Gloucestershire has a rich aviation heritage dating back to the early 1900s.
Aviation Heritage
No admission charge
We thrive on donations
Gloucestershire’s History
In the early 1900s there were aircraft and aero engine design and build activities in Gloucester. Cheltenham based H.H. Martyn architectural works company produced wooden structural parts for aircraft. Then in 1917, with the needs of World War 1, it combined with the Airco aircraft company to form the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company, later renamed the Gloster Aircraft Company (GAC), producing a large number of different types of aircraft over the next 46 years in Cheltenham and Gloucester.
International aircraft races were entered, speed records broken, and thousands of aircraft were produced in World War 2, significantly aiding the country’s war effort. In co-operation with Sir Frank Whittle, the first Allied flying jet aircraft was designed and built at GAC, and GAC produced the Gloster Meteor, the only jet aircraft that participated in combat in World War 2.
The Battle of Britain
Gloucestershire’s 501 squadron played a significant part in the Battle of Britain, defending the country against German aircraft. There were many RAF bases in the county. Little Rissington housed the Central Flying School after the war, and the Red Arrows was first based there in the 1960s. Besides GAC, the county has had a rich heritage of other aviation companies such as Rotol (propellers), Smiths (aircraft electronics), Dowty (landing gear, propellers etc), Parnall aircraft company based in Yate, and very many small aviation companies. Looking to the future, activities are ongoing in the county developing zero carbon dioxide emission aircraft.
Aeromodelling
The Museum also enjoys representation at many modelling shows in the county and beyond where those Jet Age volunteers proficient in aeromodelling ensure that the aircraft in Jet Age Museum, the home of the Gloucestershire Aviation Collection, are appropriately recognised as the inspiration for many of their models.
1980s Gloucestershire Aviation Collection
A number of people were so enthused by the county’s aviation heritage that they formed the Gloucestershire Aviation Collection in the mid-1980s. The collection was based at the old GAC factory site, and acquired a number of historic aircraft, maintaining and refurbishing them. This evolved into the Jet Age Museum which was moved to the current site next to Gloucestershire Airport at Staverton in 2013.
Restoration Workshops
The museum has an ongoing number of projects, currently undergoing refurbishment within its workshop, in order to continue to preserve and make available to the public examples of our aviation heritage.
These include a Typhoon project to create an interactive display, the restoration of a Gloster Gladiator airframe and refurbishment of a Meteor NF14 airframe.
The picture shows our volunteers working to refurbish the NF 14 Meteor airframe within the museums workshop.
Archives
The museum has its own archives containing many thousands of items related to the history of the county’s aviation, including about people who worked in the industry. The items include documents, photos, films, technical drawings, manuals, artistic works, aircrew clothing, etc. GAC’s chief photographer, Russell Adams, took thousands of photos via many thousands of glass plate negatives which are held in the archives.
The archives database can be searched using the advanced search facility on the National Archives link.
For reasons of data protection and copyright, this National Archives copy of the database only contains a subset of the full information held for each database record. Searching can be on any combination of any words. However, this can be made easier by searching for words in the lists of keywords, keywords link. Queries about what is held in the archives or in the museum generally are welcome. They can be made by contacting the museum via the website.
Plan Your Visit
Opening Hours: Standard hours are Saturday – Sunday 10am – 4pm. View additional days.
Admission: There is no charge for admission to the Museum site, to the building or any exhibits, but donations to help meet our running costs and to fund our expansion plans are most definitely welcome! Click here to donate.
Find us: Meteor Business Park, Cheltenham Road East, Gloucester, GL2 9QL
