RAF Manston History Museum — Attraction in Thanet

This is an interesting museum charting the history of Manston Airfield from its early days through both World Wars until it becomes a commercial airport, flying internationally. There is a selection of large exhibits both inside and outside from early biplanes to modern jets, with a helicopter and microlight thrown in for good measure. To get the full history it's necessary to read descriptions and look at photos that are spread along the entire walking route through the museum. I found the information they contained easy to read and combined with the photos was very interesting. There was also an AV showing in one of the halls describing the development and use of the bouncing bombs for the Dam Buster raids, testing for which took place at nearby Pegwell Bay. The museum has two routes to follow. One goes up steps, the other in the opposite direction is step free. Accessible toilets are available and entry fee was a modest and great value £2. Parking is free and shared with the Spitfire museum next door. Both are popular and spaces can be scarce...

What a great eclectic place to visit including a comprehensive gift shop with Airfix models. There was a large selection of aircraft and helicopters on display including bi planes and jet aircraft from both world wars. Among these was a Gloucester Meteor and many others. I particularly enjoyed the 1940 room sets they were fascinating as were numerous model lay outs of the aerodrome during world war 11. Certain exhibits can be visited one example comprising of the Valiant cockpit. Additionally there was loads of memorabilia on display. Everything is slightly naive which gives the museum its. charm and its unpretentious. A doodlebug V1 welcomes you on arrival. There is also a Spitfire and Hurricane exhibit. close by with free entry. I think the main exhibit at Marston was...

I've given 4 stars as have visited many times before (the NAAFI cafe as well) however we tried to visit on Tuesday 9 July (and also intended to go to the Spitfire and Hurricane museum) but there was nowhere to park in either the proper car park, or the additional one around the corner, so we did not get to visit either museum, and a wasted journey having driven a fair distance to do so. A note about the proper car park layout, it is difficult to get into some of the spaces unless you have a small vehicle as they are small and very close together with little room for manoeuvring in and out, either going in forwards or backwards, especially the spaces at...