Army Flying Museum Ticket Portal

Enjoy the first season of our Lockdown Lectures at any time by purchasing this box set.

Titles include:

Air Support to SOE Operations

The Last Days of the Luftwaffe

Secrets of the Battle of Britain

The Founding of RAF Middle Wallop

Island under siege - The air defence of Malta

Secrets of the Spitfire

Enjoy the second season of our Lockdown Lectures at any time by purchasing this box set.

Titles included:

True grit - The extraordinary story of extraordinary pilots

The Falklands Conflict with 656 Squadron Army Air Corps

Operation DEADSTICK

From Red Rissoles to Blue Eagles

Spitfire Gifts of War

The Army Air Corps in the Aden Emergency 1966-67

The Royal Flying Corps - The Army in the air in the First World War

Enjoy the third season of our Lockdown Lectures at any time by purchasing this box set.

Titles included:

Intelligence failures of the Battle of Britain

Operation AGILA - 656 Sqn lecture

Lawrence's Desert Air Force - The Secret Royal Flying Corps support to the Arab Revolt

The Pegasus Bridge Story

V for Valour

Spitfire 85

Enjoy the fourth season of our Lockdown Lectures at any time by purchasing this box set.

Titles included:

Women in Army Aviation

100 Years of Fixed Wing Aviation

Operation HELL FIRE

Double Agents and Double Crosses Spies in History, Fact and Fiction

Op GRANBY, the First Gulf War, the Reunion.

Service Under the Disc: Life as a Groundcrewman During the Cold War

Join Dr. Bruce Tocher as he tells the story of the first Allied glider borne raid of World War Two, targeting the German nuclear weapons programme. Hear how the Operation quickly turned into a disaster for the crews involved.

Join Liz McConaghy in the Museum to hear about her amazing 17 year career flying the Chinook, making her the longest serving female crewman on the Royal Air Force Chinook Fleet. Liz was the youngest aircrew to deploy to Iraq aged just twenty-one and the only female crewman on the Chinook wing for 4 years, so her story is completely unique. Her career saw her amass two deployments to Iraq and ten deployments to Helmand Afghanistan in support of Operation Herrick and her story offers an insightful and personal perspective on war.

From dodging bullets to saving soldiers and witnessing the brutality and loss of war she found herself bringing the battlefield home, despite her fighting days being over. These memories eventually caught up with her years later in spectacular fashion, leading to her trying to take her own life to quieten her mind and find peace. She survived and her story concludes offering hope to those who have also found themselves in the darkest of places, if you look hard enough you can find the tools within you to begin to rebuild your pathway to a new life.

To any history enthusiast, ‘Winkle’ Brown needs no introduction: national treasure, legendary test pilot, 487 types flown, 2407 carrier landings, interviewed Göring and so on.  Paul Beaver knew him well and has painstakingly reconstructed his life story to find some amazing facts and a few unexplained myths. ‘Winkle’ spoke at the Army Flying Museum a few years before his death in 2016 and many will remember the magic. Paul will take us back to the age of air combat, the first jets and breaking the sound barrier.

RAF Dakota KN630 went down in the high jungle of Malaya in 1950 at the height of operations during the Malayan “Emergency”.   How were Dakotas utilised during the period? What was it doing there? How did it crash and where?  Who was on board? What came next?  Why was it “lost”?  What led up to the search and what was the outcome? 

Get the answers with this first-hand account, including film of how and why 100 soldiers, 50 policemen and others launched into the high jungle of Malaysia 58 years later.

At the age of 23, Brian Wood was thrust into the front line in Iraq, in the infamous Battle of Danny Boy. Ambushed, he led a charge across open ground with insurgents firing at just five soldiers. On his return, he was awarded the Military Cross by Queen Elizabeth II. 

But Brian's story had only just begun. Struggling to re-integrate into family life, he suffered from PTSD. Then, five years later, a letter arrived: it summoned him to give evidence at the Al-Sweady Inquiry into allegations of war crimes by British soldiers during the Iraq invasion of 2003. 

After years of public shame, Brian took the stand and delivered a powerful testimony, and following the tense inquiry room scenes, justice was finally served. Phil Shiner, the lawyer who made the false accusations, was struck off and stripped of an honorary doctorate.

Buy your online pass to hear Brian tell his story.

Mark Burnand, Chief Test Pilot at Leonardo Helicopters UK since 2019, will highlight the role of the home of British Helicopters in the Army’s flying history. From Gazelles to the Wildcat, Mark will share his personal insight into the role of these rotorcraft in aviation history and today’s current flying operations from Yeovil, Somerset.

It is the everlasting debate!  Which was the best fighter of the Battle of Britain? Could it be the Spitfire, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or possibly even the Hurricane?  Join Historians Paul Beaver and Phoebe Style as they give their reasoned views during a debate at the Army Flying Museum on 15 April. Join in person or online as they discuss the merits of all three – and who knows, they might even touch on the Bf 110 and Defiant as well!

Paul Beaver is back at the Army Flying Museum with a special talk to mark D-Day 80 about some of the secrets which made a success of the greatest landing operation in history. Paul will talk about deception, influence and some of the amazing innovations who were key to the liberation of France.

What is the wartime connection between a Professor of Chinese Literature, a Scotland Yard detective and a Conservative MP? Dr. Bruce Tocher will explain how this diverse group of men and many others like them played a crucial role in the War Crimes Investigations and War Crimes Trials which followed the tragedy of Operation Freshman, the Allies first attempt to destroy the Heavy Water Facility at Vemork in Norway, and also the Allies first Glider borne raid of WWII. Bruce will also be providing new insights into the raid itself, including information on the first casualties, the crew of a photo reconnaissance Mosquito, and the role of local Norwegians in gathering crucial intelligence before the raid was launched. 

Bruce has lectured extensively in Norway and the UK on Operation Freshman and was interviewed earlier this year by BBC Radio Scotland in connection with his continuing search to trace the families of all of the men who took part in the raid.

Midnight, D-Day 6th June 1944. Under the cover of darkness, six wooden gliders containing Major John Howard's Coup de Main party, head towards two strategic bridges spanning the Caen Canal and River Orne. They are tasked with their capture, the very first action of D-Day. Once these flimsy aircraft are down, whatever happens, the men know that they will be totally alone for a crucial period, awaiting the inevitable German reaction. Could Howard's Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry hold on long enough for the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Pine-Coffin's 7th Parachute Battalion, entrusted with expanding the small defensive bridgehead into Benouville. Could these and further elements of the 6th Airborne Division, landing and holding Ranville just to the east, prevent the recapture of the bridges and hold on until the arrival of the seaborne relief? These were the crucial questions for the Division on D-Day.

History now tells us that the whole operation was indeed a brilliant achievement, with the capture of the bridges being one of the Second World War's most legendary actions, but what actually happened and what did those involved have to do to ensure that the whole day was a success? Join author, Neil Barber, online to find out more. This event will be live streamed on Monday 27th January from 7pm with the opportunity to join in the Q&A afterwards, or you can watch the lecture at your convenience after the event.

Join us online to hear about a number of interesting and little-known Westland Helicopters projects from two ex-employees, Jeremy Graham and Dr Ron Smith. They will highlight factors affecting the success or failure of the projects, which range from early fixed-wing jets to civil and military helicopter designs, alongside research into the boundaries of high-speed helicopter flight; autonomous personal transport helicopters; and example technological innovations.

The authors were involved with many of the later studies described in their book, ‘Westland: Aircraft and Rotorcraft – Secret Projects and Cutting-Edge Technology.’ The book gives a comprehensive history of Westland’s work on fixed and rotary wing projects and associated technology developments. Many of these projects did not proceed to flight / or production and are consequently little-known, although they contributed to the company knowledge base and often influenced later designs.

The talk will be available to view from 7pm on Monday 24th February. You can join live with the option to join in the Q& A ,or watch on catch up at your convenience afterwards.

As the Western Allies emerged from the bitter cold winter of 1944-45 victory over Hitler’s Third Reich seemed tantalizingly close. Just one last major barrier stood in their path before the anticipated final battles before Berlin: The formidable River Rhine.

Field Marshal Montgomery planned to bounce the Rhine with a combined Anglo-Canadian-US assault. Pushed on by an increasingly impatient Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, he planned to cross the Rhine on 24 March with the meticulously planned Operation Plunder.

A key component of Plunder was Operation Varsity, an Airborne landing involving British, Canadian and American Airborne formations. The British 6th Airborne Division, including the glider-borne troops of 6th (Airlanding) Brigade, would cross the Rhine alongside the recently formed US 17th Airborne Division. Varsity took place just 5 months after the disastrous Battle of Arnhem. Many of the lessons of Operation Market Garden were incorporated into the Varsity plan, however, for the Glider Pilot Regiment crossing the Rhine so soon after Arnhem presented significant challenges.

The ferocious fighting in Arnhem and around Oosterbeek had decimated the Glider Pilot Regiment. The GPR was at peak strength before Arnhem and it had committed over 1300 Glider Pilots to Market Garden. After 9 days of fighting the Regiment’s two Wings had suffered 90% casualties. These men were simply irreplaceable. If British Airborne forces were to deploy gliders in meaningful numbers again a radical solution had to be found, and quickly.

In ‘Bouncing the Rhine’ Military Historian, Mike Peters joins us to talk about the lessons learned after Arnhem, the reconstitution of the Glider Pilot Regiment in the winter of 1944-45 and the key role played by the men of the Glider Pilot Regiment on Op VARSITY.

Your online pass will allow you to watch live and join in the Q&A, or to watch on catch up afterwards. Simply select a session - this is a requirement of our online ticketing system, but it doesn't matter which session you select because you can watch the lecture at any time from 7pm on Monday 24th March 2025. You will be sent a link to the page where you'll be able to view the lecture.

What do Mozart, beating Blofeld, and saving lives have in common?

The answer, of course, is rotary winged flight! WatchTony Bray's fascinating talk online to discover how rotary winged flight has changed our world.

Hear about the transition from fixed wing to rotary wing flight and the brave people who risked their lives to overcome the myriad of challenges they had to face.

The initial flight of the Sikorski VS300 in September 1939 set the standards for future helicopter design, but was he the first? Be ready for some surprises!

Using photos, maps, and video clips, Tony will examine how the early prototypes developed into the wide variety of specialist machines we have today. The fast pace of development was inevitably driven by huge defence budgets, resulting from the never-ending series of World conflicts.

Drones are having a far-reaching effect on warfare and are re-writing the way future officers of all three services are being trained. Drones are also being used for so many different civilian uses, and Tony will look at some of them.

You can either watch live from 7pm on Monday 22nd September and join in the Q&A, or you can view the talk on catch up at your conveneience.

Join Paul Beaver online to hear about RJ Mitchell, the father of the Spitfire, and about the iconic fighter aircraft and its impact on the Battle of Britain.. It is an emotive subject. Buy an online pass to hear Paul set the record straight and put events in perspective. You will be able to watch live and join in the Q&A, or watch on catch up afterwards.

That Cyril Babbage survived two of the Second World War’s most momentous events unscathed – the Battle of Britain and the Normandy invasion – is testament not just to his skill as a pilot, but also to his extraordinary good fortune. Shot down three times, once by a Luftwaffe Experten and Knight’s Cross holder, he went on to claim the first Fw 190 lost in aerial combat, disposing of another holder of the Ritterkreuz in the process.

Amongst his fascinating experiences are tales of the famous names who briefly crossed his path, Amy Johnson and Douglas Bader amongst them, as well as lesser-known heroes: the youngsters with whom he served on Spitfire and Mosquito squadrons, and an intrepid SAS team operating behind enemy lines after D-Day. Unlike Babbage himself, who eventually retired as a wing commander, sadly all too many of these brave men were unable to enjoy the peace that victory brought.

Join Black Robertson online to find out more - buy an online pass to watch live and join in the Q&A, or watch on catch up at your convenience afterwards.