Plan your day, see when the RAF Museum Cosford is open. Contact us on 01902 376 200 or cosford@rafmuseum.org
How to find us and travel to the RAF Museum Cosford by car, train, bus or bike.
Enjoy lunch in the Refuel Restaurant with views overlooking the airfield. The Citroen Van in the National Cold War Exhibition is ideal for morning coffee and a cake.
The Royal Air Force Museum Shop has a gift for everyone from pocket money toys to specialist aviation gifts.
A car parking charge Is payable
See what events are scheduled at Cosford
Find out the latest news and updates for our Cosford site
Plan a day, see the opening hours & closure dates for RAF Museum London. Contact us on 020 8205 2266 or london@rafmuseum.org
How to find us and travel to the RAF Museum London by car, train, bus or bike.
When you need to refuel during your visit why not visit the Wessex Café in Historic Hangars? At this eatery you will find a variety of delicious home-made offerings to suit all tastes and pockets
The Royal Air Force Museum Shop has a gift for everyone one from pocket money toys to specialist aviation gifts.
See what events are planned at our London site
Read the latest news from our London Museum
Lancaster Membership has been designed for people that wish to support the Museum from afar
Lightning Membership has been designed for people that wish to visit the Museum regularly
RADAR Magazine is a thrice yearly publication of the RAF Museum, bringing you access behind-the-scene
Two of our Trustees set out on an epic walk-a-thon in aid of the RAF Museum Centenary Programme.
Join the RAF Museum as a volunteer and create a unique experience for yourself and our visitors. Bring your enthusiasm, knowledge and skills or try something new.
Without you assistance we would not be able to care for our collections, read our varied audiences or share our objects with a world wide audience.
If you have any questions about supporting the RAF Museum, here you can find out how to contact our Fundraising Department.
The Royal Air Force Museum American Foundation ensures that the shared aviation heritage of the USA and the UK is kept alive in the memories of our two great nations.
"...a terrible process is astir. Germany is arming."
Winston Spencer Churchill, July 1934
During the 1920s Churchill had played a major role in developing the infamous ten-year plan which shackled military expenditure to an assumption that Britain would not be involved in a major war in the next ten years. The armed forces and defence industries suffered accordingly.
However when the international situation changed, after Hitler came to power in 1933, his views underwent a dramatic change. He recognised the serious threat and began an unrelenting campaign against British complacency and in particular the failures of the governments led by Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin, and Neville Chamberlain to take the German threat seriously.
Then when Britain did begin to re-arm his arguments were constantly over the scale of that re-armament. The parliamentary battles in the mid 1930s were more often over how much to spend rather than what was needed to provide Britain with sufficiently well equipped armed forces to provide a reasonable prospect of winning any future war with Germany.
Churchill pointed out England's vulnerability to air attack, calling London "the greatest target in the world.", and gave what he termed "Broad Facts", coming from his own intelligence sources.
His constant warnings were a constant source of irritation but they did force an often reluctant government into embarking on ever larger and more comprehensive re-armament programmes.
One should recognise Churchill's demands for re-armament were not intended towards war. He felt the carnage of the First World War was terrible and should not be repeated. © CEB
In 1934 the RAF's most modern fighter was the 220mph two-gun Hawker Fury biplane. © CEB
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