Weekend Update: 60th Anniversary of Operation Sky Help
60 years ago on the 2nd of November 1961, the RAF launched in support of Operation Sky Help following the destruction caused to British Honduras by Hurricane Hattie at the end of October that year. Hurricane Hattie subjected the islands to 140mph winds with gusts...
Weekend Update: 50th Anniversary Since the Disbandment of the Far East Airforce
Dignitaries and Veterans gathered at Staffordshire Arboretum to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Closure of all units in the Far East Airforce on the 31st of October 1971. The Far East Airforce was established in 1948 but originated from the remnants of Air Command,...
Weekend Update: HMS Queen Elizabeth and 617 Sqn Take Part in MPX2021
The UK’s Carrier Force continued their first operational deployment this week by participating in MPX2021, a multi-national maritime partnership exercise involving the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) and the US Navy. The...
Weekend Update: The RAF Continues Globetrotting!
RAF personnel have been deployed to the four corners of the world - as usual - this month judging by the social media and press updates which are being released. The RAF were drafted in earlier in the month to bring COVID vaccines to the British Antartic Survey...
Weekend Update: Disbandment of 27 Sqn RAF Regiment
The RAF waved off another Sqn into the history books this week as 27 Sqn RAF Regiment was disbanded this week at RAF Honington. 27 Sqn was the RAF’s Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear unit which would respond to any incident which required their specialist...
Weekend Update: Disbandment of 5131 Bomb Disposal Squadron and the E3 Sentry Retires at RAF Waddington
The E3 Sentry flew into the history books after its retirement parade was held this week. The “Queen of the Skies,” has served the RAF and NATO for over 30 years and was marked with an emotional and fitting parade at RAF Waddington. Number 8 Sqn will now relocate from...
Weekend Update: 80th Anniversary of the Comet Line and the 81st Anniversary of the Battle of Britain
Although this week marks the 81st Anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a small ceremony this week in Anglet, located in the South-West of France marked the 80th year since the formation of the Comet Line during World War Two. The Comet Line was an evasion network...
Weekend Update: – Protector Prototype (SkyGuardian) Lands at RAF Waddington and 20 Years Since the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
RAF Waddington welcomed a new breed of visitor this week in the form of a pre-production Protector RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) which flew in as part of a capability demonstration. Made by General Atomics, the Protector aircraft, which comes into service in...
Weekend Update: – OP PITTING Concludes – Digby Day and IBCC Wings and Wheels Event
The 31st of August marked the end of OP PITTING; the largest NEO (Non-combatant Evacuation Operation) the RAF has undertaken since the Berlin Airlift in 1948. With the help of 600 troops, air mobility assets and staff from other government departments in Kabul,...
Weekend Update: Appointment of AVM Suraya Marshall to AOC 2 Group
This week marks the first time a female officer has ever been appointed to become the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of an Operational Group during the RAF's 103 history. The RAF announced that Air Commodore Suraya Marshall will be promoted to Air Vice Marshall and...
Fordson 45 Monitor Appeal – What Next?
As you may have read in other posts, the Museum of RAF Firefighting was able to make its fundraising targets, secure the Fordson 45 Monitor from the 493rd Bomb Group Museum Debach Airfield and reveal it to the public at LincsFest last weekend. However, now we have the...
Weekend Update Part 2: LincsFest, Fordson 45 Monitor Reveal and New Partnership Announcement with Scampton Holdings Ltd!
Straight off the back of a very successful day at the Sandtoft Blues and Twos Event, the Museum volunteers assembled once again at the crack of dawn in their finest regalia at the Lincolnshire Showground for LincsFest! One volunteer was so excited about the prospect...
Access Lincs
The Museum are very grateful to James Selby of Access Lincs who did a brilliant job for us yet again last week. Firstly collecting the Museum's latest acquisition from Debach airfield in Suffolk transporting it up to Linclonshire for the big unveiling at lincs...
Museum of RAF Fire Fighting and Scampton Holdings Ltd – The Future of the Museum of RAF Fire Fighting
Scampton, Lincolnshire: The “Museum of RAF Firefighting” today announced a new partnership with Scampton Holdings Ltd, the company that will bid for the RAF Scampton site following news of the disposal by the MoD. This partnership will secure the future of the Museum...
Weekend Update Part 1: Sandtoft Blues and Twos Event and 80 Years Since the First Arctic Convoy Sailings
In an effort to represent the seafaring veterans among the Museum of RAF Firefighting volunteers, this week marked the 80th Anniversary of the first Arctic Convoy sailings during WW2. Not to be mistaken with the Atlantic Convoys, these journeys north, to the ports of...
Weekend Update: Last Operational Flight the E3 Sentry and the First Torpedo Drop from a Poseidon
The first week in August marked a last and first in the RAF history books. Sadly, the RAF marked the return of the E-3 Sentry from its last operational flights supporting Op SHADER over Iraq, Syria and the Queen Elizabeth Carrier. This brings an end to over 30 years...
Obituary: James Houltby
With heavy hearts we are sorry to report the loss of another one of our stalwart volunteers, James Houltby (Jim), recently after a short battle against cancer. Our deepest sympathies go to Carol and the rest of his family. Jim had been with the Museum for around 10...
Weekend Update: The Formation of UK Space Command and the Inaugural Bomber Command Day
This week marks another evolution of the RAF with the formation of UK Space Command at RAF High Wycombe and the International Bomber Command Centre marking the memory of our forebears by launching the first International Bomber Command Day on the 29th of July. This...
Weekend Update: Museum of RAF Firefighting Win Trophy at Classic Land Rover Gathering!
The second day of the Classic Land Rover Gathering at Skillington may have started a bit quieter for the team compared to yesterday but spirits were just as high. Visitor levels started to pickup as the morning progressed and by lunchtime, we were back up to hosting...
First Day of the Classic Land Rover Gathering
Today the team set off at the crack of sparrows to make sure they got to Skillington in time for setup and to allow for any vehicle associated delays. Of course, as we had allowed for the time, the vehicles behaved impeccably and did not miss a beat the whole way down...
Weekend Update: 85th Anniversary of Bomber Command
Bomber Command formed 85 years ago this week and our friends at the International Bomber Command Centre marked the occasion with a commemorative service and a flyover from the BBMF's Dakota. Being situated in Bomber County, a.k.a Lincolnshire, our volunteers are never...
Weekend Update: 50 Years of Puma Operations in the RAF
For the lucky among you, last week also saw a significant anniversary marked by a spectacular flypast by 10 aircraft across England – 50 years of the Puma Helicopter in the RAF. An impressive milestone considering most helicopters want to shake themselves to pieces...
Weekend Update: Thirty Years of E-3 Sentry Operations at RAF Waddington
July 1991 marked the arrival of the E-3 Sentry into the inventory of the RAF and commencement of operations at RAF Waddington, where the aircraft have now graced Lincolnshire skies for 30 years. According to RAF Waddington's Facebook page, it is now the longest served...
Weekend Update: Armed Forces Day 2021
This year's Armed Forces Day has seen the team reassemble at Scunthorpe to continue the massive job of adding each artifact and asset to the museum inventory. As the picture suggests, this was a brain intensive task and, as with all repacking activity, head scratching...
Can We Save the World’s Last Known 45 Monitor?
Museum of RAF Firefighting Volunteers and Veterans Rally Together to Secure the Sole Surviving 1945 Fordson WOT 1 “45 Monitor” – But We Need Your Help! The Museum of RAF Firefighting are proud to announce that the volunteers and Veterans of the museum have rallied...
Weekend Update – Fathers Day 2021
Whilst some of the country are undoubtedly nursing some monstrous hangovers from last nights Scotland vs England Derby in the Euros, a small part of the Fire Museum team lined up at Scunthorpe to take on the latest round of tasks that had been identified since last...
Potential Show Dates for 2021: The Museum gets on the Road!
We are delighted to be in the position to announce it is the Museum's intention to attend a few select shows during the Summer in and around Lincolnshire. Although we are in storage it still imperative to keep the name of the museum out in the public domain and we...
Weekend Update: 12th June 2021 – Her Majesty the Queen’s 95th Birthday
First and foremost, the whole of the Museum of RAF Firefighting would like to pass on their best wishes to Her Majesty the Queen on her Official Birthday this weekend. This week we gratefully received the support of G.H By-Products (a.k.a: A. Hughes of Skellingthorpe)...
Weekend Update: The Start of the Euros 2020
This weekend's work started off with the unexpected delivery of pictures, magazines, national service pin and patches from the Gosnall family after Albert's recent passing. The museum were very grateful to receive the items which were forwarded on and they have been...
Weekend Update – 60 Years Since the First Solo Engined Flight Across the North Pole
This weekend marks 70 years since the first flight across the North Pole in a single engine aircraft by Capt. Charles Blair (USAF). The plane in question was the venerable P51 Mustang which flew the 3,375 miles from Bardavoss, Norway to Fairbanks, Alaska in 10 hours...