Museums are ranked by how many Second World War airframes their inventories list, cockpits and replicas included. Each museum page has the full checklist.
London & Around: museums with Second World War aircraft
| Museum | Second World War airframes | Adult entry | Airframes | Examples | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Air Force Museum LondonLondon, Greater London | 36 | Free | 88 | Short Sunderland MR.5 ML824 Supermarine Spitfire Vb BL614 Supermarine Spitfire I X4590 |
Avro Lancaster R5868 'S-Sugar' — 137 operations, the RAF's highest-scoring surviving heavy — under the same roof as a Vulcan, a… |
| Biggin Hill Heritage HangarWesterham, Greater London | 16 | £49 | 17 | Supermarine Spitfire T.9 MJ627 Supermarine Spitfire Tr.VIII MT818 Supermarine Spitfire T.9 TE308 |
A rotating dozen-ish airworthy and in-rebuild Spitfires plus a Hurricane and Buchón; the 'Sit in a Spitfire' add-on is the affordable… |
| De Havilland Aircraft MuseumSt Albans, Hertfordshire | 5 | £12 | 35 | Airspeed Horsa I/II composite fuselage BAPC.232 de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito prototype W4050 de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI TA122 |
Mosquito prototype W4050, the original 1940 aircraft, in the place it was designed and first assembled. No other British museum has… |
| Battle of Britain BunkerUxbridge, Greater London | 2 | £12.50 | 2 | Supermarine Spitfire full-size replica Hawker Hurricane full-size replica |
The actual 11 Group operations bunker at Uxbridge, 77 steps down, restored to its Battle of Britain configuration — Churchill watched the… |
| Brooklands MuseumWeybridge, Surrey | 2 | £24–£27 | 32 | Vickers Wellington IA 'R for Robert' (ex-Loch Ness) N2980 Hawker Hurricane IIA Z2389 |
Concorde G-BBDG, the British production-test aircraft, bookended by a Wellington bomber dredged out of Loch Ness in 1985 and the only… |
Second World War, 1939–1945
The RAF Museum at Hendon has 35 Second World War airframes, including Lancaster R5868 and Sunderland ML824, and entry is free. Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar restores and flies Spitfires. The de Havilland Aircraft Museum near St Albans keeps Mosquito prototype W4050. Brooklands has Wellington N2980, raised from Loch Ness in 1985.
- The RAF Museum and the Battle of Britain Bunker are 11 miles apart.
- Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar is a working restoration shop; visits are by paid tour.
- The bunker is reached by 76 steps; the museum above it is lift-accessible.
Second World War types on display in London & Around
Frequently asked
Where can I see a Lancaster in London?
Lancaster R5868 ‘S-Sugar’ is at the RAF Museum London in Hendon. Entry is free.
Where can I see a Mosquito near London?
The de Havilland Aircraft Museum near St Albans has the prototype, W4050, and three other Mosquitoes or Mosquito sections.
Which museum near London has the most Second World War aircraft?
The RAF Museum London, with 35. Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar is next, with 16, almost all Spitfires.