Must-Visit London Attraction for Military Enthusiasts: The Century-Old Royal Air Force Museum London

Interested in aviation and military history? The London Pass takes you to the Royal Air Force Museum London, home to one of the world's most comprehensive collections of military aircraft, where you can explore the glorious century-long history of the Royal Air Force.

Image source: Royal Air Force Museum

Located just 28 minutes from central London, the museum was established in 1972. Through the stories of the Royal Air Force and around 1.3 million objects, visitors can gain a comprehensive understanding of the RAF's past, present, and future, and the museum aims to inspire every visitor through these narratives.

Image source: Royal Air Force Museum

At its inception, the museum's hangars housed 36 aircraft. Over the following years, the number of aircraft increased by 130, with unexhibited aircraft stored at various RAF bases.

At the museum, you can explore the RAF's century-long history and its current role through three new interactive exhibitions:

RAF Stories, The First 100 Years 1918–2018

Located in Hangar 1, this exhibition explores the first 100 years of the Royal Air Force through the stories of its personnel and partners since it was formed in 1918 as the world's first independent air force. Over a hundred new exhibits include not only RAF aircraft, vehicles, and vessels, but also items such as flight logs, hidden maps, survival rations, and mascots.

Image source: Royal Air Force Museum

Here, visitors can try on RAF uniforms, draw operational maps on an interactive WWII table, explore Sir Frank Whittle's Power Jets engine on an interactive screen, and learn to fly a Gnat light jet fighter in a simulator.

RAF – First to the Future

To fulfill its mission, the Royal Air Force needs effective technology and innovative, well-trained personnel. Also located in Hangar 1, this interactive exhibition explores the importance of innovation for the RAF and how it will become even more crucial in the future, keeping the RAF at the forefront of aerospace power.

Image source: Royal Air Force Museum

The RAF in an ‘Age of Uncertainty’

In recent decades, politics, economics, and technology have undergone tremendous and rapid changes. In this interactive exhibition located in Hangar 6, visitors can listen to the perspectives of RAF personnel during this transformative period and learn how the RAF has adjusted its strategies and technologies to protect the UK around the clock.

Image source: Royal Air Force Museum

The Royal Air Force Museum has multiple hangars, showcasing how the RAF carried out its missions over its first 100 years through various categories of aircraft. Visitors can even test their suitability for joining the RAF through the ‘Pilot Simulator’.

Image source: Royal Air Force Museum

If you want to know what it really feels like to soar through the clouds, the museum's latest attraction, the 4D Cinema, is the perfect place. Combining cutting-edge 3D computer animation with motion seats and special environmental effects, visitors transform into brave B-17 bomber pilots, carrying out missions over enemy territory and witnessing the tremendous progress in RAF aviation technology over more than a century.

Image source: Royal Air Force Museum

Address: Grahame Park Way, London NW9 5LL

Opening Hours: Daily 10am - 5pm

Admission: £5, free with The London Pass