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
Northern England: museums with Cold War aircraft
| Museum | Cold War airframes | Adult entry | Airframes | Examples | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yorkshire Aircraft MuseumDoncaster, South Yorkshire | 35 | £7.50 | 109 | BAE Systems Hawk T.1 XX238 FMA IA-58A Pucara cockpit section A-533 FMA IA-58A Pucara A-515 |
Doncaster's South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum sprawls across the old RAF Doncaster site: dozens of airframes and helicopters, strong… |
| Yorkshire Air MuseumYork, North Yorkshire | 16 | £17 | 54 | Air Command Sports Elite gyroplane BAE Systems HERTI UAV Blackburn Buccaneer S.2 XN974 |
Halifax 'Friday the 13th' — the world's only complete Halifax reconstruction, honouring the type that flew from this very field —… |
| North East Land, Sea and Air MuseumsSunderland, Tyne and Wear | 14 | £7.50 | 46 | English Electric Lightning F.53 ZF594 de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 nose section XN696 Westland Sea King HAR.3 XZ590 |
NELSAM in Sunderland mixes Vulcan XL319 (flew in when the airport still existed), a Pucará from the Falklands, trams, buses and a… |
| Solway Aviation MuseumCrosby on Eden, Cumbria | 8 | £8 | 21 | English Electric Lightning F.53 ZF583 Fairey Gannet ECM.6 XA459 McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2 XV406 |
Vulcan XJ823 with pre-bookable crew-compartment visits; a Phantom, Lightning and Canberra (whose three-crew cockpit reviewers describe as… |
| Runway Visitor Park, Manchester AirportAltrincham, Greater Manchester | 4 | £6–£15 | 5 | Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde G-BOAC Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B G-AWZK Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2 XV231 |
Concorde G-BOAC, British Airways' flagship (the 'OAC' registration was no accident), enthroned in her own glass hangar with tours from… |
| Avro Heritage MuseumStockport, Greater Manchester | 3 | £9 | 14 | Hawker Siddeley 748 Srs 2A cockpit section G-ORAL Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2 forward fuselage XV235 Vickers VC10 C1K cockpit section (on loan) XV106 |
Vulcan XM603 — the only all-white Vulcan on display anywhere, in original anti-flash nuclear livery — plus walk-in Lancaster and Nimrod… |
| Hooton Park HangarsEllesmere Port, Cheshire | 3 | £9 | 45 | Fairey Gannet T.2 forward section (twin cockpit) BAPC.309 Parker CA.4 Parasol (Luton Minor) G-AFIU Bensen B-7M G-APUD |
Hooton Park's 1917 Belfast-truss hangars — among the finest WWI aviation buildings surviving — hold aircraft, buses and a printing museum… |
| Speke Aerodrome Heritage GroupLiverpool, Merseyside | 2 | Free | 7 | BAe Jetstream 41 G-JMAC Hawker Siddeley HS.748-1 G-BEJD |
Speke Airport Museum — Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group keeps airliners, including a Dan-Air 748 under restoration, on Liverpool's gorgeous… |
The era
Cold War, 1957–1989
The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum has 30 Cold War airframes. The Yorkshire Air Museum has 15, including three Buccaneers and Harrier GR.3 XV748. NELSAM has 12, including Lightning F.53 ZF594 and Tornado F.3 ZE204. Solway has Phantom XV406 and Tornado GR.1 ZA475. The Runway Visitor Park keeps Concorde G-BOAC and Nimrod MR.2 XV231.
- Concorde tours at the Runway Visitor Park range from technical to champagne; check prices before booking.
- The Avro Heritage Museum has a walk-in Nimrod cockpit section, 6 miles from the Runway Visitor Park.
- NELSAM opens at weekends.
What to see
Cold War types on display in Northern England
1949Fairey Gannet31951de Havilland Sea Vixen11953The light rotary flock81954English Electric Lightning41955Handley Page Herald & Jetstream51956Bell UH-1 Huey11956Dassault Mirage III & IV21957Schleicher Ka 811957GAF Jindivik & the target drones11958Westland Wessex11958Blackburn Buccaneer61958McDonnell Douglas Phantom11959Westland Scout & Wasp41960Harrier family41960Hawker Siddeley Andover & 74821961Beagle B.206 & Pup11962Hawker Siddeley 125 / Dominie11962Hawker Siddeley Trident31962Vickers VC1011963BAC Strikemaster & Bulldog21967Aérospatiale Gazelle & Alouette21967Hawker Siddeley Nimrod41968SEPECAT Jaguar31969FMA IA 58 Pucará31969Westland Sea King31969Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde11970McDonnell Douglas DC-1011971Agusta A109 & the civil twin helicopters11971Westland Lynx11973Colomban Cri-Cri & the homebuilt shelf31974BAe Hawk31974Panavia Tornado51974Short 33011986Short Tucano2
Questions
Frequently asked
Where can I see Concorde in the North?
Concorde G-BOAC is at the Runway Visitor Park, Manchester Airport.
Where can I see a Buccaneer in the North?
The Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington has three.
Which northern museum has the most Cold War aircraft?
The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum at Doncaster, with 30.