RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022

[andygolfer]

I visited the RAF museum on my way home from Wales for my first visit in a long time - a chance to see some of the changes. Some positives and some negatives in my opinion. Here's a selection of my photos
starting outside:
a nice gate guardian, actually G-AOVS which never saw RAF service:
G-AOVS (painted as XM497) Britannia RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-20225116 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

BOB all back together
XR808 VC.10 RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5461. by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Dominie, there's one on the disposal list but that list is a bit difficult without registrations so no idea if this is the condemned one
XS709 HS.125 Dominie, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5123 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

a view behind the end of the test flight hangar, The Pembroke and Jetstream have both been moved out ready for disposal, not sure if the Devon or hunter are on the list
WV746 (8938M) Pembroke, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5143. by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

hangar 1;
ZA718 Chinook, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5387. by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

the Comper swift (due for disposal) under the Varsity - if it can be displayed under the Varsity then they aren't gaining much space by disposing of it??
G-ACGL Comper Swift, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5409. by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

XP411 A.W. Argosy, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5428 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

hangar 2;
here we go , lets start the ' it should never have been scrapped / bl**dy conspiracy' discussion (again) one of the two preserved TSR.2s
XR220 BAC TSR.2, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5191 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

TSR.2 electronics bay - you wonder how much space and weight they would have been able to save with modern digital technology, it might have been able to reach the required Mach 2 then!
XR220 BAC TSR.2, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5292 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

going due to duplication!??? where is the duplicate then? scratching my head so much that I'm almost bald
WK935,prone-pilot Meteor RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5290 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

XD145 Saunders-Roe SR-53, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5299 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

WG760 English Electric P.1A, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5181 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

despite what the sign says it's a Fairey Delta! Why don't they use a bit of intelligence and turn that sign round (it has Fairey Delta on the other side) so that you can
stand and read it whilst looking at the relevant aircraft. Then stand on the opposite side to read about the SB5 while looking at the latter?
WG777 Fairey Delta FD2, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5177 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

WG768 Shorts SB5, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5167 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

another due to go - The Bristol 188, note the area being created by disposing of the aircraft signed as Flight Zone to the left of it.
XF926 Bristol 188, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5269 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

angry time - the new flight zone (play area?)
new V.R. Zone, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5185 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

new V.R. Flight Zone, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5186 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr
it's an absolute joke, heritage out of the window and replaced with computer games!!!!

Hangar 3 war in the air
FW.190, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5205 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

K8042 Gloster Gladiator, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5207 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

TA639 Mosquito, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5232 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Me.262, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5258 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr
there was a bit of a cleared area at the western end of this hangar so is something new going there as well?

Hangar 4 cold War
I didn't take many photos in the upper end of the Cold War hangar, it was just too congested to get meaningful photos or more importantly to appreciate many of the aircraft, the Valiant was semi-photographable by semi I mean I could get half of it in a photo...
XD818 Valiant, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5311 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Vulcan & skybolt, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5329 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Vulcan, Lightning and Thor, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5330m by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Cold War lower hall, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5331 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

this was nice, the memory of a lightning going vertical!...
XG337 Lightning, RAF Museum Cosford 10-09-2022 5340 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

and that seems a good memory to end upon!
thanks for looking, C&C welcome
Andy

[BobL]

I paid my first (and probably last) visit a few years ago on the way back from N. Wales too. I thought the Cold War building a complete mess. Another example of let's design & build a completely unsuitable display space for large objects then squeeze those large objects in somehow....
The disposal team need sacking, as do the people responsible for the "play zone" - what next, bouncy castle? Rainbow unicorn rides? Safe spaces for the triggered?

The role of a museum in future seems to be destined to be a cut price child activity centre with the main 'collection' pushed to the side or removed completely...

[Wrexham Mackem]

Oh I don't know, I'm going to speak up for the Cold War Exhibition, I think its very well done indeed. OK, one or two aircraft suspended from the ceiling, and that's never great, but the thing as a whole, from architecture to wow factor when you walk in makes it quite the spectacle. Which is difficult for a museum.

The other spaces being weakened I'm less happy about, and that Catalina dumped outside and deteriorating rapidly is heart breaking. But things like the Argosy and Bristol 188 leaving is all wrong, they're the sort of things that make Cosford what it is.

[capercaillie]

The flight simulators have been there for some time in the test hangar, the Typhoon ride through the Mach loop was great fun, I mean for my daughter of course.

The disposals are utterly wrong, the RAF Museum getting rid of RAF service aircraft, some of which are the last remaining, scandalous!

[adamp89]

It may have been mentioned elsewhere, but what is the timescale for these disposals?
I am trying to convince a friend that we need to go, and these disposals might just make him get on with it.