The kind of topic you would think the denizens of this kind of site could get into. Just to get things started I'll say a few words about the RAF Cosford Museum. http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/index.cfm Located Northwest of Birmingham the museum was well signposted (at least if you were coming from the direction of Liverpool) The collection is in five categories experimental, wartime, civil, engines and bombs & missiles. Over all impression: good but with a few flaws. This is a museum that has opted for content over style. Despite being not all that big the museum has at least three dozen aircraft ranging from the well known to one off oddballs. This is a museum that has gone for content over style. The weak point is its labelling which is often pretty basic. This is especially disappointing for the missiles and bombs collection that includes some very interesting pieces such as the Fritz-X glider bomb but then barely tells you anything about them. Score 8.5 out of 10.
They have the world's only collection of aircraft that say "thankyou" when photographed Actually the "civil aviation" section is more "transport and passenger" as most of the types in that category were/ are also used by the military. I think I'd rate it about the same - they do have one of the only surviving TSR2 airframes, a brilliant selection of experimental types (Bristol 188), the "haunted" Avro Lincoln and some real gems in the missile and bomb collection - including a Red Dean/ Hebe. Then again it's probably 15-20 years since I went. If you're down near Brum (or up of course, depending where you come from) I'd also recommend Baginton. (South-Eastish of Birmingham, between Coventry and Warwick). Small area with lots of aircraft jammed in. Boulton-Paul P.111 hiding under a Vulcan's wing, a few F-4 Phantoms in poor state, Saab J-29 Tunnan etc. And they have the cockpit canopy from the Supermarine 545 (the only part to survive unfortunately), but according to the guys there it's "stuffed in the back somewhere" waiting display space. And the "gift shop" is small but has some cheap kits. I picked up a Fairey Rotodyne for about a fiver I'd probably give this 8.5 as well - it's not organised, but some of the aircraft there you won't see anywhere else, and I'd rather have scarce aircraft poorly displayed than common ones well-displayed. IIRC it's also relatively cheap to get into. http://www.midlandairmuseum.co.uk/ PS from their website it appears they've tidied the place up a bit since my last visit...
Battleship USS Alabama and submarine USS Drum This park and memorial is operated on Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama, USA. It contains the WW2 US Navy battleship USS Alabama and WW2 submarine USS Drum. Both the battleship and sub are open to the public. The park also has tanks, artillery, and aircraft. There are also amatuer rugby events played here on occassion. The home team is the Battleship RFC. The park took heavy damage (3 million dollars worth) from Hurricane Katrina and re-opened today. The aircraft pavillion is still closed as they will still have a lot of repairs to do to the aircraft. http://www.ussalabama.com
National Museum of Naval Aviation This is all about US Navy and USMC aviation history. Just about every significant aircraft in their past is here somewhere, including a Brewster Buffalo. The museum has many aircraft on display indoors and outside. They also have simulators and an IMAX theater. It is located at NAS Pensacola near Pensacola, FL. This is also home of the world famous Blue Angels flying team. http://naval.aviation.museum/home.html
