Aviation News - May 2016

I

WM Duxford reopened its American Air

Museum to the public on March 19 after

a 12-month, £3m redevelopment.

At the heart of the redesign are

the personal stories of 85 people whose

lives are entwined with the aircraft types

on display. This has been created with the

aid of personal artefacts, such as uniforms,

medals and cigarette cases, displayed in

large glass cabinets, and video interviews.

Among the 850 items on display in the

American Air Museum are many that have

never before been seen by the public.

These include a particularly poignant exhibit,

a section of steelwork from the World Trade

Center’s Twin Towers, and Virginia Irwin’s

photo album depicting her time as a war

correspondent during World War Two.

Three aircraft have been removed from

the museum: the Grumman TBM-3 Avenger,

the Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star and the

North American F-100 Super Sabre. The

last two have been returned to the US, from

where they had been on loan; the fate of the

Avenger is not yet known.

The McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle

has moved inside and provides a dramatic

welcome for visitors, suspended from

the ceiling above the Boeing B-52D

Stratofortress. It is one of ten aircraft that

are hung from the ceiling in the museum,

including the Lockheed U-2C and the

Douglas C-47A Skytrain. Also among them

is North American P-51K Mustang 44-

(marked as 44-11631, Etta Jeanne II), which

was previously on display at IWM Lambeth

as Big Beautiful Doll. This replaces the

replica that was on display at Duxford.

Funding for the project came from

the Heritage Lottery Fund and a number

of sponsors, foundations and individual

donations. The American Air Museum,

which was designed by Norman Foster and

covers 70,000sq ft (6,503m^2 ), originally

opened in 1997 and has since welcomed 5.

million visitors.

Above: North American P-51K Mustang 44-

73979 has been restored as 44-11631 Etta

Jeanne II and was previously on display at

IWM Lambeth. Key-James Ronayne

Left: McDonnel Douglas F-15A Eagle 76-

has moved inside having previously been on

display outside the American Air Museum.

Key-James Ronayne

Above: Eighteen aircraft are on display in the redeveloped American Air Museum at IWM

Duxford. Darren Harbar

AMERICAN AIR

MUSEUM REOPENS

AMERICAN AIR

MUSEUM REOPENS

18 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft May 2016

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