 LancasterNX611 in front of the museum's buildings (2007) | |
  Location within Lincolnshire | |
| Established | 1988 (1988) |
|---|---|
| Location | East Kirkby,Lincolnshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°08′21″N0°0′5″W / 53.13917°N 0.00139°W /53.13917; -0.00139 |
| Type | Militaryaviation museum |
| Visitors | 40,000 per year[1] |
| Director | Fred and Harold Panton |
| Website | www |
TheLincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre is an aviation museum inEast Kirkby,Lincolnshire, England. It was opened to the public in 1988 by Lincolnshire farmers Fred and Harold Panton, as a memorial to their older brother, Christopher Whitton Panton, who was killed on operations during theSecond World War.
Pilot Officer Christopher Panton served as a Flight Engineer withRoyal Canadian Air Force433 Squadron, based atRAF Skipton-on-Swale. On the night of 30/31 March 1944, he was flying inHandley Page HalifaxHX272, one of 782 heavy bombers taking part in a raid on the German city ofNuremberg. This attack, known asRAF Bomber Command's "Black Friday", would become notorious for the high losses incurred – 108 British aircraft were lost, 665 aircrew were killed and 159 taken prisoner.[2][Note 1] One of those aircraft wasHX272, which caught fire and exploded after being attacked by anight fighter overFriesen, Germany. Christopher Panton was among the five crew killed, the remaining three survived to become prisoners of war.[3]
By the early 1970s, Christopher's younger brothers – Fred and Harold Panton – were successful poultry farmers. They became interested in acquiring a Second World War aircraft as a tribute to him and managed to obtain an option to purchaseAvro Lancaster Mk VII,NX611, then serving as agate guardian atRAF Scampton. The aircraft's purchase had the condition that it remain at Scampton until 1983. In 1981, they bought a part of the former Royal Air Force airfield,RAF East Kirkby, to be a site for the aircraft when it became available.[3] The Lancaster was moved there in 1987 and has been there ever since. Other exhibits have also been acquired and historic aircraft with other owners are housed there, but the Lancaster remains the museum's focus.
The airfield was originally built in 1943 as a Bomber Command Station and was used by bothNo. 57 Squadron RAF andNo. 630 Squadron RAF from 1943 until the end of the war. It had four years of post–war use byUnited States Air Force for Air Rescue squadrons[4] before military use ceased in 1958. The airfield was sold in 1964. Much of the runway is still intact today and it is used by local farmers as hard standing. The control tower has been recorded as being haunted.[5]
In 2008, the museum opened a part–grass, part–concrete unlicensed airfield, allowing aircraft to land there with prior permission.[6] ThePrime Meridian passes through the site; its position is marked by an inscribed monument. There is also a monument to the airmen from 57 and 630 Squadron who were lost during the war.
The centre's main exhibit isAvro Lancaster Mk VII,NX611, namedJust Jane after apopular wartime comic character.
The Lancaster was built byAustin Aero Ltd at theirCofton Hackett Works just south ofBirmingham in April 1945.[7] It was intended to be used against Japan as part of the RAF'sTiger Force. However, the surrender of Japan meant it never saw action. It spent several years in storage before becoming one of 54 Lancasters sold to the French government.[3] It entered service withFrench Naval Aviation and used for maritime patrol and air–sea rescue work. The upper turret was removed, and radar was fitted as well as the equipment to carry and drop anAirborne lifeboat.[3]
The Lancaster was operated by French forces over the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and later the Pacific after being redeployed toNew Caledonia (its service in the far East included bombing raids during theFirst Indochina War).[3] In 1964, the French donated it to the Historical Aircraft Preservation Society, who flew it back to the United Kingdom and subsequently flew it for several years. However, the society could not afford the aircraft's operating costs and it was put up for auction in 1972. The Panton brothers attempted, but failed, to buy it as a memorial to their brother. Instead, it became agate guardian atRAF Scampton[7] (the auction winner lent it to the RAF in exchange for them transporting and maintaining the now–grounded aircraft). The Pantons were able to subsequently buy it, with the condition that it remain at Scampton as gate guardian until 1983. In the end, it remained there until 1987.[3]
In 1987,NX611 was brought to East Kirkby. It was given the nameJust Jane and a restoration programme begin in 1992, with theRolls-Royce Merlin engines being restored to running condition. The Lancaster is used for regular taxi runs, which raises some of the money needed to maintain and restore it.[3] In 2011, it was used in the filming of theDoctor Who episode,The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.[8]
Restoration ofJust Jane to flying status is an ongoing project, which is to soon be completed with the centre acquiring the last of four airworthy Merlin engines at the end of 2012. As of the end of 2021, the aircraft was still undergoing restoration.[9]
The centre also houses the cockpit of anEnglish Electric CanberraWH957, and the wreckage ofSupermarine Spitfire VbBL655; it crashed in July 1943, killing its Canadian pilot, Flying Officer Norman Alexander Watt.[10] There are two aircraft undergoing restoration to static condition, aPercival Proctor and aHandley Page Hampden. There is also a taxiableDe Havilland Mosquito HJ711 and an airworthyDakota RFH4H7 called "Drag Em Oot". The centre acquired aB-25 Mitchell Bomber 44-29366 in 2022.[11] The B-25 and other museum aircraft were featured in ground scenes for the seriesAll Creatures Great and Small which filmed RAF training scenes at the Centre.[12]
The centre's collection includes twelve Second World War-era, RAF ground vehicles[13] and a concrete–filled, practiceUpkeep bomb (bouncing bomb).
The centre also owns a60 cm, German anti-aircraft searchlight with its generator, which are in working order.[14]
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