Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum

Late in 1972, a few local enthusiasts met and decided that steps should be taken to record something of the history of aviation in the Eastern counties, and preserve aircraft and artefacts. A society was formed early the following year and activities commenced; a Nissen hut behind the Flixton post office soon became the base. In May 1976, the (now) museum was officially opened by the late Wing Commander Ken Wallis who went on to become President.

A larger building was soon required for the growing collection and efforts to find a suitable site on or around the Bungay/Flixton airfield were rewarded when a barn next to the Flixton Buck Inn was offered, along with the use of a meadow for aircraft. When further expansion needs arose they were met with the purchase in 1984 of almost 8 acres of land from the owners of the Buck Inn, and work commenced on sourcing and erecting buildings and a hangar. The barn was eventually vacated in 1990.

The theme of the collection has grown from 1) the occupation of the airfield by the 446th Bomb Group USAAF, followed briefly by the Fleet Air Arm and then the Royal Air Force, and 2) aviation in the East of England. These broad headings have permitted a very varied collection of aircraft and artefacts to be gathered and displayed, and virtually everything has been donated by visitors. The collection continues to grow and when appropriate a new building is erected, although unused space is becoming scarce owing to the need to provide for car parking.

Museum sections

The museum exhibits are arranged in a number of sections. These can be visited in any order as desired.

Inside 446 BG building

446 BG
The 446 BG building contains memorabilia from the longest-term resident of the Flixton airfield close by, including aircraft components and equipment, uniforms, personal effects and digitised images. A recent addition is a collection of U.S. personnel-inscribed bricks from a wall of the old Ditchingham Maltings (recently demolished), which was the base (Q104) of 2212 Quartermaster Truck Company Aviation USAAF in 1944.

Bomber Command building

RAF Bomber Command
The building contains large components from a 9 Squadron Wellington bomber, recovered from its crash site, a mock-up Lancaster forward fuselage used in the film “Dambusters”, plus numerous and impressive displays of aircraft instruments and equipment, uniforms, personal effects, and model aircraft.

Inside the Air Sea Rescue building

RAF Coastal Command & Air-Sea Rescue
This building contains pictures and models of aircraft that served in Coastal Command, plus a large collection of high-speed launch models, uniforms and equipment used by the RAF Air-Sea Rescue service, along with a large display of photographic images.

External exhibits

Most of the larger aircraft are displayed outdoors, and include several early RAF and Royal Navy jets, V-Bomber cockpits, and foreign aircraft (such as MiG-15 and Pucara), plus relics recovered from the sea and “digs”.

Flight Training area

This contains two working Link Trainers, a static example and another modified to take a computer based MS Flight Simulator system, plus a wheelchair-accessible flightdeck with MS Flight Simulator system. Also in the area is a large collection of valves, gun sights, models, two target drones, cut-away components, pictures and signs from RAF Coltishall and RAF Marham, plus a Virtual Radar system.
This extended Blister Hangar is home to fighter aircraft such as the EE Lightning, Sea Harrier, and Spitfire, plus Piston Provost and Vampire training aircraft, early gliders, several microlights, a large amount of Luftwaffe “wreckology”, ejector seat and aircraft engine displays, several model aircraft collections, and our popular “NAAFI” for light refreshments. Fundraising Bricabrac & Collectors’ sales stalls are nearby. There are numerous station boards to be seen, plus a gallery of oil paintings of aircraft by local member John Constable Reeve.

Hangar 2
Boulton & Paul hangar
This Boulton & Paul Hangar of 1937 includes examples of Whirlwind, Widgeon and Sycamore helicopters, a U.S. Civil Air Patrol Fairchild F.24 of WWII, the nose of a WWI Felixstowe F5 flying boat and a 5/8ths scale replica Fokker D.VIII German WWI fighter, several early gliders including a replica Colditz Cock, an Avro Anson, Luton Major and Flying Flea, the unique Goldfinch Amphibian, a large collection of radio equipment, plus photographs of Boulton & Paul aircraft. There are extensive cabinet displays, including Civil Air Patrol, Berlin Airlift, Airborne Forces and other uniforms and equipment. An extension forms a workshop, with restoration projects on view.

Ken Wallis Hall
Built in honour of our President from 1976-2013, the Ken Wallis Hall contains our Stearman, two autogyros and more microlights, an RAF Airborne Lifeboat, plus several military vehicles including a 1942 Morris Armoured Reconnaissance Car in a RAF Regiment markings. A Redifon Simulator is under restoration.

USAAF MemorialStatue of an airmal Memorials
Near to the 446 BG building there are three memorials: one to 446 BG personnel, another to 2nd Air Division USAAF personnel, and a metal statue in memory of British and Allied pilots lost in WWII. The area is fronted by a small memorial garden. A marble memorial dedicated to 446 BG personnel is also to be found on the edge of the airfield beyond Flixton village – very little survives of the airfield infrastructure, which was also home to units of the Fleet Air Arm (briefly) and RAF.

Room 1

Anderson Shelter

Rooms behind the shop
There are five display areas behind the well-stocked shop which contain a very wide variety of exhibits including an Anderson Shelter, 1940s cottage interior, a 1960s modeller’s room, exhibitions on RAF Decoy Crews and sites used in World War II, Civil Defence and the Home Front, plus WWI exhibits, airborne weapons, model aircraft, a display of airscrews (propellers), uniforms and personal effects.

Royal Observer Corps

The Royal Observer Corps building contains a mock-up underground control room/bunker, examples of ROC equipment and uniforms, and other memorabilia.

Services

Aircraft and exhibit viewing

Note that not all items will be open at once, and some may not be open certain days if not enough voolunteers are available. We will try to publish on our blog information about which aircraft will be open when.
Fokker F27 Friendship

TG-BDVS, used to serve with Air Anglia then Air UK from Norwich, usually on the Norwich to Amsterdam route. The cockpit section is complete with most instruments.

Access inside cockpit

Folland Gnat
Our Gnat is a cockpit procedures trainer built by Boulton Paul to train pilots in the start up and emergency procedures. Do you think that you can start a cold war jet?

Access inside cockpit

Hawker Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk was used by the Fleet Air Arm in the early cold war period. Many similarities can be seen with Hawker’s later Hunter used by the RAF.

View cockpit from steps

Percival Provost
The Provost, or Piston Provost as it became known when it’s sibling the Jet Provost entered service, was used by the RAF as a basic trainer during the post war period.

View cockpit from steps

Sea Prince

The Sea Prince was used by the Fleet Air Arm during the 1950s, 60s & 70s to train air weapons staff in anti-submarine work. The inside of the aircraft is kitted out with submarine detection equipment.

Access inside fuselage, cockpit viewed from fuselage only

Vickers Valetta
The Valetta was used initially as a navigator trainer, then in its later years as a VIP transport. The cabin in our aircraft has been restored to represent both functions.

Access inside fuselage and cockpit

Vickers Supermarine Spitfire
(Reconstructed fuselage using original skin/components) . The Spitfire is the iconic fighter of the Second World War.

View cockpit from steps

Anderson Shelter
Not an aircraft, but nonetheless closely related to the Air part of the Second World War. As part of the war preparations Anderson Shelters were built in gardens and houses all over the country. Hear what it was like to be inside a shelter during an air raid.

Volunteering

The museum has one paid employee, everyone else is a volunteer. If you have retired and miss the camaraderie, but not the stress, then volunteering with us might be just the thing for you. If you are looking for work, but need that extra something on your CV then volunteering here might be useful to you, and you to us. In order to help, and be covered by our insurance you need to be a member of the museum, but that does entitle you to free tea/coffee whilst you are here and to attend a couple of social events per year

Volunteers work in several teams

Cleaning
With so much space, most of it within hangars, everything gets dusty. Spiders are so much better at building cobwebs than humans are at removing them. We currently have several vacancies within this team.

Stewards
Or Docents as our American friends refer to them. This team engage our visitors and help them to better understand the exhibits. We especially need more volunteers for this on Sundays, especially event days. Hopefully this team will also assist on school/Scout visit days. If you enjoy talking to people, know a bit about our exhibits (or are prepared to learn) then this team has several vacancies. In addition we currently have three unmanned collections: Royal Observer Corps, Bomber Command and 446th Bomb Group. Someone to “own” these collections would be very useful. You would need to have knowledge of the area so that you could chat to visitors about the exhibits.

Groundforce
This team is invaluable in keeping the grass and surroundings up to scratch. Includes, fence mending, tree/bush lopping, maintaining the Adair Walk and the memorial garden on the airfield, path clearing/repairs, etc. They work with the weather so have to be flexible on which days to attend. There are currently vacancies within this team.

Carpenters
Make items to order especially display cabinets, visitor seating and outdoor furniture, repairs and maintenance of buildings, various items for sale (e.g. bird/bug boxes). The chippies also do the maintenance around the site. Currently we have space for one person in this team.

Engineers
The engineers are the ones who restore our major artefacts. Previous experience in a workshop environment is necessary. Due to the relatively small amount of work in this area we currently have no vacancies in this team.

Schools

Training cockpits, some used by WW2 pilots. All children have a ‘flight’ during their visit to the museum in one of our simulators. There are four simulators, two moving Link Trainers and two static, but with good graphics, Computer based Flight Sim equipped simulators. The children can also visit two partially restored simulators. This helps them to learn about the effect of aircraft controls.
Children study the influence of the American presence at Flixton during WW2 and see artefacts from American Servicemen who were stationed here. Visit the museum’s Bomber Command section and learn what an important part Bomber Command played during this time.
While on their visit to the museum the children visit the rare Valetta aircraft. In the Valetta the children learn of experiences of children who were evacuees. They have the chance to try on replicas of gas masks used in World War II.

Gallery