RAF Museum London (Hendon)

Where Underground commuters now get off in Colindale, the pioneers of British aviation took off a good hundred years ago. In the 1910s and 1920s Hendon was a magnet for spectators: air races, display flights and later the big Royal Air Force air shows drew crowds. The airfield is long history, but on part of the grounds the RAF Museum London has stood since 1972. In six hangars you see the Royal Air Force from the first biplanes to the Eurofighter – with stars such as the Avro Lancaster “S-Sugar,” the Avro Vulcan and several Spitfires. And best of all: admission is free.

Hendon: an airfield with a great past

The story begins with Claude Grahame-White, one of the best-known British aviation pioneers. In 1911 he bought land in Hendon and turned it into the “London Aerodrome” – a place where aircraft were built, pilots trained and display flights shown. In 1912 the first Aerial Derby started here, a race around London starting and finishing at Hendon.

In World War I the military took over the field for training, test flights and air defense. Grahame-White’s company grew strongly in this period; in 1915 the Watch Office was built, housing offices, the design department and a meeting room. Its first-floor balcony looked directly out onto the airfield.

After the war Hendon passed step by step to the Air Ministry. In 1920 the first RAF Pageant took place, the first of many air shows with which the young Royal Air Force sought public attention in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1938 and 1939 the events ran under the name “Empire Air Day.” Anyone who goes to big events like the Royal International Air Tattoo today stands to some extent in this tradition.

In World War II, Hendon was attacked from August 1940, and one of the three World War I hangars burned down. In 1944 V1 flying bombs hit the grounds. After the war the field lost importance: in 1957 the last flying unit left Hendon. On June 19, 1968, one more large aircraft landed – a Blackburn Beverley, flown in as an exhibit for the future museum. After that the runways disappeared under the Grahame Park housing estate. RAF Hendon was officially closed on April 1, 1987.

From the start of collecting to the 2018 anniversary

The Royal Air Force Museum began collecting objects in 1965. Hendon suggested itself as a location: historic hangars, plenty of space and a close link to the history of the RAF. On November 15, 1972, Queen Elizabeth II opened the museum. According to Wikipedia, 36 aircraft stood in the halls at the time.

Over the following decades the museum grew step by step. In 1978 the Battle of Britain Museum was added, in 1983 the Bomber Command Museum. In 2003 the historic Grahame-White Factory was moved onto the museum grounds and reopened, and in 2010 the Watch Office followed, so both buildings again stand side by side.

The biggest rebuilding came with the RAF’s 100th birthday in 2018. Hangar 1 became the new entrance with the exhibitions “RAF Stories: The First 100 Years 1918–2018” and “RAF: First to the Future.” According to Wikipedia, these changes also brought a Sea King helicopter, a Folland Gnat of the Red Arrows aerobatic team and a full-size model of the F-35 Lightning II. On the outdoor grounds, landscaping now shows how the old airfield ran.

Today the museum is among the most visited aviation museums in Britain. Citing the museum association ALVA, Wikipedia gives a good 430,000 visitors for 2025. The sister site, the RAF Museum Cosford in Shropshire, complements the collection with more large types.

The six hangars at a glance

The museum organizes its exhibition chronologically. So you can plan your tour, here is the structure according to the museum:

Which aircraft stands where exactly can change. According to the museum, individual exhibits are temporarily inaccessible for maintenance – if you’re traveling for one particular aircraft, ask beforehand.

Hangar 1: RAF Stories and First to the Future

The entrance hangar is more a storytelling space than a classic aircraft hall. It is about people, missions and technology. According to the inventory list on Wikipedia, Hangar 1 holds, among others, a Short Sunderland MR.5, a Spitfire Vb, a de Havilland DH.9A, the red-painted Gnat T.1 of the Red Arrows and Sea King HAR.3 XZ585. According to Wikipedia, Prince William flew this helicopter during his time as a search-and-rescue pilot.

The Sunderland is a real heavyweight: the four-engine flying boat was used in World War II mainly for submarine hunting and maritime reconnaissance. If you want to experience today’s aerobatic team, you’ll find more in the profile of the Red Arrows – the team now flies the BAE Hawk.

Hangar 2: The Grahame-White Factory

For history fans, Hangar 2 is perhaps the most atmospheric place in the museum. In the wooden factory hall from the pioneer era, World War I aircraft hang and stand. According to Wikipedia, they include a Sopwith Camel, an S.E.5a, a Bristol F.2b, a Fokker D.VII, a Sopwith Triplane, a Sopwith Dolphin, an Avro 504K and a Blériot XXVII. Some aircraft, such as the B.E.2b or the F.E.2b, are replicas.

What is exciting here is the direct comparison of designs: early rotary engines, pusher and tractor propellers, biplanes and triplanes. Right next door stands the Watch Office of 1915, which served as the airfield’s control tower in World War II.

Hangar 3: The Battle of Britain

Hangar 3 is devoted to the summer of 1940, when RAF fighter pilots fended off the attacks of the German Luftwaffe. The museum puts the “Fighter Four” at the center here – four types that all took part in the battle:

• Supermarine Spitfire Mk I – the symbol of the Battle of Britain, with the elliptical wing as its identifying feature.
• Hawker Hurricane Mk I – less famous, but the workhorse of the RAF fighter squadrons in 1940.
• Messerschmitt Bf 109E – the most important German fighter of the battle.
• Fiat CR.42 Falco – an Italian biplane that also flew over England in 1940 and is a rarity today.

According to the inventory list, the collection in Hangars 3 and 4 also includes further Spitfire versions (XVI and F.24), a Hawker Typhoon IB, which Wikipedia describes as the only complete surviving example, a Hawker Tempest V, a Bristol Beaufighter, the Bristol Bulldog and the Hawker Hart.

Hangar 4: Jets and helicopters

Hangar 4 is about the transition from the piston to the jet age and about helicopters. The museum highlights the Westland Belvedere HC.1, the RAF’s first twin-engine tandem-rotor helicopter. According to the museum, the development runs from the autogyro to modern helicopters.

For jet fans, according to Wikipedia, the collection holds some highlights: a Gloster Meteor F.8, a de Havilland Vampire, an English Electric Canberra PR.3, the BAC Lightning F.6 and a Phantom FGR.2. The Lightning especially, with its stacked engines, is a type you no longer see in active service anywhere.

Hangar 5: The Bomber Hall

For many visitors Hangar 5 is the highlight. Here gathers what the museum shows under “Bomber Command” and “Partnerships” – and space gets tight.

At its center is the Avro Lancaster B.I R5868 “S-Sugar.” According to Wikipedia it flew 137 night operations – a number that is hard to imagine given the loss rate of the time. The museum also links the Lancaster to the story of the Dambusters raid. Next to it stands the de Havilland Mosquito, called the “Wooden Wonder” because of its wooden construction, which flew with the Pathfinder Force, among others.

A leap in time comes with the Avro Vulcan B.2 XL318. The delta-wing aircraft was one of the RAF’s three “V-bombers” in the Cold War and looks enormous in the hall. The nose of a Handley Page Victor adds to it.

Other exhibits in Hangar 5, according to Wikipedia:

• Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator – US bombers as a sign of Allied cooperation
• North American P-51D Mustang and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt – American escort fighters
• Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 87 Stuka – German bombers of the Battle of Britain
• Messerschmitt Bf 110, Me 163 Komet and He 162 – German types up to early rocket and jet aircraft
• the recovered wreck of a Handley Page Halifax II

Hangar 6: Age of Uncertainty

The youngest part of the collection shows the RAF from the Falklands War of 1982 to today. According to the museum, it is about continuous operations, humanitarian aid and technological change, told with films, audio recordings and personal stories.

According to Wikipedia, here stand, among others, a Panavia Tornado GR.1B, a Harrier GR.9, a SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1, a Buccaneer S.2B and the Eurofighter prototype DA-2. Add the forward fuselage of a CH-47 Chinook, the cockpit section of a C-130 Hercules and an MQ-1B Predator drone.

The Eurofighter prototype is interesting for type collectors: the production aircraft you see over England and Germany today differ in many details. If you want to experience the active Typhoon, you can go to the viewing area at RAF Coningsby, for example. With the Harrier, take a look at the swiveling nozzles with which the vertical-takeoff aircraft redirects its thrust.

Experiences, tours and families

Besides the free exhibitions, the museum offers paid extras. According to the museum website, these include guided tours on Bomber Command, the Cold War and World War I as well as cockpit experiences around the Spitfire. We deliberately don’t list prices here because they change.

For families there is an aviation-themed playground and, according to the museum, the chance to sit in a Spitfire. If you’re traveling with children, you’ll find more ideas in the article Plane spotting with kids. And if you want to pitch in yourself: many British museums rely heavily on volunteers – what volunteering in such places involves is described in the article Volunteering in aviation museums.

Photography at the RAF Museum London

Hendon is an indoor museum. Unlike in Speyer or Duxford, the large types don’t stand outdoors but tightly packed under cover. That has advantages: the weather doesn’t matter, and the light is more even. But it also brings challenges.

Getting there, opening hours and practical tips

The museum is at Grahame Park Way, London NW9 5LL. According to the museum, it is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last admission at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free, but you book a free ticket online in advance. Children under eleven must be accompanied by an adult.

• By Underground: Northern Line toward Edgware to Colindale (Zone 4). Note: the museum expressly points out not to get off at Hendon Central. Check at Camden Town that your train runs on the Edgware branch. From the station it is about a ten-minute walk.
• By Thameslink: to Mill Hill Broadway, then bus 303 toward Kingsbury Circle for about seven minutes to the museum.
• By car: via the M1 (junction 4) or the North Circular. Parking on the grounds costs money, and the museum is in London’s expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone, ULEZ. During school holidays the car park fills up quickly.

You’ll find general tips on choosing between train and car in the article Getting to the spot. According to the museum, the grounds are step-free, elevators lead to the upper levels in all hangars, and wheelchairs and mobility scooters can be borrowed free of charge.

Combining it: museum and live traffic in London

Hendon itself no longer offers any flying. But London is one of the most exciting spotting destinations in Europe, and the museum fits well into a spotting trip.

• Heathrow: London Heathrow Airport is in the west of the city. Classics are Hatton Cross and Myrtle Avenue, where aircraft of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic pass just above you. Everything else is in the Heathrow guide.
• Luton and London City: London Luton Airport lies to the north on the M1 and is thus convenient for drivers. At London City Airport you experience steep approaches in the middle of the city.
• More museums: The Imperial War Museum Duxford near Cambridge shows aircraft on an active airfield with regular air shows. South of London is the Brooklands Museum, to the north the de Havilland Aircraft Museum.

If you want to experience military airfields live, you need the rules: the article Photographing military airfields explains what to watch out for.

Conclusion

The RAF Museum London is more than an aircraft collection. It stands on ground where British aviation history was written: Grahame-White’s London Aerodrome, the air races of the pioneer era, the big RAF air shows between the World Wars. In six hangars you experience the Royal Air Force from the biplane to the Eurofighter, with highlights like the Lancaster “S-Sugar,” the Vulcan and the “Fighter Four” of the Battle of Britain.

Book your free ticket, plan at least half a day, better a whole day, and combine the visit with a trip to the fence at Heathrow. Then you’ll have seen both the history and the present of aviation in London in one weekend.