Specialist area

This venue is a great mix of the old and the new. RAF Scampton is home to the Red Arrows but it was also home to 617, the Dambuster Squadron. The museum covers the history of the station from the Great War to the present. It includes many artefacts relating to 617 Dambuster Squadron, including a half-sized bouncing bomb.

Ideal age range for visits

Teachers can book an educational visit with the curator. The tour takes in many well-known buildings, some of which featured in the famous film ‘The Dambusters’.

What is unique about this venue?

This site was the home of 617 Squadron, the Dambusters and is the home of the Red Arrows so it is a hugely impressive site to visit.

A volunteer will meet schools at the entrance and walk them through the site, pointing out buildings used in the Dambuster film. He will also point out the history of buildings, ones that were there during the war or built afterwards. It is a great site for a school visit. There is a wow! factor just walking around the site, particularly to the Red Arrows hangar.

Visitors can go into the hangar where the Hawks are maintained by a group of engineers (the group of engineers is called the Circus). Each aircraft has the name of the pilot and the engineer on its side.

RAF Scampton opened in 1916 so it can tell the history of aviation from that point.

There have been 45 different aircraft at Scampton, 19 Squadrons and 3 Victoria Crosses.

At the moment schools visiting are able to combine a visit to the Red Arrows Hangar with a visit to the museum.

There is also the grave of Guy Gibson’s black Labrador that was killed on the day of the Dambusters raid. It is outside Guy Gibson’s office.

The museum is in an aircraft hangar and a building with several themed rooms.

On site

The museum is on an operational RAF base so visitors must be escorted at all times.

The museum is housed in an aircraft hangar and a building with several themed rooms.

In the aircraft hangar there is a Blue Steel Missile, a Green Goddess fire engine and behind the Blue Steel Missile is a bouncing bomb with photographs of the Mohne Dam before and after the raid.

There are several displays including:

• aircrew helmets
• parts of a crashed Lancaster recovered from Holland and photographs of the crew that died on board. All are sad but one is particularly poignant as it shows Warrant Office Christopher Saunders (pilot) with his two very young children.
• the cockpit of a Lightning jet
• disarmed ejector seats
• artefacts including part of the wreckage of Guy Gibson’s Mosquito.

Scampton’s emblem of a bow and arrow relates to the evolution of the site.

There is a stained glass window which shows four aircraft a Spitfire, a Lancaster, a Vulcan and a Hawk.

The museum also houses the operational plans of the Dambuster raids, marked TOP SECRET.

There is a room containing WAAF uniforms. There is also an exhibit which tells the story of Tirpitz.

Visitor information

Visits are free although donations are welcome.
If you plan to visit the Museum we ask that you please bring with you some valid Photo ID e.g. driving licence or passport

Curator: Mr Mervyn Hallam. Tel 01522 731462 (Not Manned 24 Hrs) or
Roger Crisp Tel 01522 500738
Museum1993@hotmail.co.uk

Museum Webmaster: Corporal Simon McNamara.
webmaster@scampton.raf.mod.uk