Imperial War Museum – London

So much is crammed into the relatively small Imperial War Museum in London, UK.  Particularly the grand atrium which has everything on display from tanks to aircraft and midget submarines (mainly from World War One and World War Two)! My Uncle Ed and I visited there in June 2012. It is an impressive place to explore for a few hours and is free of charge.

Grand Atrium

Grand Atrium

Within the grand atrium there are a number of aircraft with many suspended from the ceiling. These include a Sopwith Camel, Royal Aircraft Factory RE8, Supermarine Spitfire, North American P-51D Mustang, Focke-Wulf FW-190A-8 and a Heinkel He-162 Volksjäger (“Peoples Fighter“). There is also a German World War Two V-1 “Flying Bomb” and V-2 rocket on display.

Sopwith Camel

RE8

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1A

North American P-51D Mustang

Focke Wulf FW-190A-8

Heinkel He-162

V-1

V-2

There are a number of very unique items including the Brough Superior SS100 motorbike T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia” 1888-1935) was riding the day he had a serious high-speed accident that led to his death several days later. Others include a World War Two German Jagdpanther (“Hunting Panther“) tank destroyer, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery’s (“Monty” 1887-1976) command tank (an M3 Grant from his North African campaign against the German Afrika Korps) and parts of the Messerschmitt Bf-110 that Nazi politician and Deputy Führer Rudolph Hess (1894-1987) was flying and bailed out of over Scotland when he went on a strange and unauthorised World War Two peace negotiation mission in 1941. Hess was captured and spent the rest of his life in prison in the UK and later in Germany at Spandau prison (his mental state was an obvious issue throughout this process).

Lawrence of Arabia’s Brough Superior SS100

Jagdpanther

Monty’s M3 Grant command tank

Fuselage remains of the Bf-110 flown by Rudolph Hess

One of the engines from the Bf-110 flown by Rudolph Hess