New Cosford exhibition pays tribute to Bomber Command

Welcome to this latest edition of Aerodrome and our regular look at the fascinating world of aeroplanes and the historic aviation scene around the UK.

Having enjoyed a very late 2023 visit to the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands site at Cosford recently, we are delighted to be in a position to start a new year of Aerodrome blogs in some style, with our first review visit to the relatively new Bomber Command exhibition at this world renowned collection of historic aircraft. A development which has seen some major display movements at Cosford, this was our first opportunity to enjoy a visit to the museum since the alterations were made and it turned out to be a real pre-Christmas treat.

With its deserved reputation as one of the most significant collections of historic aircraft to be found anywhere in the world, the new exhibition has only served to enhance the appeal of a visit to Cosford and with the recently renovated Vickers Wellington Mk.X MF628 dominating the new display, this is one aviation spectacle you really do need to enjoy in person. If you haven't been to the RAF Museum Midlands for a while, there's definitely a significant new reason to put a visit on your calendar agenda for 2024.

During the course of this review, we will fully document the changes which have taken place in the War in the Air hangar at Cosford to allow the inclusion of the Bomber Command exhibition, but will also provide details of where you will find some of the aviation favourites which have relocated to facilitate the arrival of the Wellington. Lavishly illustrated throughout with photographs taken during the visit, please join us as we begin a new year of Aerodrome blogs with a thoroughly enjoyable visit to Cosford and their impressive new Bomber Command exhibition.

Midlands home for Britain's aviation heritage

After ten long years in the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre, Vickers Wellington Mk.X MF628 now stands as the most impressive exhibit in Cosford's famous War in the Air hangar.

For anyone with even the slightest interest in aeroplanes and aviation history, the airfield site at Cosford will no doubt be extremely familiar to you, with this famous location not only being home to the Midlands branch of the Royal Air Force Museum, but also by virtue of the annual Airshow which takes place at Cosford, a perennially sold out event and one which always attracts international participation. From a museum display perspective, the RAF Museum Midlands can not only boast the impressive National Cold War Exhibition housed in its beautifully unique display space, but also a world renowned collection of preserved aircraft, several of which can only actually be seen at Cosford.

Over recent years, the aircraft collection at Cosford has been enhanced significantly by the relocation of several exhibits from the collection down at Hendon, particularly during the period when they were preparing to mark the centenary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force in 2018. During that time, such aviation heavyweights as captured Junkers Ju-88R-1 D5+EV and Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 ‘Black 6’ made the trip north, making Cosford an unrivalled destination for fans of WWII Axis air power.

The two famous Luftwaffe relocations were joined by Gloster Gladiator K8042 and arguably the most significant display addition of them all, Boulton Paul Defiant N1671, an aircraft which is the only complete example of the aircraft on display anywhere in the world and an aircraft which was originally constructed just ten miles away from where she is currently displayed. With the Defiant effectively 'coming home' and several Luftwaffe classics arriving at Cosford, enthusiasts in this part of the world couldn't have been happier.

In addition to displaying some of the world's most historic aircraft, Cosford is also a renowned centre for aircraft conservation and preservation, with the famous Michael Beetham Conservation Centre occupying a position at the top end of the airfield site and usually restricted from public access. Inside, team members engage in the skilled preservation and renovation of some of the country’s best loved historic aircraft, in addition to dealing with the regular maintenance of the impressive exhibits across the RAF Museum Midlands site. Their engineering staff also engage in taking on significantly longer term projects, including the full restoration of extremely rare aircraft, with their Handley Page Hampden and Goodwin Sands Dornier Do.17z being two high profile examples of this work.

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 (Trop) 'Black 6' is a popular exhibit at the RAF Museum Midlands and whilst it did have to make way during the Bomber Command Exhibition alterations, it only had to move to the adjoining hangar.

MBCC experts also perform similar tasks for exhibits from the RAF Museum London site, in addition to being specialists in the dismantling, transportation and assembly of historic aircraft, taking on everything from a Folland Gnat, to a mighty WWII bomber. Perhaps the most important role currently undertaken by MBCC staff is how it also serves as a centre of excellence for some rapidly disappearing engineering and technical skills, expertise which may have once been commonplace on RAF airfields all over the world, but are now fast disappearing.

With skilled professionals and experienced former RAF engineers and technicians either employed or volunteering at the centre, a specialist apprenticeship scheme is now helping to ensure that a new breed of experts are being trained in the skills of a bygone era, something which will undoubtedly benefit the industry for many years to come. Helping maintain an enduring link to the men and women who worked on Britain’s military and civilian aircraft over the past century, will hopefully ensure that the nation's aviation heritage will continue to benefit from first class professional maintenance support, with this new breed of talented engineers passing on their specialist knowledge to future generations of eager apprentices.

The work being carried out by the team at the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre used to be placed under the public spotlight for one glorious week each year, as enthusiasts were given the opportunity to apply for a place on one of several 'open hangar' events, where all current projects could be viewed and photographed. These events were incredibly popular, however over recent years, they have not been taking place for various reasons and activities at the Centre have remained a little more on the secretive side. That being said, a long term resident at the Centre has just taken its place within the main display hangars at Cosford, serving as a high-profile confirmation of the talent and capabilities of everyone connected with the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre.

Restored Wellington for Bomber Command exhibition

Long time resident in Cosford's Michael Beetham Conservation Centre, Vickers Wellington Mk.X MF628 is now the star aviation attraction of their recently unveiled Bomber Command Exhibition. 

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to visit the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre at Cosford over the past decade or so will have definitely marvelled at the work they were undertaking in renovating an aircraft which was by some distance, the largest project in the Centre, Vickers Wellington Mk.X MF628. Dominating the far side of the facility, the Wellington was resting on trestles with its wings and horizontal stabilisers removed to allow this work to continue, with much of its interior and famous geodetic construction available for viewing. This unique access only served to give us an appreciation of the size of the task facing the MBCC team, as the complexity of the Wellington's construction and the lack of exterior covering highlighted just how much there was left to do.

One of only two complete examples of this important British bomber to be found anywhere in the world, Wellington Mk.X MF628 was built by Vickers Armstrong at their Squires Gate, Blackpool factory in May 1944. After successfully completing her first flight, she was delivered to No.18 Maintenance Unit at RAF Tinwald Downs (RAF Dumfries) for storage just 3 days prior to the D-Day landings taking place, and whilst this particular aircraft would not see operational wartime service, she would go on to serve in the Royal Air Force.

After around three years in storage, Wellington MF628 would be sent to Boulton Paul for conversion to T.Mk.X standard, in preparation for a role as a crew trainer and navigational instruction aircraft, one of 270 Wellingtons to undergo such conversion. The modifications included the removal of the front turret and replacing it with a painted over fairing, along with the installation of a variety of specialist navigational training equipment, in preparation for its new role. Interestingly, the rear turret and bomb doors were retained during the conversion process.

Looking much more the part, Wellington MF628 has stayed at Cosford following ten years of restoration work and is an imposing exhibit in the famous War in the Air hangar.

Initially serving with No.1 Air Navigation School at Hullavington, MF628 would only go on to have a relatively short RAF career, as Wellingtons were quickly replaced by Vickers Varsity T.1 aircraft in this navigational training role. After a further period of storage and some regular appearances as a static exhibit at Airshows, the aircraft would be used as a camera ship and spares aircraft during the making of the classic movie 'The Dambusters' in the summer of 1954.

No longer required by the RAF, Wellington MF628 was eventually sold back to Vickers at the end of 1954, but would claim the distinction of being the last Wellington to take to the skies during her delivery ferry flight to the Vickers airfield site at Wisley on 24th January 1955.

Presented to the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1956, she was transferred to RAF Hendon the following year, where a decision to return her to as close to her original Mk.X configuration as possible was taken. This involved the re-installation of the front Frazer-Nash turret so that at least visually, she resembled a Mk.X Wellington. After almost 40 years on public display at the RAF Museum's Hendon site, it was decided that Wellington MF628 was in need of some much needed care and attention and to this end, had her wings and tailplane removed, before making the journey North to Cosford during the summer of 2010 to embark on an extensive long-term programme  of restoration. 

In addition to showcasing the talents of the restoration specialists residing in the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre, the new display features the inclusion of several thoughtfully created and positioned crew member stations, with audio information detailing their individual roles during a bombing raid.

The gargantuan fuselage of the Wellington arrived in Shropshire at the beginning of July 2010, with the wings, engines and propellers following on about ten days later. Inspection of the airframe on its arrival highlighted the existence of significant corrosion in the intricate geodetic construction of the wings and fuselage, therefore ensuring this would be a complex and time-consuming project. Working steadfastly over a ten year period, the team of experts at the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre gradually overcame the corrosion problem and began the equally challenging task of recovering the Wellington in fine Irish linen, prior to completing its Bomber Command livery transformation.

With the aircraft now looking resplendent on public display in the new Bomber Command Exhibition in Cosford's War in the Air hangar, those who were fortunate to have seen the Wellington during its ten year stay in the Conservation Centre will have a particular appreciation for the efforts of museum staff in completing this work. Having seen the complex Barnes Wallis designed geodetic construction method employed on the Wellington during that time, we not only have a great admiration for the men who took these Bomber Command behemoths to war, but also the men and women who designed, manufactured and constructed these aircraft in great numbers, not to mention the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre champions who returned this magnificent aircraft to her former glory.

Looking absolutely resplendent in her new display role, Vickers Wellington MF628 serves as a fitting tribute to Bomber Command and to the RAF Museum's proud legacy of preserving Britain's rich aviation heritage.

Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV L8756

Both the Blenheim and Wellington were asked to carry a heavy operational burden for Bomber Command during the early stages of the Second World War.

Another long term Hendon resident which has made its way north to grace Cosford's new Bomber Command exhibition is Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV L8756, an aircraft which along with the Wellington, marks aircraft types which were in service with the Royal Air Force at the start of the Second World War and were asked to carry a heavy offensive burden during the early months of conflict. Displayed with its rather rudimentary defensive armament and almost comical external bomb load, this aircraft helps to give us a feeling of total admiration for the brave men who flew these aircraft in combat, as the RAF attempted to prove to the Germans that Britain would be no pushover in the months of fighting to come.

This particular aircraft is actually a Fairchild Bolingbroke IV-T, one which was built under licence in Canada during the Second World War and one which saw service with the RCAF from late 1942 onwards. Initially assigned to No.3 Bombing and Gunnery School at McDonald, Manitoba in November 1942, not much is known about the aircraft's actual service career, however, things become much clearer following her disposal and subsequent civilian ownership.

Sold as surplus to a local landowner, the aircraft was transported to his property in Canada, where she was stripped of anything deemed useful and left to languish in a continually deteriorating state for the next twenty years. She was discovered and purchased by the RAF Museum in 1966, as they were looking to add a Bristol Blenheim to their collection and this example appeared to fit the bill. On her arrival in the UK, the aircraft was given to the A&AEE at Boscombe Down in an arrangement which would see its restoration undertaken as something of a staff recreational project, to be completed on an as and when basis.

Another of the aircraft which has relocated from the Hendon site, Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV L8756 provides a stark aviation size contrast between these early RAF monoplane bomber types.

From the outset, it was always the intention that the aircraft would be restored to represent an RAF Bristol Blenheim light bomber and it was decided that it should adopt the identity of Blenheim L8756/XD-E, an aircraft which served with No.139 Squadron. No.139 Squadron has the distinction of undertaking the RAF's first operational sortie of the Second World War and it was felt that such a restoration would make a fitting tribute to this unique wartime heritage.

The restored aircraft was taken by road to the RAF Museum at Hendon during the summer of 1978, where she would later take her place as one of the much-loved exhibits in the museum's Bomber Command Hall. Now performing a similar role at the RAF Museum Midlands site, the Blenheim not only pays tribute to the heritage of Bomber Command, but also provides a breath-taking visual contrast between its own stature and that of the mighty Wellington positioned next to it. Both aircraft were flown by heroic crews who faced great danger during every sortie undertaken, but who were determined to do their duty in the face of such perils. The new exhibition really does help to focus our minds on what these young men did, so that we didn't have to.

More Bomber Command exhibits

With its rear turret removed, visitors can marvel at the interior of the newly restored Wellington, one of only two examples remaining in the world. This Boulton Paul designed turret features heavier .5in Browning machine guns, only introduced to Bomber Command aircraft from 1944 onwards.

One of the most impressive aspects of the new display is how it doesn't simply focus on the aircraft which served with Bomber Command during the Second World War, but how it places the people who served in a prominent position, arguably becoming the main reason why this serves as such a poignant tribute. With many personal stories, displays of artefacts and equipment, everything is brought together by the inclusion of several thoughtfully created and positioned virtual crew member stations. 

Each one of these features a large glass plate effigy of the crew member in question and benefits from an interactive audio lectern which provides details of the crew member, their individual histories and the role they played within the bomber during an operational sortie. Even though the aircraft are undoubtedly the main attraction when it comes to any visit to Cosford, these new crew introductions really do give the exhibition real character and dare I say, even its soul.

This impressive Short Stirling fuselage section still bears the graffiti scars of spending many years on the Pennines, where it crashed during a training flight. 

Historic original nose artwork from Handley Page Halifax 'Centurion' LV907 'Friday the 13th'.

Not only serving to educate younger members of society on what was going on in Europe around eighty years ago, the exhibition also helps remind us all of the personal sacrifices many thousands of people were forced to make during those dark days.

Other exhibits to be found in the new Bomber Command exhibition include the fuselage section of a Short Stirling Mk.III bomber, a collection of genuine Bomber Command nose artwork and a display of service awards which includes Guy Gibson's Victoria Cross medal.

For those of us who visit Cosford regularly, and accepting the fact that many of us rarely embrace change well, I have to say that everything has been done extremely efficiently and if anything, the display experience is even more enjoyable than it was before, and it was already fantastic. The team behind the new display format really should be congratulated for their impressive efforts.

Aircraft movements at Cosford

As Cosford is surely the most appropriate home for Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I N1671, thankfully her having to give up her place in the War in the Air hangar to accommodate the new Bomber Command Exhibition only involved a move to the adjoining hangar.

In preparation for the new exhibition, displays at Cosford had to undergo some alteration, in a similar manner to how the Hendon site had sent some aircraft exhibits out prior to unveiling they RAF Centenary display back in 2018. Several aircraft actually made the trip in the opposite direction, including Cosford's unique collection of rare Japanese aircraft which are now on display at Hendon, along with the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket powered fighter, whilst others made the slightly shorter trip to the adjacent hangar at Cosford.

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 'Black 6', Spitfire Mk.I K9942, Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc LF738, Gloster Gladiator Mk.I N1671 and Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I N1671 have all moved to the hangar next door and even though the arrival of the Wellington and Blenheim has taken up quite a sizeable amount of floor space, many of the remaining residents in the War in the Air hangar appear to have inherited a little more space.

Rare Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse, which was the subject of a recent Airfix kit project, is now fully reassembled and in a new position, and Junkers Ju88R-1 D5+EV is just as majestic as ever, positioned ominously opposite the Wellington. The display also now includes examples of two of Germany's fearsome vengeance weapons (Vergeltungswaffen), with a V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket now occupying the position the Me 410 previously occupied.

Historic aviation heavyweights, Cosford's collection of Luftwaffe aircraft are always amongst the highlights of any visit, no matter how many times you may have been previously.

V is for vengeance as far as this particular exhibit is concerned, or  Vergeltungswaffen in German parlance.

The stunning Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe has also benefitted from slightly more display space, whilst the Avro Lincoln, de Havilland Mosquito and Hawker Tempest II have all retained their traditional positions. In fact, it seems as if most exhibits have done rather well from the display alterations, other than the Tempest, which is still shoehorned under the wing of the Lincoln, at the far end of the hangar and difficult to view clearly.

This latest review has focussed mainly on the Bomber Command Exhibition which was unveiled last summer at the RAF Museum Midlands and even though this is surely reason enough to plan another visit to Cosford, there are a further three display spaces to discover, each one filled with an impressive collection of historic aircraft to admire.

The Bomber Command Exhibition is a major new attraction for Cosford regulars or first time visitors alike, and rather than changing what was already a winning display format, the museum have actually managed to make the visit experience even more enjoyable and they really should be commended for this. Some of Cosford's most famous exhibits are now displayed even more impressively and for a museum which already enjoys such a celebrated status within the world of historic aviation, in my opinion, its reputation has only been further enhanced by the new display.

We really are fortunate to have access to such high quality museums here in the UK and if aeroplanes are your thing, Cosford really does occupy a position as one of the most impressive venues to be found anywhere in the world today. With its nationally central location, it's easily accessible to many millions of people and if you're looking for an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable day out, there really isn't anywhere finer. 

It had been far too long since my previous visit to Cosford and I most certainly won't be leaving it that long again. If you have yet to discover the delights of the new Bomber Command Exhibition for yourself, hopefully this short review will help give you an idea of the display changes, in addition to showing you what you've been missing. As it will be several months before the 2024 Airshow season gets underway, maybe an early year visit to the RAF Museum Midlands might just be the thing to keep our historic aviation juices flowing in the meantime.

This beautiful Focke Wulf Fw190A-8/R6 was another of Cosford's aircraft to benefit from a little extra display space following the alterations made during the Bomber Command Exhibition preparations. 

That’s all we have for you in this first edition of Aerodrome for 2024, however, we will be back again in four weeks’ time with more news from the world of aviation. Thank you for your continued support and as always, if you would like to comment on anything blog related or suggest a subject you would like to see covered in a future edition of Aerodrome, please do drop us a line at aerodrome@airfix.com, where we would be delighted to hear from you.

Should you wish to continue the aviation discussions between editions, you will always find something of interest over on the Airfix Aerodrome Forum and if social media is more your thing, please use the respective official social media icon links at the foot of the main Airfix and Corgi website homepages to access our official sites.

The next edition of Aerodrome is scheduled to be published on Friday 2nd February, where we will hope to be bringing you another feature linked to the fascinating world of historic aviation.

See you all back here then.

Michael

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