RAF Air Defence Radar Museum

BRB just going to spend the day changing all of our interpretation...

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "My uncle invented radar! Can you believe it?"

5 Sept

5th September 1940. For 58 days the RAF had been pummelled by Luftwaffe raids on airfields and aircraft factories, suffering 350 aircrew casualties but destroying some 600 Luftwaffe aircraft. The following evening Home Forces issued alert No.3 "Invasion probable within 3 days".

19 Aug

For some visitors a visit to any attraction can cause anxiety about what to expect when they arrive, so to help our volunteers and work experience students have been working on a new sensory map. To pick one up when you visit please ask at reception and we'd love to hear your feedback.

19 Aug

The map points to areas that can have conflicting noise or flashing lights, that can have bright lights or are kept dark, and those spaces that can get busy at times, so visitors can navigate the museum comfortably.

15 Aug

Today we mark the 81st anniversary of the end of the Second World War and remember all those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in that terrible conflict.

15 Aug

The date is recorded in the grumbling diary entry for Peter Harrild, a member of RAF AMES 117 unit, that used a mobile Gee-H blind bombing and radio navigation system and had moved with the advancing Allied forces into Germany.

15 Aug

For many the day came with relief and celebrations, but for others, including POWs it would be many months before they would be able to return home to their families.

14 Aug

Today is the Panavia Tornado's 52nd birthday! On this day in 1974 the first took to the air, and through several variants continued to serve until 2019. The clip below is taken from the 1985 film Fighter Controller. You can experience a Tornado at the museum by climbing into the cockpit of our F3

youtube.comThe Amazing history of the Airfix Defiant N3333YouTube video by Wingleader Films

1 Aug

We were very pleased to show aviation artist Mark Postlethwaite around the museum recently, as he researched a short film about the specific Defiant that Airfix adopted for their model kit. You can watch Mark's moving tribute to an aircraft and her crew here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xagq...

26 July

An amazing day celebrating all things SR-71 at the American Air Museum at IWM Duxford today, meeting the real crews, demonstrating the heat resistant strength of the Blackbird's materials and a bit of friendly competition between the IWM volunteers and the RAF cadets on the reaction test!

26 July

Many thanks to all the organisers and volunteers who gave up their Sunday to help out, and look out for a new model Blackbird, signed by the crews, at the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum soon.

12 July

Whilst we tire of the AI slop filling social media (including from some high-profile museums), it's our pleasure to share this beautiful montage of our museum created by talented work experience student Daisy last week. The art shows some of her favourite objects in the museum, see Alt text.

23 June

It's worth us repeating that we are probably the coolest museum in Norfolk right now! The Cold War room in particular is the best place to be at the moment, not only for the wonderful talks delivered by our expert volunteers, but it is also pleasantly cool in here!

23 June

In light of the hot weather we will restrict the cafe menu to avoid our team from melting, have plenty of cold drinks and can refill water bottles. Please do not bring dogs with you to the museum, we have no shaded parking and even our shaded areas in the garden are going to be warm this week.

23 June

Our volunteers are spread around the museum, if you do see anyone in distress please let them or the reception team know. Museum open 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday, with first talk in the Second World War room at 10:30am, followed by Cold War at 11:30am.

6 June

Today marks the 82nd anniversary of Operation Overlord - otherwise popularly known as 'D-Day'. Here at the museum we have an exhibition of the little-known stories from that day in our Gallery, featuring the men and women who had vital roles in the successful landings and the ensuing battles inland.

6 June

One of these was Geoff Larkby, a BBC engineer who found himself recruited into the RAF to help establish sites (such as ours) before setting up the 3 Fighter Direction Tenders. These ships were floating radar stations to coordinate the thousands of aircraft and warn of incoming air raids.

6 June

Geoff was given the privilege to pick his own motor launch '1268' to travel between the ships and shore to prepare and maintain the equipment in Scotland before they moved South to take position off the French coast on the 6th June. We're grateful to Geoff's family for the information and artefacts

17,340 a year, 578 a week - that's how many hours our volunteers put in to our museum in 2025. Without them we wouldn't even be able to open, let alone give an excellent experience to our visitors.

Winning the King's Award for Voluntary Service last year was a fitting achievement to recognise their dedication, skills and experience they put into our place, and this Volunteer's Week we celebrate everything they do.

getinvolvednorfolk.org.ukVolunteering opportunities in NorfolkDiscover volunteering opportunities in Norfolk with our free volunteering platform Get InVOLved Norfolk

To find out more about volunteering at the museum and other Norfok sites see here: www.getinvolvednorfolk.org.uk Or for more information about volunteering in general find out more here: volunteersweek.org

RAF Air Defence Radar Museum reposted

langhamdome.bsky.social

@langhamdome.bsky.social

We are now open 5 days a week.

@iainballantyne.bsky.social

30 May

The RAF Air Defence Radar Museum has dropped out of the White House concert

RAF Air Defence Radar Museum reposted

Julie McDowall

@nuclearwar.bsky.social

26 May

Happy Threads Day. May we see many more.

RAF Air Defence Radar Museum reposted

Iain Ballantyne

24 May

'The Battle of the Denmark Strait: Clash of the Titans that Lasted Eight Minutes'. The opening engagement of the famous Bismarck Action on this day in 1941 during WW2 was a brutally short fight that saw great loss of life in a very short space of time. Article www.bismarckbattle.com/battle-of-de...

23 May

Perfectly timed for #ColdWarWeek we were joined by Burkhard and Dieter Dreyer, German exchange officers who served in the RAF in the '70s and '80s at West Drayton and Neatishead respectively. You can hear Dieter describe his service here thanks to WISE Archive: www.wisearchive.co.uk/story/the-ge...

16 May

This week sees the beginning of #ColdWarWeek and we've been honoured to be joined by not only Elton John but also Bernie Taupin (if you squint a bit)! #ColdWarHistory #coldwarweek

16 May

From Tuesday to Saturday you can join in with our 1980s scavenger hunts and find our celebrity bears. There's a temporary exhibition about RAF Neatishead through the decade featuring the music and TV shows, and you can find some very special artefacts and toys from 1980s homes.

16 May

Our Cold War and Second World War talks take place every day, and you can leap into the cockpits of our Tornado and Jaguar fighter aircraft. On Saturday you might find even more volunteers dressed from the '80s... You can find out more about our 1980s exhibition here bit.ly/493hpkN

7 May

We love having great reviews left on TripAdvisor and Google, or in our visitor book. But we should also say we'd rather you didn't touch our amazing staff...

1 May

We're very proud to have received the Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award 2026! Thanks to all of our visitors for writing such wonderful reviews, and a big thanks to the volunteers who dedicate their time and skills in engaging with visitors and creating this special museum.

17 Apr

Inspiration please! We're planning a small exhibition as part of Cold War Week in May. What 5 things come into your head when you think of the 1980's? I'll start with my 5, (I was born 1984) Dire Straits, Fireman Sam, crispy pancakes, birthday cakes in the shape of a train, Greenclaws.

6 Apr

This week we've got more Easter egg hunts, talks in the Second World War and Cold War Ops room, cockpits to explore and our ever-popular Lego room.You can find out more about the Bloodhound system - even the chance to push the big red button. Open until Saturday this week,10am-5pm each day.

20 Mar

It's International Day of Happiness, and we're very happy to announce we'll be reopening tomorrow Saturday 21st March! Some of you will be familiar with the Sector Clock - if not come and find out from our Second World War team. But do you know why adverts for clocks show them at 10:10?

10 Mar

Not long now until the museum reopens for the 2026 season, and make sure you're following us to stay up to date on our latest events! From 21st March step back into our award-winning, volunteer-run attraction that explores the history of the people and technology involved in the UK's air defences.

radarmuseum.co.ukHome | RAF Air Defence Radar MuseumExperience the country’s only original Cold War Operations Room, which formed a critical link in the RAF’s Command and Control System in the years following WW2.

10 Mar

With interactive exhibits, real jet fighter cockpits and volunteer talks throughout the day, this is history brought to life by real people telling real stories. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm, from 21st March 2026 to 14th November 2026. Tickets last 12 months from date of booking

8 Mar

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women #iwd and who better to feature than Group Captain Joan Hopkins from 'Fighter Controller' a BBC 1985 documentary about RAF Neatishead and its Cold War role.

@crusaderproject.bsky.social

8 Mar

Known as “Auntie Joan” and well-respected by everyone who worked with her and by many others who came into contact with her, Joan became the first female officer to command an operational station in 1982. Joan would retire as an Air Commodore and passed away in 2010.

RAF Air Defence Radar Museum reposted

The Crusader Project

27 Feb

On 27/28 February 1942 the British executed Operation BITING, raiding a radar installation at Bruneval to gain insights into German radar technology. In is one of the forgotten little episodes of the desert war, they tried the same thing in December 1941 at Benina, but seem to have failed.

rommelsriposte.comBefore Bruneval – Chasing Radar in LibyaBackground 28 February 1942 was the day of Operation BITING, the Bruneval raid (see this link), in which a combined operation managed to obtain German radar equipment from a Würzburg site, which le…

20 Feb

It's been wonderful to see so many visitors today, especially so many new people! We'll have more science activities tomorrow from 10am, and you can get yourself one of our new badges to show everyone you enjoyed your visit!

13 Feb

The museum won't be open tomorrow, we'll be at the Forum, Norwich for the norwichsciencefestival.co.uk But we haven't forgotten Valentine's Day, see, we found this lovely heart shaped plotting counter for you. Does anyone know why it is a different shape to the regular arrow shapes?

11 Feb

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science By 1944 the UK's radar stations and filter rooms were largely operated by the WAAF. Chain Home owed greatly to Dr Mary Taylor who carried out the calculations for Robert Watson-Watt when first experimenting with radar. (see Alt text)

norwichsciencefestival.co.ukNorwich Science FestivalNorwich Science Festival is an epic celebration of all things science, which takes place every year, throughout Norwich and at The Forum, during the February Half Term!

7 Feb

Just a week to go before the Norwich Science Festival norwichsciencefestival.co.uk You can come and see us and loads of other great organisations Saturday 14th February at the Forum, running activities throughout the day, with a special ticketed quiet hour starting from 9:30am-10:30am.

30 Jan

The Hunt for Red Sausage

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30 Jan

One from the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum archives: January 1992 Wing Commander Knapman explains a sortie to Mr Bert Edwards. Mr Edwards was the winner of a local radio auction, with the prize being the chance to control an RAF fighter aircraft from RAF Neatishead.

@atomicanalyst.bsky.social

30 Jan

We may have to demote Mr Knapman to Flight Lieutenant as it could just be a trick of the light reflecting off those glasses that has given him an extra stripe...

RAF Air Defence Radar Museum reposted

Stephen Schwartz

28 Jan

At this moment 40 yrs ago, the Space Shuttle Challenger’s external fuel tank exploded and the shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, killing all 7 astronauts aboard. Investigators later found failure of O-ring seals in the right solid rocket booster was the cause.