The Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, York, UK, is welcoming visitors for the summer season with a new exhibition commemorating the 30th anniversary of the restoration of its Handley Page Halifax bomber, along with a range of family activities and interactive displays. Located at the former RAF Elvington near York, the museum is home to around 60 aircraft and military vehicles, including Europe’s only surviving Halifax bomber. The aircraft returned to public display in 1996 following a 13-year restoration project and is the focus of the museum’s new “Operation Halifax” exhibition, which celebrates the milestone.
The Halifax holds particular significance for the museum, as the type operated from RAF Elvington and other bomber bases across Yorkshire during WWII. Alongside the anniversary exhibition, the museum has introduced two new children’s activity trails for the summer. One encourages younger visitors to identify aircraft nose art throughout the site, while another challenges older children to answer questions and solve coded puzzles as they explore the museum. Visitors can also climb into several aircraft cockpit sections displayed inside the museum’s hangars. The interactive exhibits have been repositioned and more clearly signposted this year to make them easier to find.
(Image credit: Yorkshire Air Museum)
On Thursdays throughout the school summer holidays, members of the museum’s education team will offer hands-on demonstrations featuring artifacts from the collection, including wartime gas masks and flying equipment. “Summer is always our busiest period of the year, and we’re ready and eager to welcome visitors to the Yorkshire Air Museum over the school break,” said Museum Communications Manager Jerry Ibbotson. “There’s something to offer everyone. It’s more than planes; it’s more than history – it’s a great day out.” For more information and to support the Yorkshire Air Museum, click on this link: yorkshireairmuseum.org.
Not the only halifax in Europe at all, there is one in Hendon, a different mark with merlin engines. It was lifted from a lake in Norway, i think, and has been displayed in its crashed condition since the mid 70s.
Therefore it is the only original Halifax in existance in the world.
The one at Elvington is made up of various bits and pieces, not all original, more like a full sized model.
Great to see & hear that there are two Halifax survivors for us all to view and help acknowledge the great duty performed and sacrifice made by those that built, those that serviced and the terrific job of the crews using them in the WW2 Bomber Offensive against the Nazi regime in Germany and Occupied countries of Europe…
As a NZ’er in their 70’s, I revere Our War veterans for the job they did that gave us so many following decades of ‘relative’ World Peace…
What puzzles me today is why Britain & Europe are going bankrupt & the peoples “going without their needs” to finance the corrupt evil neo-nazi regime of Zelensky in Ukraine & all these ” closet fifth-columnists of neo-nazi origin” throughout Europe & Scandinavia to fight this, yet another “dirty little American War” in Ukraine against it’s original parent country, Russia ~
USA has had the “pip with Russia” due to its murderous & conniving war-time leader Stalin who died in 1953- Because at great cost Russia was able to push the Nazis out of their country right back past Berlin, the USA lost it’s “bragging” rights. It took Britain until the 2000’s to pay-off the Americans for WW2 lend-lease etc… Now you’re going broke from a string of greedy elitist leaders making ruthless, rotten decisions with your country’s wealth, heritage & future… ~ Just look at what this egomaniac Trump has done to screw-up this planet in a couple of short years or more ? Here is a chap whose Daddy made him a millionaire at age 8 – He has no idea what it means to go without anything, he is constantly grasping, clawing & bullying for all he can grab off the World. He is not an “honourable” man of his word. He does not honour the past endeavours of his people like those with the Halifax & all those skilled craftsmen & volunteers around the World who restore war-winning aircraft ~ It has been my hobby since I was 12 discovering WW2 Aviation history and I’m proud of what my countrymen achieved in that conflict. And I know Britain feels the same about your veterans & aircraft etc…
Europe is a bit of a goldfish bowl, you’re in it but the rest of us are watching you and we are really astonished that things have deteriorated to the extent they have. The World Economic Forum is having a field day rorting Europe with it’s energy ~ I watch the unelected Ursula van der Leyen cosy up to Zelensky, that Rutte running NATO, an organization well past it’s expiry date, the other EU leaders all making money on your hardship ~ I’m shocked at my own country’s leaders getting suckered by Zelensky… What I do see is how fortunate Russia is to have a leader like Putin who looks after his country & people and does not brook any interference – A strong leader, not like the 5 or 6 that Britain has had in the last decade –
I wish you all God’s good grace and better times ahead, you must wrestle Britain back into the hands of it’s wonderful people ~ God bless you ~
Through Glyn Powell and his company down here in New Zealand and a company we have here called AvSpecs we have been able to rebuild several De Havilland Mosquitoes. Also furnish new parts for existing ones. One company here has some remains of a De Havilland Hornet and is working to eventually return that to existence…
I marvel at what my own country’s craftsmen are capable of. We have restored numerous P. 40’s, P. 51’s, F4U’s, recently a TBM Avenger and others, our Aussie neighbours are also very gifted. Come summer our Airshows (one or two) are awesome to behold, the cost to run them is huge but such dedicated volunteers make them so great, as too the pilots. ~ I really enjoy reading your Vintage Aviation News in Google and I also get the eletter in my email regularly, it keeps me up to date with the worldwide aviation action ~ Many thanks to your contributors ~