The buildings that saw the development of the first Mosquito bomber now houses the De Havilland Aircraft Museum and the original prototype aircraft. This bomber made of wood carried a bigger bomb load to Berlin than the B26 Flying Fortress—a bomber that used its performance as its defence. And World War 2 saw more Mosquitos than Lancaster bombers built. This and more comes to life at de Havilland Museum.
Further down the road is Duxford, a larger museum with a more diverse range of aircraft. Here you can walk among aircraft like the Vulcan, Victor, B52, and Lancaster bombers. With hangars, dating back to the First World War, where scores of workers are either preparing aircraft for flying or working hard restoring old aircraft we only see in photos. Six hangars filled with aircraft of all shapes and sizes—a place where you could spend days talking and exploring.
March 2010, I visited both museums while in England to study some early Antarctic diaries at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge. Between the museums I spent time at the Secret Nuclear Bunker at Kelvedon Hatch, and the oldest European wooden church at Greensted.
This book is a photo essay written by Don Webster. A man retired from a career in electronics and computing is now a keen book collector with interests in early aircraft, Antarctic history, and travel. Who has visited many Aircraft Museums, second-hand books shops, and other interesting sites in Canada, USA, and England.