The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial is an aviation museum in Elvington, York, England, on the site of the former RAF Elvington airfield, a Second World War RAF Bomber Command station. The museum was founded, and first opened to the public, in the mid 1980s. The museum is one of the largest independent air museums in Britain. It is also the only Allied Air Forces Memorial in Europe. The museum is an accredited museum under Arts Council accreditation scheme. It is a member of Friends of the Few (Battle of Britain Memorial), the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Museums Association and the Association of Independent Museums. The museum is a registered charity (No. 516766) dedicated to the history of aviation and was also set up as a memorial to all allied air forces personnel, particularly those who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

Site

The 20 acre parkland site includes buildings and hangars, some of which are listed. It incorporates a 7 acre managed environment area and a DEFRA and Environment Agency supported self sustainability project called "Nature of Flight". The museum is situated next to a 10000 ft runway, which is privately owned.

History

Whilst the Royal Air Force carried on using the runway for aircraft landing and take off training until 1992, the buildings and hangars had long been abandoned. In 1980, Rachel Semlyen approached the owners of "what was then an abandoned and derelict wartime site, with the idea of restoring the buildings and creating a museum". In 1983, a group started clearing the undergrowth and the site was ready to be unveiled as the Yorkshire Air Museum in 1986.

Events

The museum undertakes several annual events each year within the general attraction / entertainment area as well as educational and academic events for specific audiences, plus several corporate events in association with companies such as Bentley, Porsche, banking, government agencies etc. The annual Allied Air Forces Memorial Day takes place in September.

Exhibits

The museum has over 50 aircraft, which the development of aviation from 1853 up to the latest GR4 Tornado. Several aircraft including Victor, Nimrod, Buccaneer, Sea Devon, SE5a, Eastchurch Kitten, DC3 Dakota are kept live and operated on special "Thunder Days" during the year. Over 20 historic vehicles and a registered archive containing over 500,000 historic artefacts and documents are also preserved at the museum, which is also the official archive for the National Aircrew Association and National Air Gunners Association. It is nationally registered and accredited through DCMS/Arts Council England and is a registered charity. A permanent exhibition on RAF Bomber Command was opened at the museum by life member, Sir David Jason. In 2010, a new exhibition called "Pioneers of Aviation", and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was opened featuring the lives and achievements of Sir George Cayley, Sir Barnes Wallis, Robert Blackburn, Nevil Shute and Amy Johnson. Principal on-site businesses include: restaurant, retail shop, events, aircraft operation engineering workshops, archives and a corporate business suite. The museum is also a location for TV and film companies.

Collection

Aircraft on display

Ground vehicles