London

The Royal Air Force Museum London stands on the site of the former Hendon Aerodrome in the London Borough of Barnet. Once one of Britain’s first civilian airfields, it was bought by aviation pioneer Claude Grahame-White in 1911. During the First World War the airfield became a Royal Naval Air Station, training pilots before closing after the war. In 1927 it housed No. 601 Squadron, nicknamed the ‘Millionaires’ Squadron’ because its volunteers were wealthy amateurs. The airfield reopened in 1939 as an RAF station and flew its last fixed-wing sortie in 1968 before runways were removed for housing. The museum preserves the airfield’s history across five hangars and a sixth building. Hangar 1 shows the RAF’s first century through stories and technology, while the Grahame-White Factory recalls the earliest days of flight on this spot. Historic Hangars 3 and 4 display Second World War fighters such as the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire alongside Cold War jets. Bomber Hall presents German bombers used in the Battle of Britain, and Hangar 6 covers the RAF from 1980 to the present. Visitors find a public restaurant in a 1930s mess store and a children’s play area with mini aircraft and vehicles. The archives on the top floor of Hangars 3, 4 and 5 hold thousands of documents, books and photographs. Landscaping around the site recreates the look of the old airfield in today’s urban setting. The collection includes over a hundred aircraft, from the Avro Lancaster S-Sugar to the only complete Hawker Typhoon. Recent additions are a Westland Sea King flown by Prince William, a Gnat jet trainer of the Red Arrows and a full-scale mock-up of the F-35 Lightning II.