North East Land Sea And Air Museum
Museum In Sunderland, Tyne And Wear
A former Royal Air Force site with lots of planes and ghosts.
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The signs say transport museum, however, The North East Land Sea And Air Museum (NELSAM) has a large collection of aircraft. It was started in 1974 and is celebrating over 50 years. They have just received (November 2024) the Kings Award for Voluntary Service which is part of King Charles III birthday honour.
The site is the former RAF Usworth and 607 squadron was stationed there. They formed in 1930 at the newly built airfield as a day bomber unit of the Auxiliary Air Force. They got their first plane in 1932 and then a fighter role in 1936. They saw action in World War II and were moved to RAF Manston in 1942
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Here is a snapshot of what there is on display.
You can see the Avro Vulcan B2 Bomber as you approach the museum and it is a thrill to explore especially as you can walk underneath it. This jet-powered, tailless, delta-winged, subsonic bomber was considered the most technically advanced. The RAF operated them from 1956 to 1984. It had the role of nuclear deterrence during the Cold War (1947 to 1991). It also had a conventional bombing role during the Falklands War (1982). This plane was flown here when it was Sunderland Airport in 1983 and was the first to go into a private collection.
There are several hangers and inside there are many exhibits to enthuse any plane spotter and all sorts of bits and pieces.
A Trident cockpit is on display for your perusal and it is worth reading the details.
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Here is an Avro Anson. From Wikipedia:
'Production run of 18 years, one of the longest production runs of any British aircraft. It was exported to Eygpt, Ireland, Estonia, Finland and Greece. {..} At this early period, the wings and tailplanes were made of spruce. The fuselage and fin were steel tube covered by plywood. The Perspex cabin gave a good all round view. In its original coastal reconnaissance role, it was designed to disable submarines. It was not expected to fight it out with enemy aircraft, but to run for home with a top speed of 300 km/hr. It was the first RAF aircraft with a retractable landing gear, although it had to be manually retracted. In practise, it proved notoriously awkward to retract the landing gear - it required 140 turns. It appears that often the gear was just left down, although this reduced the cruising speed to 200 km/hr.'
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The Tigercat missile caught my attention. From a website called Weapon Systems:
'Tigercat system is rather simple and consists of two main components. The first is the launcher with three missiles ready to fire. The second is the acquisition unit with which the operator manually steers the missile towards the target. The firing computer transposes the operator's joystick commands to radio commands.'
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The nose of a plane is officially called a radome, derived from radar and dome which houses radar equipment. It also has other purposes too. From Simple Flyiing:
'Special care goes into the design of the nose. For instance, the lines designed on it divert the electrical charge from lightning strikes safely along the fuselage to the aircraft's tail and away from the frame.'
I didn't realise how different the noses can be on planes. Below we have Gloster Meteor, Thunderstreak, Lightning and Tornado.
A badge of honour must go to the naming of the plane's brigade. They evoke such drama with these names eh?! Several have already been named and below we have, Vampire, Harrier, Mosquito and Hunter.
There are a few dummies around, and judging by their repose, they may have been out the night before we came. Look out for a lady ironing while being observed by a soldier across the way. It's a nice bit of positioning.
The museum is supposedly haunted by several World War 2 ghosts. These include a Czech airman named Augustin Preucil, a spy, and also that of a British pilot called Edward/Edgar Shaw. His plane crashed in Wingate which is about 30 miles south of the museum and the engine is on display.
The hanger with helicopters is said to have ghost like vibes.
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The NELSAM website gives detailed information on all the planes and vehicles for those wishing to enrich their knowledge and there is much more than I have described here. The entrance fee is quite modest, there are toilets, no café as such, but a hot drink machine. Please check their website for opening times.
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How To Find North East Land Sea And Air Museum
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54.924065, -1.469806
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Parking available on site.
Contributed by Rosalind Parker
Thanks for reading through and getting to the end of this post. I enjoy exploring the Fabulous North (Especially as a Southerner residing up North). I like 'snippets' of information, and more so, if they are obscure, amusing or meaningful. The photographs are taken on a mobile phone, without any enhancements.
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