Friday 5 June 2009

RAF Cosford Museum

Now that some of the outside exhibits have been moved into hanger 1 at the RAF Museum at Cosford, it was time to see what has been changed. I was pleased to see that the DH Comet had been taken indoors at last. This historic jet airliner will no doubt remain in good condition for much longer now that it is out of the elements.
New exhibits included some of the more recent old workhorses of the RAF. The museum has acquired an Andover transport . This neat aeroplane was able to kneel back on its undercarriage to allow its tail gate to drop to the ground for loading. This aircraft was affectionately referred to as the "Landrover".
There was also an Argosy in the hanger. This is another less well known but exceptionally hard working transport. Being one of the first transports to sport a radome on its rounded nose, this beast was often referred to as the "flying tit". With a small capacity by modern standards, it was a very flexible aircraft in its day.
In the mid 1970's a large contingent of the Argosy fleet were "moth-balled", many ending up at RAF Kemble, which was at that time the home of the Red Arrows aerobatic team. The Reds would often be seen practising before the start of the season and anyone who lived near the airfield would get may good aerobatic displays in the spring and early summer.
I took this last photograph in April 1975.

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