Museums are ranked by how many early jet airframes their inventories list, cockpits and replicas included. Each museum page has the full checklist.
Where to go
Midlands & Lincolnshire: museums with early jet aircraft
| Museum | early jet airframes | Adult entry | Airframes | Examples | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newark Air MuseumNewark, Nottinghamshire | 43 | £12.50 | 95 | Avro Ashton 2 forward fuselage WB491 Avro Shackleton MR.3/3 WR977 Avro Vulcan B.2 XM594 |
Vulcan XM594, with cockpit tours occasionally given by former Vulcan aircrew, which reviewers describe with the reverence normally… |
| Midland Air MuseumCoventry, Warwickshire | 31 | £11 | 66 | Avro Vulcan B.2 XL360 Armstrong Whitworth Sea Hawk FGA.6 WV797 Boulton Paul P.111A VT935 |
Vulcan XL360 with cockpit access and volunteer-led tours (ask for the instrumentation talk), plus the Whittle jet heritage collection a… |
| Royal Air Force Museum MidlandsShifnal, Shropshire | 22 | Free | 78 | Bristol Britannia 312 G-AOVF Hawker Hunter F.6A XG225 Hawker Hunter FR.10 XF426 |
TSR-2 XR220, one of two survivors of the most gifted aircraft Britain ever cancelled, sharing floor space with the stainless-steel… |
| East Midlands AeroparkDerby, Leicestershire | 20 | £5 | 35 | Armstrong Whitworth (Gloster) Meteor TT.20 WM224 Gloster Meteor NF.13 cockpit WM367 Avro Vulcan B.2 XM575 |
East Midlands Aeropark: a Vulcan, Nimrod R1 and Buccaneer parked on grassy mounds overlooking EMA's runway — half museum, half premier… |
| Sywell Aviation MuseumNorthampton, Northamptonshire | 3 | Free | 5 | Hawker Hunter F.2 WN904 de Havilland Chipmunk T.10 cockpit WG419 de Havilland Vampire T.11 nose section XD599 |
Sywell Aviation Museum: a POW-hut-sized, free museum on Britain's loveliest Art Deco aerodrome, where resident Spitfires and a Mustang… |
| Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight Visitors CentreLincoln, Lincolnshire | 2 | £12.50 | 11 | de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10 WG486 de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10 WK518 |
Lancaster PA474 — one of only two airworthy Lancasters on Earth — when she's home (she periodically visits Duxford for deep maintenance,… |
| Cranwell Aviation Heritage MuseumSleaford, Lincolnshire | 2 | Free | 2 | Hunting Jet Provost T.4 XP556 de Havilland Vampire T.11 cockpit XE946 |
Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum: the RAF College story (and Whittle's jet experiments here) told free, small and interactively — a… |
| Hucknall Flight Test MuseumNottingham, Nottinghamshire | 2 | By appointment | 3 | Hunting Jet Provost T.3 nose section XN492 Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF(T).14 (stored) WS760 |
Hucknall Flight Test Museum, on the aerodrome where Rolls-Royce flew testbeds from 1934 (and hoisted the Flying Bedstead into history),… |
| Wellesbourne Wartime MuseumWarwick, Warwickshire | 2 | £1.50 | 3 | Percival Provost T.1 WV679 de Havilland Vampire T.11 XK590 |
Wellesbourne's underground WWII battle HQ bunker plus a compact museum — and, crucially, shared turf with Vulcan XM655, the most complete… |
| Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage CentreSpilsby, Lincolnshire | 1 | £13.50 | 11 | English Electric Canberra E.15 nose section WH957 | Lancaster NX611 (taxiing now, returning to flight one day, they swear) and Mosquito NF.II HJ711 — the only running Mosquito in Europe.… |
| RAF Defford MuseumWorcester, Worcestershire | 1 | £18 | 1 | English Electric Canberra B.2 cockpit and forward fuselage WD956 | RAF Defford's museum at National Trust Croome tells the secret radar-flight-trials story — TRE's airborne laboratory squadrons — from… |
| Rolls Royce Heritage TrustDerby, Derbyshire | 1 | By appointment | 1 | English Electric Canberra B.15 cockpit section WH960 | The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust's Derby collection: the jet engine's family tree in the metal, from Eagle to Trent, toured by people who… |
The era
Early jet age, 1943–1957
Newark Air Museum has 41 airframes of the period, including Vulcan XM594 and Shackleton WR977. The Midland Air Museum in Coventry has 29, including Vulcan XL360, Vampire F.1 VF301 and Boulton Paul P.111A VT935, beside its Whittle centre. Cosford and East Midlands Aeropark have 20 each; the Aeropark keeps Vulcan XM575.
- Newark runs cockpit tours of XM594, sometimes given by former aircrew.
- Hucknall Flight Test Museum and the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust need visits arranged in advance.
- East Midlands Aeropark and the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust are 6 miles apart.
What to see
Early jet age types on display in Midlands & Lincolnshire
1943de Havilland Vampire91943Gloster Meteor121945Cessna, Piper & the American light aircraft21945de Havilland Dove family41945Bell 47 / Sioux11946de Havilland Canada Chipmunk51946Handley Page Hastings21946Percival Prentice21947Bristol Sycamore11947Hawker Sea Hawk31947Vickers Valetta & Varsity21947de Havilland Canada Beaver11947North American Sabre21947EoN Olympia & the Elliotts gliders11947Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1511948Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star31948Saunders-Roe Skeeter11948Slingsby glider family61948Saab J 29 Tunnan11948Vickers Viscount21948Handley Page HP.115 & the research one-offs21949Avro Shackleton11949de Havilland Venom & Sea Venom31949English Electric Canberra121950Avro Ashton11950Blackburn Beverley11950Percival Provost41951Dassault Mystère IV21951Gloster Javelin41951Hawker Hunter111951Boulton Paul P.111 & Short SB.511951Vickers Valiant11952Avro Vulcan41952Handley Page Victor21952Bristol Britannia11953North American F-100 Super Sabre21953Westland Whirlwind (helicopter)51954Hunting Jet Provost71954Fairey Delta 2 / BAC 22111955Folland Gnat31957Saab Safir & Fouga Magister1
Questions
Frequently asked
Where can I see a Vulcan in the Midlands?
Newark (XM594), the Midland Air Museum in Coventry (XL360) and East Midlands Aeropark (XM575). Cosford has one in its Cold War hall.
Where can I learn about Frank Whittle?
The Midland Air Museum in Coventry has the Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre.
Which Midlands museum has the most early jets?
Newark Air Museum, with 41 airframes from 1943–1957.