Royal Air Force Museum London
The RAF Museum at Hendon puts a century of flight under one sky. Walk beneath Lancaster R5868 "S-Sugar", survivor of 137 sorties, then compare Spitfire grace with Hurricane grit in the Battle of Britain displays. Cold War jets trace the rush from propellers to afterburners, while the Grahame-White Factory evokes wartime Hendon workshops. Stories come through pilots' voices and cockpit details, not only specifications. Entry is free; cafés and wide hangars make it easy with families. Colindale station is a short walk. Wear comfy shoes and budget two to three hours-longer if you love engines, rivets, and the smell of aviation history.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Lancaster “S-Sugar”
Most-flown RAF LancasterAvro Lancaster R5868 - code ‘S for Sugar’ - survived 137 sorties with Bomber Command, a remarkable wartime record.
📍 Main WWII hangar
Spitfire & Hurricane
Icons of 1940See the RAF’s classic duo side-by-side and trace how each airframe evolved through the war years.
📍 Battle of Britain displays
Grahame-White Factory
1917 aircraft worksStep inside an original WWI factory at Hendon - London’s pioneering aerodrome since 1911 - where early aircraft were built and tested.
📍 Historic building, site edge
Jet Age Line-up
From propellers to afterburnersTrack post-war innovation through British jets and trainers that transformed RAF flying after 1945.
📍 Cold War/jet hangars
Hendon Heritage
Birthplace of London aviationHendon staged air races and Britain’s first aerial derby in 1912 - crowds of hundreds of thousands watched from these fields.
📍 Site trail & panels
Inspire your Friends
- The museum opened in 1972 on the former Hendon Aerodrome - a civil airfield first laid out in 1911.
- Avro Lancaster R5868 ‘S for Sugar’ flew 137 operations in WWII, making it one of Bomber Command’s most active survivors.
- Entry is free and the London site sits a short walk from Colindale Underground (Northern line).
- Hendon hosted the Aerial Derby from 1912, with air displays drawing crowds estimated at 500,000.
- Across its sites, the RAF Museum displays scores of aircraft from early biplanes to modern jets in climate-controlled hangars.
