JAFO wrote:I've honestly never understood what a bunch of airliners had to do with the Imperial War Museum or Duxford.
Surely the incredible thing about Duxford is the significant part it played in aerial warfare from the very first days during WWI, through the Battle of Britain and the USAAF operations here and into the start of the jet age.
It was only an active RFC/RAF airfield for 44 years but that took us from Bristol Fighters to Hawker Hunters.
Nothing to do with airliners, though.
That, if you don't mind my saying so is a typically '(Ex) Military' approach: Nothing matters in aviation except warbirds.
Plenty of wartime airfields with just as much as/probably more wartime history than Duxford have long since bit the dust , either disappeared to farmland or housing estates.
Duxford was also on the way out disrespectfully allowing serious military stuff (a main hangar) to be blown up by film makers in 'Battle of Britain'.
But ir was rescued by private aviation and the East Anglian Aviation Society with a remit to celebrate the development of British Civil Aviation.
It became DAS, recognised for its efforts: Indeed Dan Air donated two significant airliners, the Comet which made the first paying Transatlantic jet flight (beating the yanks by three weeks) The same Comet was at the personal disposal of HRH Duke of Edinburgh in 1950s for world travel, and the Ambassador.
The Trident was a ground breaking airliner, the first to be equipped for a zero-zero instrument landing.
The Super VC10, the last airliner to be fully constructed in the UK was fought over in its early years by US pax for its silent travel and top speed.
It was used 8 years ago for the BA 'We fly to serve ' advert, charting the development of BA services.
The government gave the First pre production prototype of Concorde in view of its civil history to DAS for preservation.
When the IWM came along and muscled in it tried to keep Concorde outside in the weather (since 1977) as it was clearly seen from the M11: Fortunately common sense prevailed and Concorde came inside (But only since 2006)
So look upon Duxford as a wreck of a disused military airfield that no one was much bothered about, till it was rescued by DAS and the IWM quickly saw it as a dumping ground for its surplus ex military stuff.
It wasn't till the groundswell of wartime nostalgia that the cousins got interested and chucked up the abortion that is the American museum.
So the Airliners have every right to be there.
Though sadly as a charity dependent on IWM airshows but getting no income from IWM (except Concorde q.v.) and seriously hit by Covid/Land warfare closure,I fear for DAS's future
Peter