Flat areas of land in the New Forest region were highly suitable for creating airfields, especially as they were situated near the south coast, making them a useful base for aircraft operating over Europe. During World War One, a Royal Flying Corps training airfield – RFC Beaulieu – existed at East Boldre. This was closed in 1919 and RAF Beaulieu was built opposite in 1942, using brick rubble brought in from nearby bombed areas such as Southampton, for use in the runway and perimeter track foundations.
During the Second World War there were 12 airfields in the New Forest (including 9 built during the war). Opened on 8 August 1942, Beaulieu became used as the base for a variety of aircraft (bomber and fighter squandrons) needed to support rapidly developing theatres of war – initially by the Royal Air Force (2nd Tactical Air Force), then later US Army Air Forces (USAAF) in 1944.
On D-Day, P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers of 365th Fighter Group (known as ‘The Hellhawks’) took off from RAF Beaulieu to divebomb and attack German gun positions and communication hubs in Normandy in preparation for Operation Overlord, to prevent the Germans halting the advance of the troops landing on the D-Day beaches.
On 7 September 1944 the airfield was transferred back to the RAF, and later in January 1945, control was passed to Flying Training Command.
Throughout the war, agents and resistance fighters from the Special Operations Executive were flown into occupied Europe – as some of their training was performed locally around Beaulieu, they were frequently transported by planes from Beaulieu airfield to Europe. Around 9 of the larger houses around Beaulieu were used by the S.O.E. as a ‘finishing school’ to give the agents a chance to practise their skills before being deployed overseas.
After the war, RAF Beaulieu was used for experimental flying and as a stand-by airfiled, before it was closed in 1959.
Today only a small number of structures remain standing: most were sold off and removed, or simply dismantled, but the remains of the airfield are on heathland managed by the Forestry Commission.
Virtually all the complex is accessible on open heathland and within woodland, although some elements are now on private land including the Handcraft Huts at Dilton and the WAAF air raid shelters.
The only remaining substantial length of runway from the old airfield at Beaulieu Heath is currently used by a local model aircraft flying club.
RAF Beaulieu is located next to the village of East Boldre, about 2 miles west of the village of Beaulieu and 5 miles east-northeast of Lymington (and approx 12 miles from Southampton via the A33). A car park is situated at Beaulieu Heath, and the nearest train stations are Brockenhurst, Lymington Town and Beaulieu Road.
]]>Darwin, the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, played a crucial role in the country’s involvement in World War Two. At the start of the war, 10,000 allied troops were sent to the city to defend the nation’s northern coastline from Japanese air attacks. This number would increase to a record of 110,000 troops by 1943. In 1942 Japanese warplanes bombed Darwin, killing at least 243 people, and the Northern Territory was subjected to a further 62 air attacks before 1944.
The museum itself is housed in the original 1940s gun emplacements that were built to defend the city against attack by sea or air. These guns are still in situ and visitors can encircle them as they stroll through the exhibition.
The new and improved Defence of Darwin Experience is an interactive, multimedia exhibition that details Darwin’s history and its role in World War Two. Originally created as an artillery museum, the exhibition features vehicles, uniforms, firearms, images, and paintings alongside artillery pieces.
As well as the exhibitions, it is possible to explore the bunkers that were used by personnel in World War Two as well as military vehicles left in their original positions. As the forefront of Australia’s homeland military action, Darwin was also the base for American forces attempting to free Manila and defend Guinea from Japanese forces.
A small but rapidly expanding and improving museum, the Darwin Military Museum gives the most detailed and personal introduction to the impact of World Wat Two on the Australian mainland. Although focused on WWII, the museum also holds information and articles relating to the entire military history of the Northern Territory.
From the centre of Darwin, the museum is a 12 minute drive via E Point Rd and Alec Fong Lim Dr, or is a scenic half an hour cycle via National Highway 1 and Alec Fong Lim Dr.
]]>The Battle of Britain was a military campaign in World War Two during which the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the UK against Nazi-Germany’s large-scale air attacks. The battle is largely recognised as having lasted between 10 July and 31 October 1940 and overlaps the night bombardments known as the Blitz (lasting 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941).
From July 1940, the German Luftwaffe aimed to destroy coastal shipping and ports, and later shifted to attacking RAF airfields. Eventually, the Luftwaffe targets shifted from British military supplies to terror bombing politically important areas and civilians.
The museum itself started as a private collection of relics from the Battle of Britain belonging to Mike Llewellyn. As a child, Mike and his brother would play at Gravesend’s old airfield and would collect bits of old planes; his father also found the wreck of an aircraft in the Thames Estuary at Allhallows.
Mike would later travel about Kent finding other wreckages to include in the museum, which opened in 1982 at Hawkinge airfield.
Open from 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday, the Kent Battle of Britain Museum is the largest private museum in the world dedicated to the 1940 Battle of Britain. The largest building is the Stuart-Buttle Hangar, named for RAF pilot Squadron Leader Stuart-Buttle.
The hangar contains full sized replicas of Hurricane and Spitfire planes built for ‘The Battle of Britain’ 1968 film, filmed at Hawkinge. Inside you can also see the iconic 15 Rolls Royce Merlin engines used in the planes, recovered from crash sites, as well as 11 vehicles on display such as a Ford ambulance and armoured cars.
Building 4 is an original 1940 Flight Dispersal Hut, formerly used by active squadrons during the battle. Today, it houses items from Hitler’s ‘Vergeltungswaffen’ or Revenge Programme, such as a replica V-I Flying Bomb known as ‘Doodle Bugs’.
Beyond the replicas and recovered artefacts, there is plenty of information alongside items on display at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum. When you’ve finished looking around, you can also stop at the cafe.
Kent Battle of Britain Museum is found in Hawkinge, Kent, between the coast town of Folkestone and Canterbury, just off the A20. The museum is a 10 minute drive from Folkestone and just under half an hour from Canterbury. There is parking on site.
]]>Biggin Hill airfield was originally opened by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War, originally to conduct wireless experiments in 1916 but in 1917 the RFC transferred there and established it as part of the London Air Defence Area. Nearby grounds were also requisitioned for use as a radio transmitter and fighter ground control station. The station was responsible for defending the capital against attacks by Zeppelins and Gotha bombers.
The aerodrome was extended after the end of World War One and used by a number of experimental units, working on instrument design, ground-based anti-aircraft defences, and night flying – closing briefly for reconstruction and expanstion work.
Britain launched its Home Defence Force in May 1936 with Biggin Hill coming under Fighter Command. Biggin Hill was so successful in establishing ground-to-air and air-to-air communication, it was seen as the perfect place to continue important work developing radar.
During the Second World War the airfield was one of the commanding bases for the Battle of Britain, with Spitfires and Hurricanes from a variety of squadrons based there. Over the course of the war, fighters based at Biggin Hill claimed 1,400 enemy aircraft, at the cost of the lives of 453 Biggin Hill based aircrew.
Due to its importance to London’s defence, the airfield itself became a target, and was attacked 12 times between August 1940 and January 1941. The worst attack killed 39 people. Despite the heavy damage the Luftwaffe inflicted on it, Biggin Hill remained operational throughout the Battle of Britain.
After the war, Biggin Hill was briefly used by the RAF’s Transport Command, then became a base for regular and reserve fighter squadrons, flying Spitfires, Meteors and Hunters. In 1958 Biggin Hill became the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre for the RAF, ceasing to be an operational RAF station.
From 1956, much of the civilian light aviation from the London Airport at Croydon relocated to Biggin, making Biggin Hill a joint civilian and military airport, though mainly civilian as only occasional military flying took place from then on.
The RAF left Biggin Hill in 1992, when its Selection Centre moved to RAF Cranwell, though a small enclave on the airport still retains that designation.
Today, the RAF’s 75 year presence there – and the 454 allied aircrew who gave their lifes in the Second World War on operations from the Biggin Hill Sector – are commemorated in St George’s Royal Air Force Chapel of Remembrance, whose entrance is flanked by full-scale replicas of a Hurricane and Spitfire. Special commemorative services are held on Battle of Britain Sunday and Remembrance Sunday. The Chapel is open daily from 10-4pm and visitors are welcome.
In January 2019, the Biggin Hill Memorial Museum opened, on the same site of the chapel. The museum tells the story of Britain’s most famous fighter station through the personal experiences of those who served there and the community that supported them. It also holds regular exhibitions, talks and learning events for both adults and children. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm throughout the year.
Biggin Hill airport itself is now a dedicated business aviation airport and boasts a collection of thriving lightplane clubs and charter companies.
Biggin Hill airport is in the London Borough of Bromley, located 14 miles south-southeast of Central London. If travelling by car, take the A233 off the M25 motorway. Alternatively, Biggin Hill is a 20 minute drive (8.6 miles) from Croydon, via the A212.
]]>On 7 December 1941, Japanese forces attacked the US military base of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Fearing US intervention against Japanese imperial expansion in Asia, Japan launched the attack, hoping to decimate America’s naval forces in the Pacific. In total, 2,043 Americans were killed, including 68 civilians.
19 US Navy ships were also destroyed during the bombardment, including 8 battleships. Many of the memorials found in the Pearl Habor National Memorial today are dedicated to the lives lost onboard these vessels.
In 1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the construction of a memorial to the sunken USS Arizona. The public memorial was initially overseen by the US Navy, but was handed over to the National Park Service in 1980.
The NPS’ authority was later expanded, in 2018, to encompass the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, the USS Utah memorial and the USS Oklahoma memorial, as well as various other significant sites.
Today, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the Pacific War and to commemorating those killed during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Visitors to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial can visit a range of different sites and monuments. The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center is a good place to start for those keen to discover the tragic history of the attack as well as the wider conflict in the Pacific.
The USS Arizona memorial is dedicated to the 1,177 individuals who died during the bombardment of the ship. It floats about the wreck of the Arizona, which can be seen through a hole in the floor of the memorial.
The site also contains memorials to the USS Utah and the USS Oklahoma, as well as the mooring quays F6, F7 and F8 and a number of old officers’ bungalows on Ford Island.
Pearl Harbor National Memorial is the most visited location on the island of Oahu.
Pearl Harbor National Memorial is northwest of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. By car, set your GPS for Pearl Harbor Visitor Centre. From Honolulu Airport, take H1-West or HI-92 West and then HI-99 W. Turn left on to Arizona Memorial Place, and head towards the Visitor Centre car park.
Alternatively, take the number 20 bus or number 42 bus from Waikiki to the Visitor Centre.
]]>The museum is located on the historic Ford Island, a 441-acre island in the middle of Pearl Harbour. The museum thus focuses on the fateful day – 7 December 1941 – which effectively forced America to join World War II, when Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the US military base. As well as the devastating level of human casualty, the base contained some of the largest ships of the US Pacific Fleet, as well as patrol and scout planes which filled the hangars and airfield.
The museum was founded as part of a non-profit in 1999 to develop an aviation museum in Hawaii, and as a wider vision to rebirth Ford Island. The first section of the museum, hangar 37, opened with the museum in 2006, and features a large proportion of the museum’s static exhibits. The hangars themselves also show damage from the attack.
Visitors begin by viewing a film about the attack on Pearl Harbour, before seeing a series of exhibitions ranging from photographs and dioramas to aircrafts. The Pacific Aviation Museum houses numerous aircrafts including light civilian planes, a B-25B Mitchell, a P-40 fighter, and a SBD Dauntless dive bomber. There are even flight simulations, allowing visitors to ’experience’ being a World War II pilot.
The Pacific Aviation Museum also goes beyond World War II, looking at planes that served during the Korean War, such as an F-86 Sabre and a MiG-15.
The museum is heavily involved with community efforts ranging from the preservation of historical landmarks to educational tours throughout Hawaii.
Visitors to the museum gain access via a tour bus from the Pearl Harbour Historic Sites on Halawa Landing. From the centre of Honolulu, the museum is reachable by car in 20 minutes via l-H 201 W. Equally, it is a scenic hour-long cycle via Dillingham Blvd.
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The sites provide an all-encompassing insight into the conflict in the Pacific in the Second World War, from the attack on Pearl Harbor, to the US entry into World War Two and beyond.
On 7 December 1941 at 7:55am, two waves of hundreds of Japanese aircraft launched their deadly attack on the US Pacific Fleet moored at Pearl Harbour on Oahu Island, Hawaii.
The raid only lasted about two hours, but its effects were devastating. Over 2,400 Americans were killed, with another 1,178 injured (under 100 Japanese were killed), 5 battleships were sunk, 16 more damaged and 188 aircraft had been destroyed.
The sites honour the Pacific Theater engagement of the United States during the Second World War.
Visitors can see and experience several of the most important sites from this period, including the USS Arizona Memorial, Ford Island, USS Missouri, the USS Oklahoma Memorial, and the Pacific Aviation Museum.
Besides the site in Oahu, other branches of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument are located in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and in Newell, California (Tule Lake Unit).
The sites are located in a variety of different locations. From Oahu, the best to visit is the USS Arizona Memorial. It’s easy to get to via public transport as buses 20 and 42 stop just outside the park.
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