W&R LOCAL AVIATION COLLECTIONS OF BRITAIN

The UK's regional aeronautical treasures are housed in a wealth of museums of all sizes, in amazing venues, containing aircraft of the world, of national or regional importance. With region-by-region coverage, the backgrounds of the formative museums are highlighted along with the pedigrees of their most significant exhibits. Included are such icons as the de Havilland Aircraft Museum, home of the Mosquito, the Brooklands Museum, headquarters of Sopwith, Hawker and Vickers; the Helicopter Museum, the world's largest rotorcraft collection and Solent Sky, shrine to flying-boats and the Spitfire. Smaller collections for example the Martlesham Heath Control Tower Museum, home of the British flight test; the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum devoted to the vital 'magic eye' of the Battle of Britain; the Glenn Miller Museum at the airfield from which the band leader departed to his doom, and the Fort Paul Armouries, dominated by the enormous Beverley airlifter. Over 60 museums and their most important exhibits are profiled with over 300 photographs of aeronautical gems. Some colour, 352pp.