The Royal Air Force Museum London
Our purpose is to tell the story of the Royal Air Force through its people and collections. Language. Please use appropriate language. Corrections. Privacy.
The RAF Museum encourages people to share their opinion and experience and engage into the debates and discussions in our Social Media networks. We welcome the constructive criticism and constructive comments and respect the freedom of speech; however, we would kindly ask you to follow our outlined code of conduct to ensure that everyone has a positive experience when interacting with the Museum’s
12/06/2025
Please vote for us at: https://bit.ly/3Tjhrwr 🙏
[LDN] 📣Exciting news! 📣
We have been shortlisted for the School Travel Awards 2025, for ‘Best SEND Provision’ (second year running)! 👏✈️⭐️
Enjoyed your SEND visit? Please vote for us! Head on over to 👉 bit.ly/43WjwDH
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Bold poster with vibrant blue, red, and purple radial design promoting the Royal Air Force Museum’s nomination for the “Best SEND Provision” in the School Travel Awards 2025. Large white text reads “Vote For Us”. Logos of the Royal Air Force Museum and the School Travel Awards 2025 are also visible.
11/06/2025
🎥 New Archived Lecture Now on YouTube! ✡️✈️
Discover the remarkable story of the Jewish Chaplains of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War in our latest free archived lecture, now available to watch online 📺.
Dr Jonathan Lewis explores the vital contributions of the seven Jewish RAF Chaplains, their global wartime service, and the enduring legacy of Jewish chaplaincy across RAF stations in Britain and beyond 🇬🇧🌍.
📚 Part of the RAF Museum's Research Lecture Programme.
👉 Watch now on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iK8DvgaHq60?si=mDuUoGlNQCqBArDD
💙 Support our work: https://support.rafmuseum.org/Donate-Now
10/06/2025
🎙️ Join us for a FREE Lunchtime Lecture next Tuesday, 17 June, at 12:00pm, live from the RAF Museum London! ✈️
Discover the gripping story of British Close Air Support in the Falklands Campaign with John Alexander, as he delves into the role of the Harrier GR3s in this pivotal conflict.
Attend in person (London site) or virtually via Crowdcast — registration is essential! 🎟️
🔗 Book now:
📍 In-person: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whats-going-on/lunchtime-lecture-suddenly-like-cavalry-british-close-air-support-in-the-falklands-campaign/
🌐 Virtually: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/lll-2025-alexander
Lunchtime Lecture: ‘Suddenly like cavalry’ - RAF Museum On Tuesday 17 June 2025 at 12pm, John Alexander will re-examine the close air support (CAS) provided by the Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3s of No. 1 Squadron RAF during the Falklands Campaign.
09/06/2025
🎟️ Tickets are now on sale for the RAF Museum’s 2025 Conference 🎟️
Join us in London on 4–5 September for "New Perspectives in Military Aviation Research" – a two-day hybrid event featuring interdisciplinary insights that challenge traditional narratives in air power and military history. ✈️
👥 Attend in person for £60 (or £40 concession) — ticket includes lunch & refreshments.
💻 Or join online for FREE via livestream on Crowdcast!
📍 In-person sessions at the RAF Museum London Lecture Theatre
🕘 9am–5:30pm both days
🔗 Book now via Digitickets at: https://royalairforcemuseum.digitickets.co.uk/event-tickets/65977?branches.branchID=2042
🎥 Register for livestream on Crowdcast at:https://www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-conference-2025
For our current programme of events, please visit👉 https://bit.ly/4dQFyvU
Let’s explore the future of aviation research together!
Royal Aeronautical Society RUSI - Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies Centre for War and Diplomacy
06/06/2025
📢 Our latest RAF Museum Archived Lecture is now available to watch on YouTube! 🎥✨
"The RAF and the Evolution of Global Health" explores the fascinating history of the RAF Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine, from Spanish Flu to COVID-19 🦠💉.
Join Dr Gemma Bowsher (King’s College London) as she examines the RAF’s underappreciated role in tropical medicine, vaccine development, and global health security 🌍.
👉 Watch the full lecture here: https://youtu.be/zLyunuMrzT8?si=jHhY3y7msBLtlygX
💙 Support the RAF Museum: https://support.rafmuseum.org/Donate-Now
This lecture was first broadcast in 2022.
06/06/2025
📢 New Blog Now Live! 📢
We’re proud to share the latest addition to our blog — a powerful and deeply researched piece on Coastal Command ✈️🌊.
Written by volunteer Norman Brice for Volunteers' Week, this article explores how RAF Coastal Command continued its vital work even after Victory in Europe was declared on 8 May 1945, remaining operational until 4 June 1945 — marking the end of the RAF’s longest campaign of the war.
Norman highlights the unsung heroism of those who patrolled the vast Atlantic, often facing invisible threats to keep Britain’s lifelines open.
🧭⚓️ Don’t miss this moving tribute to a crucial, yet often overlooked, chapter in RAF history.
👉 https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/coastal-command/
✍️
06/06/2025
🎉 Volunteers’ Week 2025 🎉
Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming volunteers from all three RAF Museum sites to London as a thank you for their incredible support and dedication.
London-based volunteers gave their Cosford and Stafford colleagues a guided tour, followed by a delicious catered lunch. Staff from across the Museum — including our Senior Leadership Team — joined the day to show their appreciation. A special highlight: CEO of the Museum, Maggie Appleton's engaging and interactive speech that had everyone involved!
Thank you to each and every one of our volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you. 💙
05/06/2025
🎬 FINAL CALL - Join us this Sunday, 8 June, for 'War Paint: Women at War'. 🎥
Don’t miss Margy Kinmonth’s powerful documentary exploring women war artists from around the globe.
Stay for a post-screening Q&A with the director, and explore our ' To the Stars' art exhibition featuring works by artists such as Fiona Banner and Dame Laura Knight.
🎟️ Tickets: £10 | Pre-booking essential
⚠️ Tickets will not be available on-site on the day.
👉 https://bit.ly/44AK2V6
Conic Foxtrot Films Ltd LondonArt WomenArts Women ART
04/06/2025
🧠 Dementia Friendly Tour 💙
Step back in time and discover the fascinating history of flight and the Royal Air Force on our next Dementia Friendly Tour ✈️ – happening Tuesday 25 June at the RAF Museum London.
This specially designed 45-minute tour offers a relaxed and engaging experience for people living with early-stage dementia and their carers or companions. We’ll explore the First World War in the Air exhibition with photos and hands-on items to bring stories to life – including pioneers like Claude Grahame-White, Robbie Clark and Grace Mary Berry 🕰️📸
🕒 Arrival & Refreshments: 2.30–3pm
🗺️ Tour: 3–3.45pm
📍 Meeting Point: Hangar 1 entrance
🎟️ Price: FREE – but booking is essential!
🔔 Spaces are limited – please book for each person attending and cancel if you can no longer make it.
📅 Can’t make June? Join us on:
👉 16 July
👉 24 September
👉 22 October
👉 26 November
🧩 The RAF Museum London is proud to be an accredited Dementia Friendly Venue.
🔗 Book your place today and enjoy history in a warm and welcoming space!
https://royalairforcemuseum.digitickets.co.uk/event-tickets/65982?branches.branchID=2042
Barnet Council Inside Colindale Colindale Communities Trust Dementia UK DEMENTIA INFO HERTFORDSHIRE
04/06/2025
🚨 Online Lecture Alert🚨
✈️ TOMORROW at 6pm – Don’t miss Aircraft as Strategy: Britain, 1970–1979, a fascinating FREE virtual lecture by Arun Dawson, livestreamed via Crowdcast! 🇬🇧📡
Dawson explores how British combat aircraft procurement during the 1970s reveals deeper truths about grand strategy, foreign alliances, economic pragmatism, and military capabilities. 🧠📚
Perfect for anyone interested in Cold War history, strategy, or defence tech.
🗓️ Thursday 5 June
🕕 6pm BST
💻 Free – Registration Required!
🔗 Sign up now: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/vl-2025-dawson
Tune in and join the conversation!
04/06/2025
📅 Special D-Day Tours – 5 & 6 June Only!
Join us at the RAF Museum London as we mark the anniversary of D-Day with special guided tours exploring the RAF’s crucial role in the Normandy landings.
Step back into the 1940s and uncover how air power shaped history—from reconnaissance to deception missions—on this moving 60-minute tour through Hangars 3, 4, and 5.
🛩️ Featuring legendary aircraft like the Lancaster and Mosquito
🕚 Tours at 11am & 2pm | £10 pp | Carers go free
📍 Book now: [email protected] | 020 8205 2266
👉 https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whats-going-on/d-day-raf-story-tour-london/
03/06/2025
🌟 It’s Volunteers' Week 2025! 🌟
This week, we're sending a huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers! 🙌💙 Whether you're greeting guests, sharing stories, or helping behind the scenes, your passion, time, and dedication keep us flying high! 👏✈️
We simply couldn’t do what we do without you. So, here’s to YOU — our everyday heroes! 🫶🎉
Thank you, each and everyone of you. 💓
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Our Purpose and Vision
Our purpose is to share the story of the Royal Air Force, past, present and future – using the stories of its people and our collections in order to engage, inspire and encourage learning.
The Royal Air Force has shaped our nation and our society. It has influenced how we live our lives today through its impact on world events, society and technology.
The Royal Air Force Museum was established as a legacy of the RAF’s fiftieth anniversary, opening our London (Hendon) site in 1972. From 1979, the Museum also managed the Cosford Aerospace Museum for the MOD, which had also been in operation since 1972. This was renamed the RAF Museum Cosford in 1998 when it formally became part of the Museum portfolio. The Museum also has two external stores, one in Stafford and another within RAF Cosford.
The Royal Air Force Museum is a National Museum, a Government non-departmental public body (NDPB) and a registered charity. Our collection is central to everything we are and do and comprises around 1.3m objects which we hold in trust for the people of the UK. Our RAF Centenary transformation in 2018 enabled the Museum to bring an additional 500 objects from our stores to share with our visitors – most of which had never been displayed before.
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Contact the museum
Website
Address
Grahame Park Way
London
NW95LL
Opening Hours
| Monday | 10am - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 10am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 10am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 10am - 5pm |
| Friday | 10am - 5pm |
| Saturday | 10am - 5pm |
| Sunday | 10am - 5pm |