The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is the national museum of twentieth century conflict and Duxford Airfield became part of IWM in 1976. It is a former RAF station which is a significant heritage site in its own right, dating from the First World War and little has changed since 1940 when it played a major role in the Battle of Britain.
There are over 30 listed buildings on the site, including three First World War hangars. The museum houses one of the finest collections of historic aircraft in the world, as well as other important military exhibits. However, Hangar 1, built in the 1980s to minimum standards, provided no more than a space in which just part of the museum’s British Commonwealth aviation collection could be housed in unsatisfactory conditions.Having minimal services the hangar was not attractive for visitors and unsuitable for modern interpretive displays.
This project aimed to address all these deficiencies by up-grading the conditions and services in the hangar so that it can house all 32 aircraft in this part of the collection on the ground or suspended from the ceiling. Other improvements included a dedicated conservation area which is accessible to the public so they can see and hear about the work being undertaken, and a learning centre with schools picnic room.
New interpretation which is accessible to all includes RNIB designed tactile maps of the exhibition, audio guides specifically designed for people with visual impairments, Braille instructions on hands-on exhibits and subtitles and BSL on audio-visual presentations.