Roaming 'IWM Duxford': War, engineering, and aviation

IWM Duxford

The first time I came to IWM Duxford I must have been incredibly young. I recall coming with my school and partaking in some of the World War 2 events that would show children the activities surrounding life during World War 2. Two decades later, I remembered that this place existed, and actually was a lot closer to home than previously thought. I couldn't remember much about the location, other than that it had some aircraft sitting around in hangars. The most famous probably being the place's SR-71 Blackbird, a Cold War era spyplane capable of reaching Mach 3+. This location, while being a museum, is also a charity and active airfield where private aircraft can come and go; the airfield having been of strategic use itself during World War 2 alongside the Americans.

IWM Duxford is split into multiple hangars and buildings, each one detailing a specific period of time or pertaining to particular aircraft and vehicles. Though there are also some areas that focus more on ground related activities over the past century. I arrived there with just two hours before the place closed, so I didn't get to go through each and every part of the museum; but all this did was absolutely make me want to return during summer, perhaps with more events taking place and better weather.

The recent weather conditions lately have been pretty disappointing, and with my 28th birthday being on the 28th of February, I tried finding a place to go to and roam around to do something, something a bit different to just drinking or getting food somewhere. So, I packed up my camera and headed over to Duxford. Unfortunately, I stupidly grabbed my 50mm F1.8 lens and Canon AE-1 which decided to stop functioning the moment I arrived -- the shutter refusing to cycle, something I later discovered must be a result of a dead battery (I have never replaced the camera's battery, so that makes sense). Sadly I missed out on taking some fun 35mm film photographs, but did go absolutely crazy with my smartphone camera. Taking a total of 125 photographs; here are a few of them!

But before we get to fun part, IWM Duxford is a strange place. One that is full of historical importance. A place that, while full of some of our greatest technological achievements, is also met with equal sadness given the nature of their creations. Roaming through IWM Duxford, I can see how it would be easy to fall into a sense of astonishment over the scale of what sits in the hangars, and forget about the dangers that surrounded them over tense decades.

AirSpace Hangar

The first of the buildings to roam through after walking through the reception area (of which tickets are around £26 per person) is the AirSpace Hangar. With the first thing being in view being this massive Lockheed Polaris nuclear ballstic missile developed for submarines. A terrifying creation of the Cold War, and (hopefully) decommissioned and left idle right by the entrance. Opposite this ballistic missile is a huge open hangar that holds a B1 Victor, a strategic bomber of the same area. This thing was huge, but what was mostly profound was the quote from one of the aircrew to his wife; effectively saying to get to Scotland as soon as possible if she sees the bomber taking off.

A little further ahead into the next hangar, which is just stacked full of aircraft, are a few surface-to-air missiles (or SAMs). Being up-close to these things and seeing their sizes was quite an experience, but also incredibly interesting to see how they're made.

Given this hangar is full of various aircraft, not all pertains to war. These next three images return us to a time of incredibly technological innovation. With the Cold War pushing the west into creating some incredibly weapons, some of that managed to spill into the commercial side of things, with the Concorde supersonic jet being made. This aircraft reached over 1,400mph at an altitude of 60,000ft. Used purely to transport citizens from one location to another. Underneath you can see how the aircraft is incredibly long, but very flat as to be aerodynamic. One the plane's side is a bade of honour that shows the date in which it made a commercial flight from Fairford, England in 1974, to Bancor, US in just 2 hours and 56 minutes.

Aside from being able to walk underneath the aircraft, you're also able to walk inside it! One half of the plane is dedicated to information and displaying the history of its creation and use. A particular thing I found just insane was how the plane had two escape hatches along it, being the only way to get out of the plane in case of emergency. These hatches within the frame of the plane and supposedly to be of use at such speeds and heights. Imagine having to escape a plane like this only from underneath it. A little more up ahead you can see the cockpit, which had a ton of dials and even a radiation checker due to the plane reaching what was then the edge of space. Walking through it, you definitely get a bit of space feeling once you are out of the general seating area.

This wasn't the only plane you could roam through and see the cockpit of, a few of the larger aircraft in this hangar allowed you to get a real up-close look at everything. It was really cool to see how each one differed, but ultimately served the same purpose: fly.

Though there were still military jets in this hanger, but most of which dangled from the ceiling as you can see in some of the other images below. This one allowed you to walk up some steps and get a close look inside; I never realised how complex the seats are, but it makes sense given they're made to send the pilot flying out of the jet in the event something goes wrong.

Various types of bombs sit around the floor that were used alongside some of the more larger aircraft, some having multipurpose designs that helped them strategically during various potential and ongoing conflicts. To stand by the side of some of these larger aircraft truly gave a sense of scale that just makes you feel miniscule. A tiny pathetic thing compared to these complex machines of metals and moving parts. To look up and see that just an enginge is the size of your entire body, and then some. The same regarding the bombs, giving a sense of just how destructive these things can be, as well as heavy.

Here you can see part of the engines of just one aircraft. From ground level with me looking up.

Here is a view that shows many of the planes littered around the hangar. Some jets seen just dangling from above, each from different eras and with different purposes. It can be difficult to know where to look at times. There is another level to the building that allows you to be level with those held up in the air, but you still can't get as close to those ones as the ones on the ground level, to which you can walk around and underneath and (while you shouldn't and I didn't) can be at arm's length and touch these things.

Sadly with my camera starting to already malfunction, I missed out on a lot of photographs that detail the information on what models these are and their history. At this point I would try to take a photograph, press the shutter, and nothing would happen.

Flying Aircraft Hangar

This second hangar is dedicated to aircraft that still fly to this day. Both old and more modern. These aircraft are privately owned and displayed at the museum while they undergo various repairs and areas of maintenance throughout the year. You can walk into the hanger and see these planes stripped down and being worked on in real time. It was really fascinating, and a bit terrifying, to see how many parts go into such a small part of plane. Some being really small frames that look ready to crumble at any moment though still capable of flying around safely.

Below is a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a World War 2 bomber also with turrets to defend itself. This thing was huge. And with some of its frame missing as the engines had work done on them.

Throughout the hangar were other aircraft all parked up and grouped together for other work to be done on them. As mentioned, everything in here was privately owned and still used. Most of which belonged to the World War 2 era. Sometimes I notice some of these models flying over my house, often easy to distinguish by the incredibly loud engines they have.

I believe the museum has events throughout the year where some of these privately owned aircraft are taken out and used in air shows. I intend to revisit during summer in hopes of catching one; I think it'd be an awesome thing to photograph with a camera that actually works.

Air and Sea

This third hangar contains aircraft mostly related to air and sea operations. Though this hangar doesn't just contain planes, it also contains vehicles and weapons used from the ground against air and sea offensives. Surface-to-air missiles and various types of tanks-like vehicles. The eras here varied quite a bit, from World War 2 to current day. This was one of my favourite hangars due to how many planes were just grouped up and easy to walk around, again providing that sense of scale. But the various eras in which these were made and used distinguished the sheer advancements in technology in such little time.

Many of these aircraft were used by the Navy, and have folding wings due to the limited space that would be found on huge carriers; this is still the case today. So any photographs containing wings that seem bent, it's intentional and they're not damaged. The ones with the 'target' icon on them are British.

Sometimes you'd find the odd small or large helicopter with parts missing or in pretty poor condition sitting around next to the planes.

Below is a Eurofighter Typhoon, a fighter jet that we still use around Europe. I've seen these in person flying over, but they're considred a bit of a cheaper jet option these days compared to more modern fighter jets.

These next two images are quite different to the others. Below is a one-person submarine from World War 2. An insanely claustrophobic looking thing that apparently washed up on the beach. This must've been a necessity in causing quick amounts of damage to ships while also offering spying capabilities with one man being tucked into this tiny thing to gather intelligence. I actually had no idea these things existed prior to seeing it on display. Behind it you can see some air defence guns that would've been present on warships.

Here is a Nazi warplane tail covered in bullet holes. The plane itself was shot down over England during World War 2, with its pilot having been captured unharmed. The stories attached to some of these bits of airplane, covered in destruction made things feel more real. Less like chunks of metal rusted over placed in a cold warehouse. Instead having human stories attached to them, of death and triumph.

It may seem easy to walk through the hangar and see these things as just that: chunks of metal. Forgetting that people once flew each of these aircraft under different circumstances. Fortunately many of them hold information on them to ensure that their pasts aren't easily forgotten.

You may have noticed that many of these planes have very unique engine designs. These were a result of the rocket boom that came about during World War 2, shaping the early fighter jet design. Though these weren't always that effective in combat due to the difficulties of designing them and also attaching weapon systems to them. Some of these photographs contain fighter jets of their earliest designs as the turbojet and single-engine aircraft became a race between nations.

Still, it's incredible what different nations tried to come up with, opting for speed and agility and really putting the technology of the time to its maximum. Below is a 1943 de Havilland Vampire

Going back to the idea of early fighter jets, this here is a Gloster Meteor. You can really see how militaries mixed things up with designs and tried to gain an edge on the enemy through them. Though, this Gloster Meteor managed to obtain the accolade as the only fighter jet to actually see combat operations from the Allies during World War 2.

American Air Museum

Here we have what's probably the most popular of the hangars. The American Air Museum. A massive hangar dedicated to some of the effective and advanced creations from United States of America (that we know of in the past). Walking up to this building doesn't quite prepare you for the view once you enter. Having seen the aircraft around the other hangars, you feel you generally know what to expect, but I'd say that isn't really the case here. Walking in, you're greeted with a huge Stratotanker which just dominates the space. These are still active and used for various operations ranging from deliverying vehicles, army personnel, and fueling jets in the sky.

Next to it hangs the famous Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, known mostly as the A-10 Warthog. Famous for its unique design but also the fact that there's a literal chaingun mounted underneath the nose, allowing it to fire so fast that once you hear the gun firing, the aircraft has already moved on.

Just behind it sits what is probably the museum's main attraction: the SR-71 Blackbird. The Cold War spyplane of alien looking influence. Designed to obtain reconnaissance with a maximum speed of Mach 3+ (3,540 km/h). Insanely, it's faster than the Concorde previously mentioned, but operated at similar altitudes! Really makes you think of what else governments have all these decades later.

Above the SR-71 is a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator drone. A little old now compared to what's used these days. And likely a lot more fun than my DJI Mini 2.

You can walk around the building down a slope which brings you to the ground level again, where you can walk underneath the aircraft and see some more detailed information on them all. Here a UH-1 Huey sits, completely dwarfed by everything else around it. Which is crazy to think of given these things are huge. The Huey is probably most famous for its use in the Vietnam War.

Following a similar feeling of being utterly dwarfed by that SR-71 Blackbird and Stratotanker sits an McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, a really beautiful looking aircraft.

Just to add to the fear of everything you've seen already, they have on display a Tomahawk cruise missile system.

One of the hightlights of being able to walk around these huge aircraft is seeing the engineering behind them. The ways in which metals are bent and wielded together to form such massive structures that miraculously manage to not just get up off the ground, but stay in the air. Such complex machinery which serves as a visual representation of human development. With designs taking inspiration from fiction, nature, and curiosity. Outside of their use of causing death and destruction, there's marvel to their creations. Showing how mankind adapts and looks at its surroundings in efforts to expand, having copied it.

Some Final Thoughts & Images

I took so many images but not all are worthy of adding to the main categories. Either because I forgot the names of the aircraft or just took so many I didn't feel I could share. I'll throw them in here alongside some final thoughts on IWM Duxford.

This place exceeded my expectations massively. While I had been before, I was at such a young age that I definitely could not have appreciated it to the same degree as I did now. The £26 entry fee is completely worth it for what is on display, with a ton of aircraft and history to read up on and even board yourself. These places are so important to remember and support, with reminders of tragic times those before us faced, but also as a warning of what can easily take place again. Seeing the incredible achievements of our efforts under the worst imaginable circumstances.

There's a bit of everything here. From fans of history, engineering, to aviation. While much of it is themed around aircraft, there are other buildings I didn't get a chance to enter, which focus more on the humans and ground level operations that were conducted within the Duxford airfield during World War 2. I definitely intend on coming back in a few months, preferably with a camera that will work and allow me to really capture the magnificence and scale of what is on display. And for a general day out somewhere, it's full of other things to do, with a cafe, restaurant, gift shop, and as mentioned before various events that take place throughout the weeks and year. While I was only there for two hours, I definitely could've spent the whole day getting lost in the depth of it all.

With the place opening from 10AM and closing at 4PM, I would suggest visiting nice and early to ensure you have the time to enjoy it all. But keep in mind that depending on the time of year and the date, it may be full of people. I chose a day of the week during peak winter, so naturally it was mostly void of visitors; I liked this though, there was space enough to just enjoy the displays on my own, not surrounded by noise and crowds that limited time to read and take everything in.

Oh, and it's located around Cambridge, not too far away from London.