Museums are ranked by how many Cold War airframes their inventories list, cockpits and replicas included. Each museum page has the full checklist.
Where to go
Midlands & Lincolnshire: museums with Cold War aircraft
| Museum | Cold War airframes | Adult entry | Airframes | Examples | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newark Air MuseumNewark, Nottinghamshire | 30 | £12.50 | 95 | Armstrong Whitworth Argosy C.1 cockpit section XN819 Bensen B-8 gyrocopter G-ASNY Blackburn Buccaneer S.1 XN964 |
Vulcan XM594, with cockpit tours occasionally given by former Vulcan aircrew, which reviewers describe with the reverence normally… |
| Royal Air Force Museum MidlandsShifnal, Shropshire | 26 | Free | 78 | Hawker Siddeley Andover E.3A XS639 Hawker Siddeley Dominie T.1 XS709 Hawker Siddeley Nimrod R.1 XV249 |
TSR-2 XR220, one of two survivors of the most gifted aircraft Britain ever cancelled, sharing floor space with the stainless-steel… |
| Midland Air MuseumCoventry, Warwickshire | 23 | £11 | 66 | Armstrong Whitworth Argosy AW.650 (series 101) G-APRL Beagle B.206 G-ASWJ CMC Leopard G-BRNM |
Vulcan XL360 with cockpit access and volunteer-led tours (ask for the instrumentation talk), plus the Whittle jet heritage collection a… |
| East Midlands AeroparkDerby, Leicestershire | 14 | £5 | 35 | Aérospatiale Gazelle XX457 Armstrong Whitworth Argosy G-BEOZ BAC Lightning F.53 ZF588 |
East Midlands Aeropark: a Vulcan, Nimrod R1 and Buccaneer parked on grassy mounds overlooking EMA's runway — half museum, half premier… |
| Thorpe Camp Visitor CentreLincoln, Lincolnshire | 3 | £7 | 5 | English Electric Lightning F.1A XM192 Westland Wessex HAS.1 XS887 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B nose section XX895 |
Thorpe Camp preserves RAF Woodhall Spa's communal site — home of 617 Squadron post-Dams — as a period village of huts, with volunteers in… |
| Hucknall Flight Test MuseumNottingham, Nottinghamshire | 1 | By appointment | 3 | Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 (mod) (stored) XV798 | Hucknall Flight Test Museum, on the aerodrome where Rolls-Royce flew testbeds from 1934 (and hoisted the Flying Bedstead into history),… |
| Sywell Aviation MuseumNorthampton, Northamptonshire | 1 | Free | 5 | Handley Page Jetstream 200 G-RAVL | Sywell Aviation Museum: a POW-hut-sized, free museum on Britain's loveliest Art Deco aerodrome, where resident Spitfires and a Mustang… |
| Wellesbourne Wartime MuseumWarwick, Warwickshire | 1 | £1.50 | 3 | de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 nose section XJ575 | Wellesbourne's underground WWII battle HQ bunker plus a compact museum — and, crucially, shared turf with Vulcan XM655, the most complete… |
The era
Cold War, 1957–1989
Newark has 25 Cold War airframes, including Buccaneer S.1 XN964 and Sea Vixen XJ560. Cosford has 24, including Nimrod R.1 XV249 and VC10 XR808. The Midland Air Museum has 20, including Argosy G-APRL and Lightning F.6 XR771. East Midlands Aeropark has 12, including Nimrod R1 XW664 and Buccaneer S.2B XV350.
- Cosford is free.
- East Midlands Aeropark’s interior access depends on volunteer numbers.
- Wellesbourne Wartime Museum opens on Sundays; Vulcan XM655’s open days there are announced separately.
What to see
Cold War types on display in Midlands & Lincolnshire
1948American rotary visitors21948Soviet rotary wing11949Fairey Gannet21951de Havilland Sea Vixen41953The light rotary flock21954English Electric Lightning61954Lockheed Hercules11954Lockheed Starfighter & Voodoo31955Handley Page Herald & Jetstream41956Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-2121957GAF Jindivik & the target drones41957Schleicher Ka 811958Blackburn Buccaneer51958Westland Wessex41958McDonnell Douglas Phantom31959Armstrong Whitworth Argosy41959Westland Scout & Wasp11959Vickers Vanguard & Merchantman11960Hawker Siddeley Andover & 74811960Harrier family41960PZL TS-11 Iskra11961Boeing Chinook21961General Dynamics F-11111961Beagle B.206 & Pup21962Hawker Siddeley 125 / Dominie31962Vickers VC1021963BAC Strikemaster & Bulldog21964BAC TSR.211964Short Belfast11965Aérospatiale Puma & Super Frelon21967MiG-23 & MiG-2721967Saab Viggen & Draken21967Aérospatiale Gazelle & Alouette31967Hawker Siddeley Nimrod21968SEPECAT Jaguar41969Westland Sea King11971Westland Lynx21973Colomban Cri-Cri & the homebuilt shelf61974Panavia Tornado21974BAe Hawk11986Short Tucano11986British Aerospace EAP1
Questions
Frequently asked
Where can I see TSR-2?
XR220 is at the RAF Museum Midlands, Cosford. Entry is free.
Where can I see a Nimrod in the Midlands?
Cosford has Nimrod R.1 XV249 and East Midlands Aeropark has Nimrod R1 XW664.
Which Midlands museum has the most Cold War aircraft?
Newark Air Museum, with 25, just ahead of Cosford with 24.