Lashenden Air Warfare Museum

About

The Lashenden Air Warfare Museum is one of the longest established aviation museums in the country, having been formed in 1970.

The museum collection was started by members of the Maidstone branch of Royal Air Forces Association in the late 1960’s. The museum itself came into being when the airfield owner, Mr Freeman, offered the Maidstone branch of the Royal Air Forces Association a building for use as a museum in early 1970. The museum opened to the public Easter 1970 taking on the name of Lashenden Air Warfare Museum (Lashenden being the wartime name of the airfield). The museum’s first aircraft arrived just before Easter 1970, this being the very rare Fieseler Fi 103R-4 Reichenberg piloted V1 flying bomb.

The museum became a registered charity (279883) in 1977 & is operated through a Board of Trustees. It’s aim is to advance the education of the public by establishing and maintaining a museum for the exhibition to the public of aircraft and relics, mainly from the Second World War and to preserve the aviation and military heritage of this country for the public benefit & to raise money for RAF & associated charities.

The museum has continued to expand at a steady pace with the collections of a number of “preservation & recovery groups” being added to the museum on the demise of these groups. These include a rare Focke Achgelis Fa 330A-1 (100549) gyro kite from the Merseyside Aviation Society. The acquisition of this World War 2 German aircraft makes the museum the only non-national museum in the country to display 2 genuine World War 2 German aircraft.

The museum also holds the Andrew Cresswell collection of "Wreckology" items & the RAF POW Association collection of Prisoner of War artefacts. There is a display of uniforms each one displayed with the details of its owner. The museum holds items from 1911 to the present day & has items from both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, The Falklands, & both Gulf wars.

The museum is a memorial to the men & women of all nations who took part in both World Wars whether civilian or military.

Open Wednesdays over school summer holidays 10am - 5pm