Skip to content

The Wings World War Two Aviation Museum – where history comes alive! 1000’s of personal stories of bravery & sacrifice, walk inside an original C-47 Skytrain used on D-Day dropping Paratroopers, get up close & personal with history from all nations.

The Wings Aviation Museum is a totally voluntary organisation run by friendly dedicated volunteers & as such is a registered charity. The Museum is housed in a large “hangar” style building between Balcombe & Handcross in West Sussex. Get up close & personal to real history, read about the 1000’s of personal stories of bravery & sacrifice from all nations & theatres of war. Often described as a “Hidden Gem” our museum is available for School visits & group bookings (evenings available) we are open 6 days a week from Tuesday to Sunday – beginning of March right up to Remembrance Sunday.

We also display an abundance of original memorabilia representing a wealth of “display themes” including: Home Front, RAF Fighter Comm&, Blitz, Battle of Britain, RAF Bomber Comm&, US 8th Air Force, Luftwaffe, Russian Front, D-Day (the second front) & much more. This includes aero engines, airframes, uniforms, equipment & medals.

The Wings Museum is a growing & very much active museum. Through the use of informative displays we aim to educate future generations of the sacrifices made by our gallant armed forces during World War Two in order to preserve the peace we all benefit from today. It is our goal to ensure that their memory is not lost through the passage of time & that their courage & spirit lives on to inspire us all.

We hope you enjoy the site & we look forward to seeing you soon!

WINGS MUSEUM REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1117879

Showing the single result

Aircraft Filters
Category
Sort by Default
Showing 1 – 1 of 1 results Showing all 1 results Showing the single result No results found
Showing 1 – 1 of 1 results Showing all 1 results Showing the single result No results found
Filters Sort results
Reset Apply
Donations to the Wings Aviation Museum
The Wings Aviation Museum is a totally voluntary organisation run by friendly dedicated volunteers & as such is a registered…

Services

Through the use of informative displays we aim to educate future generations of the sacrifices made by so many during World War Two in order to preserve the peace we all benefit from today. It is our goal to ensure that the memory of those who made such sacrifices are not lost through the passage of time, & that the courage & spirit of those individuals lives on to inspire us all.

Discover real history set among the sounds of the 1940s. Every artefact has its own unique story to tell. Whatever your interest or background you are bound to find something of interest at the Wings Aviation Museum!

About the Curators

Sharing a life-long passion for warbirds for over 40 years, & with a growing collection of memorabilia, the Hunt brothers established the Wings Museum in 2003 based at the “Old Gas Decontamination Block” at Redhill Aerodrome.

Later, the museum moved into Hangar 9 (the first hangar to be erected at Redhill Aerodrome in 1934). It was at this time that Wings became a registered charity. The museum has since relocated to Balcombe in West Sussex, & has been open to the public for over 15 years.

HOW DID IT ALL START?

During the late 1970s, whilst visiting family in Norfolk, Daniel & Kevin Hunt, together with their father, Brian Hunt, would often take long walks along the old 8th Air Force runways & perimeter tracks in East Anglia. It wasn’t long before relics from the 1940s were discovered by the two young Hunt brothers. The first such discovery was a gunsight from a .50 Calibre Browning Machine Gun, at Flixton airfield. This gunsight was the start of it all. As the brothers grew up they began to explore more & more. Today the gunsight can be seen on display in the Wings Museum along with many other discoveries made on the old airfields of East Anglia.

SOME GREAT EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY!

Our hobby has taken us all over Europe including France, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Russia & even Siberia! We have met many people over the years, have seen some extremely interesting “out of the way” places, & have witnessed first h& some unique recollections from World War Two taken from eye witnesses & veterans. We are proud to have done our bit in preserving & rescuing items from our aviation heritage for public display so that the trials & sacrifices made will never be forgotten. History does not “belong” to any one person, we are merely custodians of that history which belongs to the people.

Volunteering at Wings

THE WINGS MUSEUM IS A ST&ING TESTAMENT TO OUR PAST & CURRENT VOLUNTEERS.

They have dedicated thousands of man hours to present this museum as a permanent memorial to all those who served in World War Two & beyond.

The Wings Museum is also extremely active in the world of restoration. There are a wide variety of restoration projects currently on the go within the museum workshops.

We offer a friendly relaxed place to volunteer as part of our Front of House Team, Sales & Marketing Team or our dedicated Restoration Workshop Team.

If you would like to volunteer at the Wings Museum please make contact with some details about yourself, any previous experience & of course which days you would like to volunteer. You will usually then be invited into the museum to meet the rest of the team so you can get a feel of what the role entails before committing yourself.

MUSEUM FRONT-OF-HOUSE

Requirements: To help attend & monitor displays, & chat to the general public. Each display has all the history & information associated with it, but it is often nice to point out specific items of particular interest to visitors. Above all, we demonstrate the “Wings Museum Friendly Welcome” to all of the visitors to the museum.

RESEARCH:

Requirements: Own transport is vital! We currently have a small team of volunteers who are carrying out research on behalf of the museum at the National Archives (what was the Public Records Office) at Kew. If you would like to help out please get in touch.

PRESERVATION:

Requirements: You will need a lot of patience as this position involves the cleaning & preservation of World War Two artefacts for display in the museum. The Museum can provide you with basic training, & there is normally someone on h& to offer advice or answer any questions. This is a vital part of the work of museum.

ENGINEERING:

Requirements: We currently have several projects in the pipeline including airframes & several aero engines. We are currently looking for people who have an engineering background & have the knowledge of using a Lathe or Milling Machine. If you are from an engineering background, retired or have a bit of spare time then you can greatly assist the museum.

SHEET METAL:

Requirements: We are currently looking for experienced sheet metal workers. The museum has a fully equipped workshop. We currently have several projects in the pipeline. Some of our ongoing projects include: Jumo 211 engine rebuild, Rolls Royce Merlin rebuild. Also Bell P-63 Kingcobra, Douglas A-26 cockpit, a B-24 Emerson Gun Turret to name just a few.

PROMOTING THE WINGS MUSEUM:

Requirements: This role involves you promoting the museum & its open days. Whether it is leaflet distributing, writing articles for the local press, perhaps seeking sponsorship or even using your own intuitive in promoting & organising museum open days. Much of our advertising is done in leaflet exchanges or placing leaflets in public areas such as Libraries, Shops, Post Offices, etc. The museum already has leaflets & posters available to anyone who would like to place some leaflets or a poster in a public place.

PROJECTS…..

People experienced in sheet metal &/or solid riveting

Precision engineers (to make up tools etc.)

Restoration/preservation of Aero engines including Junkers Jumo 211 & Rolls Royce Merlin

Attending public open days

Preservation/cleaning of aviation artefacts

Enhancing displays, coming up with ideas & implementing them to encourage public interaction (for example, introducing a kids activity worksheet or schools’ pack)

Gallery

Wings Aviation Museum US Jeep-min
Wings Aviation Museum Merlin Engine-min
Wings Aviation Museum Hawker Siddeley Kestrel Cockpit-min
Wings Aviation Museum RAF Airfield Landrover-min
Wings Aviation Museum Harrier Wing in front of Concorde-min
Wings Aviation Museum Douglas DC3 Cockpit-min
Wings Aviation Museum Douglas C47 Dakota-min
Wings Aviation Museum Heinkel He 111-min
Click outside to hide the comparison bar
Compare
Scroll To Top