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Cosford Raf Museum

B

Bill Parker

master brummie
Yesterday I spent aroung four very pleasant hours looking around the excellent Cosford RAF museum. The huge site is still partly an active RAF base and I am sure many of you have already visited it at some time or other.

I cant say Im a big aviation enthusiast and even less a military one but never the less the many of these aircraft did provide theis country with a huge amount of protection and the weapons actually seemed to work in those days!!

Most suprising is that this superb collection can be seen for free, the only cost will be the parking and even that will either ammount to £2 or at max £3. Rather than describe the site in detail I have but the link at the bottom of this post.

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/
 
Hello Bill, a trip to cosford with a decent pub meal on the way home is a great day out. I am also not an avid aviation or military man but I am enthralled by some of the aircraft on show.
 
I remember Cosford as a National Service Training base rather than a fighter station etc I feel a place to all the square bashers and spud peelers would be more popular and interesting, apparently it had an attrotious reputation for pain.
 
At one point Cosford had the only indoor athletic facility capable of putting on an international meeting. I spent many a long day there before the NIA was opened.
 
Hi Bill, years ago when he was small, I used to take my son to RAF Cosford for what they called 'Open Days', Earlier this year he took ME to Cosford to the RAF Museum, I hadn't seen it before, it was very nostalgic, I did my National Service in the RAF in 1950/1952, and a lot of the aircraft that were flying then were in the Museum. He also took me there again in June to the air show, it was wonderful, except it poured with rain from about 4.30 pm spoiling everyones day, must go next year, thats if I'm not in the museum! Don Clive
 
One of the things that suprised me was how small the Spitfire was and how massive the vulcan bomber was!! Way back in the mid 60s a friends dad took us both to a show at RAF Gaydon and I seem to remember aVulcan getting its front undercarriage bogged down in the grass as it tried to turn on the runway. It remained firmly grounded for the rest of the day!
 
I remember sitting in my car on the A15 just outside RAF Waddington, Lincoln, whilst about 5 Vulcans came into land, the sight was tremendus and the vibration a noise unreal, this was I believe their last Sqn posting when they were used as re-fuelers and tankers in the Falklands campaigne, shame we do not have these fantastic British built works of art in service anymore.
 
I was stationed at RAF Leconfield in East Yorkshire for the whole of my N.S, and amongst the aircraft there, flying daily were 'Lincolns', the follow up to 'Lancasters', they were used as 'flying classrooms' for trainee navigators, although at the time Leconfield was called 'The Central Gunnery School'..... Don't worry I'm not breaking the official secrets act.... I believe it's used for Helicopters now. Don Clive.
 
Don Clive said:
Hi Bill, years ago when he was small, I used to take my son to RAF Cosford for what they called 'Open Days', Earlier this year he took ME to Cosford to the RAF Museum, I hadn't seen it before, it was very nostalgic, I did my National Service in the RAF in 1950/1952, and a lot of the aircraft that were flying then were in the Museum. He also took me there again in June to the air show, it was wonderful, except it poured with rain from about 4.30 pm spoiling everyones day, must go next year, thats if I'm not in the museum! Don Clive
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You make sure you do Don, Im sure you will love it.
 
Cosford's worth a visit any time, especially since they opened the 'Cold War' exhibition, which is tremendous. The Lincoln (or Lancaster B3) is also very impressive, but the story of its being haunted is just that - a story. I believe it was made up by some reporter from the Express & Star.

Not only does the Spitfire impress by its small size, but also the MiG 15 - really tiny. Another terrific aircraft, one of my all-time favourites, the Messerschmidt 262 jet, is no longer at Cosford. Removed to Hendon, I think.

Big Gee
 
There was a two seater Spitfire at Leconfield, used as other Piston Engine aircraft were at that time for Conversion courses from piston engines to Jets, (Meteors & Vampires) I was lucky to have a flight in it 'circuits and bumps' and as I was 6' 2'' at the time it was small in the cockpit as well! I think it was a Mk16? somebody tell me.
 
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Big Gee said:
Cosford's worth a visit any time, especially since they opened the 'Cold War' exhibition, which is tremendous. The Lincoln (or Lancaster B3) is also very impressive, but the story of its being haunted is just that - a story. I believe it was made up by some reporter from the Express & Star.

Not only does the Spitfire impress by its small size, but also the MiG 15 - really tiny. Another terrific aircraft, one of my all-time favourites, the Messerschmidt 262 jet, is no longer at Cosford. Removed to Hendon, I think.

Big Gee
Click to expand...

I know how the haunted thing sounds but when I was there I stood in front of the Lincoln , we were the only ones at that end, the wife moved on , then there was the sound of someone running up and down the lengh of the aircraft . I thought it was a child at first but they were heavy steps , it was annoying me that some idiot was running up and down. It went on for some minutes then stopped.
I reported it to a member of staff who said "Not possible, you are the only two up that end this morning"
 
I spent many hours as an Air Cadet at the Gliding School. Only the freezing cold days stick in my mind. The dreaded pig field where many a cadet sat and endurered the wrath of his flying instructor for getting his approach wrong. I can remember the look of disdain the Airmen in the Recovery Team gave me as they hauled my Slingsby glider out of the mud. ( I was not alone. The Pilot of the Vulcan Bomber overshot Cosfords runway and the ended up with the pigs. It took quite a while to get it out and I bet the Recovery Team really muttered under their breath.)After a less than promising start I became quite good at it.
The food at Cosford was far better than any Army Base I visited, though Shawbury was better. I prefer not to remember what the Navy fed us.
 
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