Tuesday 1 May 2012 Revealing the new Historic Duxford exhibition We’re delighted to announce the development of Historic Duxford, a new permanent exhibition at IWM Duxford that will open in spring 2013, and to give a first glimpse of some of the proposed designs for the exhibition. Our Interpretation and Collections team are working with London-based MET Studio to design the exhibition and site trail. Formed in 1982, MET Studio has earned a reputation as one of the most creative and innovative experiential design companies in the world. It has worked with the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, English Heritage and the National Army Museum, to name but a few of its high-profile clients. Situated in the old Watch Office, opposite the Control Tower, the Historic Duxford exhibition will bring to life for visitors the history of Duxford during its time as an operational airfield, from 1918 to 1961. We’ll be recreating in its exact location the original 1930s Watch Office, from which the duty pilot would record the activities of landing and departing aircraft. Atmospheric audio recordings and visual period details will give visitors a sense that they have travelled back in time and the duty officer has only just left the room. For the first time, we’ll be telling the fascinating personal stories of the individual men and women who worked and lived on this busy RAF base. Combining audio recordings, film, interactive models, trails and historic objects, we’ll be painting a vivid picture of daily life at RAF Duxford. Visitors can find out what it was like to serve in the Royal Air Force and how several generations of men and women were shaped by their experiences at RAF Duxford. Through the personal testimonies of veterans who served at RAF Duxford, we’ll look at some of the big questions: What was it like to fly from RAF Duxford? How did people cope with the stresses and strains of an often-dangerous job, particularly in wartime? The displays will enable children and adults to understand famous events in IWM Duxford’s history from the perspective of the people who were there. They will also understand how events changed the physical development of RAF Duxford – including the ‘domestic site’ where people relaxed, ate and slept – as it was modernised, adapted and expanded. After learning more in the exhibition, we hope that visitors will look with fresh eyes at the airfield and historic buildings that make up the unique atmosphere of the museum. Complementing the Historic Duxford exhibition is a heritage trail with carefully-positioned structures that allow visitors to understand what happened in that exact spot at a key point in history. Some of the trail structures will feature audio, allowing the veterans’ voices to speak to visitors from the exact places that they served. Others will allow a window on the past, using historic photographs from the IWM archives, together with photographs specifically gathered for this project, displayed in the positions that they were taken. This is a fascinating opportunity for us to tell IWM Duxford’s own story – its eventful past, fascinating people and unique place in the community. – Ends – Esther Blaine +44 (0)1223 499 320 [email protected] Notes to Editors IWM Duxford’s iconic history Duxford’s aerodrome was built at the end of the First World War and was one of the earliest Royal Air Force stations. In 1920, it became No.2 Flying School and in 1924, it became a fighter station, a role it was to carry out with distinction for 37 years. By the beginning of 1925 RAF Duxford’s three fighter squadrons were up to strength flying Gloster Grebes and Armstrong Whitworth Siskins. In 1931, No.19 Squadron re-equipped with Bristol Bulldogs and at the beginning of 1935, was picked as the first squadron to fly the RAF’s new fighter, the Gloster Gauntlet. In the same year, No.19 Squadron was chosen to give a special demonstration of air drill over RAF Duxford on the occasion of King George V’s Jubilee Review of the Royal Air Force. In 1936, Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle was studying at Cambridge University and regularly flew from RAF Duxford as a member of the Cambridge University Air Squadron. Frank Whittle went on to develop the jet turbine, enabling Britain to produce the jet-powered Gloster Meteor in 1943. In 1938 No.19 Squadron became the first RAF squadron to re-equip with the new Supermarine Spitfire and at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, RAF Duxford was poised to play a vital role in the years of conflict that lay ahead. In February 1940, Flying Officer Douglas Bader was posted to RAF Duxford. Bader found himself on familiar territory, as he left the RAF from Duxford in April 1933, retiring on medical grounds and entering civilian life – if he couldn’t fly, he didn’t want to remain in the RAF. As Bader said, “The fact that I left the Royal Air Force at Duxford and I came back into it at Duxford, through the same bloody gate, is what comes to mind.” By June 1940, with Belgium, Holland and France having fallen to the German forces, and the conquest of Britain being their next objective, RAF Duxford was placed in a high state of readiness. RAF Duxford's first Hurricanes arrived in July 1940 with the formation of No.310 Squadron, made up of Czechoslovakian pilots who had escaped from France. At the end of August 1940, Air-Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory ordered the Hurricanes of No.242 Squadron, now commanded by Douglas Bader, down from Coltishall, to join No.19 and No.310 Squadrons on daily standby at RAF Duxford. As the Battle progressed, 12 Group was instructed to protect 11 Group’s airfields during attacks. Air Vice Marshal Leigh-Mallory, Commander of 12 Group, was frustrated by this supporting role. He thought that the RAF Duxford-based pilots could be more successful if they joined the Battle in ‘Wings’ of three or more squadrons. Air Vice Marshal Park, Commander of 11 Group, had experimented with Wings. During the Battle, he found that grouping more than two squadrons together was slow and risky. However, Leigh-Mallory was impressed with the performance of No.19 and No.310 Squadrons and authorised Bader to lead Nos.242, 19 and 310 Squadrons, operating together as a Wing. On 9 September 1940, the RAF Duxford Squadrons successfully intercepted and turned back a large force of German bombers before they reached their target. On the strength of this, two more squadrons were added to the Wing. No. 302 (Polish squadron) with Hurricanes, and the Spitfires of No.611 Auxiliary Squadron, which had been mobilised at RAF Duxford a year before. Every day, some sixty Spitfires and Hurricanes were dispersed around Duxford and Fowlmere. Bader's 'Big Wing', now known more formally as 12 Group Wing, was ready for action by 15 September 1940, which became known as 'Battle of Britain Day'. On this historic day, they twice took to the air to repulse Luftwaffe attacks aimed at London. Sometimes they met with success, but sometimes they failed to support 11 Group in time, leaving its airfields open to attack. Even at the height of the Battle, this caused tension between Leigh-Mallory and Park, who was supported by Air Chief Marshal Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command. This controversy continued after the Battle when Dowding was replaced and Leigh-Mallory stepped into Park’s job. Overall, RAF Fighter Command was successful, the threat of invasion was passed and RAF Duxford's squadrons had played a vital role in the victory. Following the Battle of Britain, RAF Duxford became the home of several specialist units, among them the Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU). The AFDU’s equipment included captured German aircraft, restored to flying condition for evaluation. Duxford villagers became used to the sight of a Messerschmitt Bf109, Junkers 88 or Heinkel III flying with RAF insignia. During this time, squadrons with newly acquired aircraft were posted to RAF Duxford for trials. One of these was No.601 Squadron, the only RAF squadron to be equipped with the unusual American Bell Aircobra. RAF Duxford also played a major part in developing the Hawker Typhoon into a formidable low-level ground attack fighter and it was at RAF Duxford that the first Typhoon Wing was formed. In April 1943, the airfield was fully handed over to the United States Eighth Air Force, which had begun to arrive in Britain the previous May. Duxford now became Base 357 and the headquarters of the 78th Fighter Group, who were officially welcomed when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the airfield on 26 May 1943. The 78th Fighter Group flew P-47 Thunderbolts and, from December 1944, P-51 Mustangs. They acted as fighter escort on the large US daylight bomber raids in occupied Europe and Germany itself. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, every available 78th Fighter Group Thunderbolt was giving air cover to the Allied invasion fleet as it crossed the channel. Later, the group took part in raids on railway targets ahead of the ground forces. During the airborne landings at Arnhem in the Netherlands, the 78th Fighter Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for the number of sorties carried out. Duxford was officially handed back to the Royal Air Force on 1 December 1945. During their stay, the Americans had laid a perforated steel plate runway over the grass strip and it was deemed adequate for jet aircraft in the short term, by the RAF.