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:: [ SVVS Summer Saunter to the
WINGS MUSEUM, Balcombe - July 2018 ]
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The following photos are by
Bozi Mohacek.
Please click on any thumbnail picture below to see the full size
picture. To return to the thumbnails please click the Explorer
"Back" arrow
(top left of screen).
The SVVS SUMMER SAUNTER is non competitive run into the countryside
organised by our Hon Sec Malcolm Bailey and his wife Sheena. The
destination is different every year but the start is generally in the
Morrisons Car park in Reigate. This year the destination was The Wings
Museum, near Balcombe, West Sussex RH17 6JT, a distance of 17 miles. A
map of possible routes was provided and, for the enthusiasts, a Tulip
Route!
The Wings Museum is housed in a large hangar and has
the displays broken down into dedicated subject areas. It houses
original items from the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, the Home Front,
Russian Front, D-Day, Bomber Command, and US 8th Air Force. Items on
display include: Aero Engines, Propellers, Artifacts, Uniforms, Aircraft
Parts, Equipment, and items of Local History during World War Two.
Relics from RAF Bomber Command and the US Eighth Air Force are in
"Bomber Offensive" section;
items from RAF Fighter Command and Luftwaffe in the "Fighter
Offensive" Section. Anderson and
Morrison Shelters have a soundtrack of the Blitz. At the centre of the
museum is a complete fuselage from a Douglas C-47 Dakota which was used
during the filming of the TV hit series Band of Brothers. Scattered
throughout the hangar are aircraft which have been recovered from the
Russian and Japanese battle fields where they were shot down,
still carrying the bullet holes that brought the aircraft down! Each is
displayed in crash dioramas to represent the actual crash. These
aircraft include Bell P-63 Kingcobra - Soviet Air Force,
Nakajima B5N2 Kate - Imperial Japanese Navy, Douglas A-20
Boston / Havoc - Soviet Air Force, Hawker Hurricane –
Soviet Air Force, Handley Page Hampden P1273 – Royal Air Force.
This is a fascinating gem of a Museum well worth visiting by anybody
interested in WW2 and the Services, especially the RAF, and because the
building is smallish and exhibits are very numerous, not much walking is
needed by the 'oldies' to see all that is there!
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