Imperial War Museum, Duxford Visit

Hello There! I recently visited Duxford while also collecting some figures from a wargaming colleague. With the ultimate demise of the Land Warfare Hall I wanted to visit it one last time. As you will see part of it is closed off already and the majority of the 'must see' exhibits were out of bounds. Also the large diorama by Tony Barton, which was on display was also behind closed doors.

The first aircraft that was on show, but was quickly put back into the hangar later, was this Westland Lysander. I remember making the Matchbox version of this when I was very young and it was uplifting to get some good clear photographs of this in the sunshine.

This was at the end of the Land Warfare Hall. I thought it was part of a D-Day Mulberry even from a distance as it did not look right for a part of a Bailey Bridge.

I am planning a British Sherman tank regiment that used the Sherman M4A4. Here was an engine that powered that tank. It looked large on display but was of course smaller than many engines used in tanks during the war.

Back to another old Matchbox favourite. The Jagdpanther. I made a couple of these for a wargaming friend in the '90's and he asked for a third about three years ago. It was difficult to find one that was not overpriced but E-bay came through and it was easy to match the colours and shades from the originals. 

One of the first things that I completed for my WWII desert DAK force was an SHQ one of these. I wanted to equip the DAK with the smaller and less potent weapons which were not present in the later stages of the war in Europe.

And its larger successor which was provided by Airfix and ESCI in the 80's and 90's

This has been a staple at the Duxford Museum for many years and is still here. I wonder where these will go when the Land Warfare Hall is closed?

Still very convincing as a 251 and I have seen versions of this in use by re enactors.

I have always liked the myriad of truck the British and Commonwealth forces used, especially in the desert. This is another common type.

Back to Matchbox kits again! Is this where they took specifications for their model masters??

Something a little different now. This is the sort of thing I like to include in my wargaming forces. I know the British removed the turrets off their Stuart tanks in NE Europe but this appears to be a proper gun tractor.

This is the only news of the closure of the land Warfare Hall and no details of the fate of many of the vehicle there, including Tony Bartons Diorama.

The Land Warfare Hall also houses some local regimental museums which concentrate mainly on the fighting in S E Asia.

The person who originally opened the museum should mean that this is not moved or lost!

Some model exhibits were well presented

Moving on to the aircraft hangars. The aircraft here always seems to be different on every visit. The Blenheim is now fully operative. The engines on this aircraft appear massive compared to the rest of the aircraft

I am not really into WWI aircraft but there were a few replicas in one hangar. I past wargaming friend, Ian Weekley of Battlements fame had a connection to the Red Baron. He had an older aunt who married Von Richtofen brother after WWI

Another Airfix kit source. I remember this being released in the 70's and probably still have the old catalogue from that time as well. A very treasured possession then. 

Another replica WWI aircraft.

There are a number of personal stories on show in the hospital. This one stood out as it was partly set in my Home town of Great Yarmouth.

There is also a much longer launch ramp in the grounds of the museum with another V1

The various exhibits in the Battle of Britain hangar were easily viewed, including some undergoing maintenance

This Crusader tank was in fairly good condition considering its age but will look even better after conservation.

This original Kublewagen has also seen better days but appears to have all its parts there.

I have seen this in one piece but on display previously. Now it is undergoing restoration.

And lastly an 'old friend'! This was formerly one of the gate guardians at RAF Coltishall and I drove past this many time in the 8 years I was there.

Overall a very enjoyable day. On the one hand it felt good to visit when there was no airshow or other display on as it is impossible to take in both at the same time. However part of a day is in no way adequate to take everything in. Also the closure of the Land Warfare Hall has left the display arena redundant and I wonder what will happen to those vehicles?