Royal Air Force Museum - RAF Cosford
The museum at Cosford opened on 1 May 1979, initially exhibiting airframes which had been used for technical training at RAF Cosford. In the following years additional aircraft were added to the collection and in 1980 it was agreed that the British Airways Collection be displayed at Cosford. On 21 June 1998 four additional galleries were opened, housing art, temporary exhibitions and other aviation subjects. 13 May 2002 saw the relocation of the RAF's Conservation Centre from Cardington, Bedfordshire to Cosford. The Centre was opened by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham and it is named after him.
The Cosford site includes several developmental aircraft such as those that led to the English Electric Lightning and the second prototype of the BAC TSR-2.
In 2006 British Airways (BA) ceased to finance the BA Collection, after which the RAF Museum did not take on the costs of maintaining the aircraft. Several of the jet airliners have subsequently been broken up, including the only Boeing 707 that was preserved in the UK, a Vickers VC-10 and a Hawker Siddeley Trident.
