On 7 th October fifty-one of our members enjoyed an outing to the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. We made good progress on the outward journey and arrived at the predicted time. There are locker facilities and an excellent restaurant with plenty of seats. The museum had been opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 15th November 1972.

After a coffee/cake break we commenced our exploration of five of the six hangars depicting the evolution of the RAF from its early years to the present. Unfortunately, Hangar 2, containing the First World War exhibits, was closed on the day of our visit, but that did not detract from our appreciation of the huge array of planes, helicopters and related exhibits from later eras. Those of us who were nimble enough to fit through the entrance gate were able to climb inside the enormous whale-like body of the Sunderland Flying Boat. The legendary Avro Lancaster – one of 7,377 built – made a majestic sight. A Handley Page Halifax fuselage, recovered from a Norwegian lake 31 years after being hit by heavy flak during an attack on the German battleship “Tirpitz” is surprisingly well preserved. There was an assortment of aircraft present from both Germany, America and Japan. The Cold War era was represented by a Vulcan bomber with its massive wingspan and huge bomb bay area.