The Science Museum, South Kensington, London

[nuuumannn]

A must-see for visitors to London with an aviation bent, the Science Museum was the very first British aviation museum to feature an aviation content when Hiram Maxim donated the engine and other items from his steam powered flying rig way back when. It's still on display. The Science Museum was also the first museum in the world to display the Wright's original 1903 Flyer, which lived in the UK between 1912 and 1948. It has some of the most historic British airframes on display, most of which are still crammed in the dingy arched ceiling cavity, which is bad for photography because of its dark paint and glass covered ends. It hasn't changed much in the last 40 years!

Avro 504K.

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Lockheed L-10 Electra.

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Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig, aka the Flying Bedstead.

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Short SC.1 jet-lift RB.108 engines; the aircraft was powered by five of these. It's mounted on the wall with a wing missing.

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Apollo 10 capsule "Snoopy".

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P.1127 prototype XP831's nozzles, made the first untethered hover of the type in November 1960.

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Hawker Hurricane I L1592 served with 615 Sqn during the Battle of Britain and was shot down on 18 August 1940.

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Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy that crossed the Atlantic in 1919, becoming the first aircraft to do so.

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Amy Johnson's DH.60 Moth "Jason".

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The only surviving original Fokker E III "Eindekker".

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Cody V, the second example of Britain's first military aeroplane, built in 1913.

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Alliot Verdon Roe's first Triplane, which he built in 1909.

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The first full-scale reproduction of the Wright's 1903 Flyer, built by de Havilland apprentices from plans drawn from studying the original that was on display at the Science Museum after World War Two.

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Schneider Trophy winning Supermarine S.6B S1595. The trophy is in the case behind the right hand float.

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Me 163 Komet.

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Finally, Britain's first jet powered aircraft, Gloster E.28/39 W4041/G carried out the first jet flight in Britain in 1941.

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More images here: www.flickr.com/photos/147661871@N04/albums/72177720296223877

Thanks for looking.

[Dave Homewood]

Really nice photos Grant. From memory it is not an easy place to get good photos, you nailed it.

[skyhawkdon]

I quite literally stumbled upon the museum on one of our UK trips. The better half wanted to see the Victoria and Albert museum and that didn't spin my wheels so I left her to it and noticed the Science Museum next door. Wandered in (free entry) and ended up spending most of the day there! An amazing museum.

[kiwiruna]

Seeing the Apollo 10 CM was the highlight of my trip there some 20 odd years ago. I made sure to get many many photos of her.

[Antonio]

Jan 28, 2022 7:41:22 GMT 12 skyhawkdon said:

I quite literally stumbled upon the museum on one of our UK trips. The better half wanted to see the Victoria and Albert museum and that didn't spin my wheels so I left her to it and noticed the Science Museum next door. Wandered in (free entry) and ended up spending most of the day there! An amazing museum.

Likewise, Better Half went to the Natural History Museum, I went to the IWM 

[vs]

I believe that the Science Museum has a large storage facility at the airfield where “Grand Tour” was filmed. Apparently they are going to start opening it up for display.

[baz62]

Jan 28, 2022 7:46:01 GMT 12 kiwiruna said:

Seeing the Apollo 10 CM was the highlight of my trip there some 20 odd years ago. I made sure to get many many photos of her.

Snap, as I was there around 20 years ago too! probably September or October of 2000 from memory.

[nuuumannn]

Jan 28, 2022 11:47:13 GMT 12 vs said:

I believe that the Science Museum has a large storage facility at the airfield where “Grand Tour” was filmed. Apparently they are going to start opening it up for display.

The airfield is Wroughton in Wiltshire and they've been opening it for display for years, but it's not publically accessible beyond special open days. I went over 20 years ago vs, it's a fascinating place. The Science Museum collection is one of the largest in the UK. In the hangars there is a Lockheed Coinstellation, Boeing 247 and other airframes, including a Comet and Trident and Christopher Cockerell's first hovercraft. There are aeronautical bits and pieces in museums all over the UK from the Science Museum collection, including the Concorde and BAC.211 at the FAA Museum and a Blue Streak and other bits of rocketry hardware in museums in Scotland. The Science Museum received a huge amount of hardware from the Rocket Research Establishment at Westcott, including the Me 163 and lots of rocket motors and bits and pieces, most of which is at Wroughton.

The BAC.211 with the first British built Concorde in the background.

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Black Knight sounding rocket on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

1907 Edinburgh NMS Black Knight

[Antonio]

Awesome Awesome photo.

[ZacYates]

More great photos of a place I'd love to visit, thank you for sharing them Grant!

[nuuumannn]

Jan 29, 2022 11:10:25 GMT 12 Antonio said:

Awesome Awesome photo.

Thank you. It's a bit cluttered and the spotlight off the Bristol Scout's starboard rear is annoying. I saw a promotional photo of the aircraft, may have been when it was the Fairey Delta II, from that angle in an old magazine, "Flight" or some such.