Royal Air Force Museum London
What Visitors Say
Overall, a good museum with a sizeable collection. However, I think more information should be added to certain exhibits, especially the WW2 aircraft. For example, why not create a better Battle of Britain exhibit with more information? We found the food on offer to be very good, but the staff were very poor in communicating how to order items from the Kitchen menu, leading to us waiting 10 minutes for no reason. Lastly, the gift shop is great but why is there no popular books section? Having been inspired by different exhibits, i had been anticipating buying some books on WW1 planes or on the Battle of Britain, but there was nothing except a handful of miscellaneous and second hand books.
Great place to visit for kids and adults who are interested in history. We loved the entire exhibition and assets. Very well maintained. The experiences weren’t working on the day of our visit. Nice kids playground and restaurant to eat. There are total 6 hangers and all of them are having great number of aircraft’s. A ton of bombers, fighter aircrafts. I couldn’t find any latest generation aircrafts 😛, which i understand it won’t be kept here, but would have been good to see those 😅
This place is great. I visited for the first time recently. I spent about two and a half hours I would have spent more time but I was only in London for the day and wanted to see as much as I could. Still this gives me a reason to return. As a plane enthusiast and history buff I was akin to a small child. Every step I took I kept saying to myself ooh they've got one of those, ooh they've got one of those as well. There are six hangars spanning the entire history of the RAF. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The exhibits were all well presented and plentiful. There is a large amount of stuff to see and it was a spacious and clean museum. Great gift shop too. The only downside of the day was the weather so a covered walkway would not have been amiss as I got soaked walking between exhibit halls. A great day out and I would love a follow up visit as soon as I can afford the train fare.
A wonderful place to visit with kids. My children really enjoyed the museum and were very interested in the aeroplanes. Everything is well explained, so they learned a lot about the history of the Royal Air Force in detail. It is educational, interactive, and great for families. We spent several hours there and it was free entry, which is a big bonus. Highly recommend for a family day out.
Fantastic museum, I can't believe we've overlooked this gem for so long! Covering aviation history from first flights through to modern era, with aircraft and memorabilia from the early mono- and biplanes of WW1 and before, through to a Eurofighter Typhoon. Plenty of interactive activities, more information than you can possibly absorb in one visit, and lots of aircraft you can get right up close to/underneath/inside. Also some slightly rarer planes like the Stuka, Messerschmitt Komet, Hawker Typhoon and Tempest, Mosquito, P51, all in amazing condition for their respective ages! The on site cafe/restaurant is good with a decent range of food and drink, although some things feel quite pricey (still haven't got my head around the impact of recent inflation! :D) with cans of drink at £2+. Burger and chips meal was just under £14. Plenty of on site parking, but not free - pay for either 0-3 hours or 3-6 hours. This is balanced out by the free museum entry though. We had a relatively relaxed wander around the 6 hangars, reading info, admiring and photographing the exhibits, plus lunch and coffee breaks, and were there for almost 5 hours. Thoroughly recommended if you love aviation and aircraft, and lots to see and enjoy even if you're being dragged along by an aircraft but :D
Highlights
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
Opening Hours
Fun Facts
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.
