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Wellesbourne Wartime Museum is located at Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire. The museum is situated at the end of the car park near to the control tower.
The airfield is home to Avro Vulcan XM655, which is kept in taxiable condition. Wellesbourne Mountford also has an annual wings and wheels event where military and classic cars meet with various aircraft including the in-house Avro Vulcan bomber XM655.
History
Originally opened in 1941, Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield was formerly the Royal Air Force station RAF Wellesbourne Mountford which was under Bomber Command in the Second World War. It was an Operational Training Unit, flying Vickers Wellingtons and Avro Ansons, and training crews from within the commonwealth and other countries.
The airfield was briefly home to the No. 3 Glider Training School which started using Wellesbourne Mountford during July 1945 with the General Aircraft Hotspur before being disbanded in December 1947. It was used by the RAF School of Photography from 1948 to 1964, the RAF School of Education 1950 to 1952 and the Airfield Construction Branch from 1951 to 1964. In 1964 the airfield was closed and put on a care and maintenance basis then returned to the original owners.
After the closure of the base, it was reduced in size and was home to Air Atlantique Douglas DC-3's between 1965 and 1981. It was also used for vehicle testing and microlighting.
Today, the airfield has an annual wings and wheels event where military and classic cars meet with various aircraft including the in-house Avro Vulcan bomber XM655. It also holds a large market on Saturdays and Bank Holidays on the eastern side. The airfield also has a cafe and a number of flying schools located near to the control tower.
The Wellesbourne Wartime Museum was offically opened on 14 April 1991 and houses a small collection of exhibits both military & civilian relating to Wellesbourne airfield during the war. Exhibits are housed in an underground bunker and in an above ground building.
The Avro Vulcan B.1 XA903 was used as a flying testbed for the Olympus engines used on Concorde and her cockpit is located at the museum. Avro Vulcan B.2 XM655 is owned by Wellesbourne Airfield and maintained by 655 Maintenance & Preservation Society who keep the aircraft in a taxiable condition, with public taxi runs at the Wellesbourne Wings and Wheels show.
Wellesbourne Airfield came under threat of being closed to make way for a very large housing development.
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