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What's in Store?
Most aviation enthusiasts will have paid a visit to the Fleet Air Arm Museum (FAAM) at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton at some time or other but they will probably have not had the opportunity to check out what treasures are lurking in the ‘Aladdin’s Cave’, that is the FAAM Reserve Store at Cobham Hall. Fighter Control Chief Photographic Editor, Rick Sleight made a recent visit to find out ‘What’s In Store’?

Cash for Collection:
Cobham Hall was purpose built by the FAAM in the late 1990s, being completed in 2000, to serve as a long term storage facility for the FAAM reserve collection. Supported by a substantial cash injection
via a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the building cost a staggering £3,000,000. Since the completion of the building work, the Museum has been working on installing all of its reserve collection into the hall. The building was designed to provide conditions which would allow the long term preservation of the objects stored in it. Although most enthusiasts will primarily think of the aeronautical exhibits that are housed inside, clearly there are other non aeronautical objects in here however they all are linked with naval aviation. The airframes are indeed the principal part of the collection but there are a large amount of small object collections and work is also currently in progress to install the Museum’s paper and textile collections.


Hall Of Plenty:
The Hall opens its doors three times per year, in April, July and September to afford the public a rare opportunity to see the collection but the only area which is accessible is the Aeronautical Hall. Housed in here are the aircraft that are either not currently displayed within the main FAAM, or on loan elsewhere, plus all the associated hardware, which is connected with the aircraft and Museum. Of the aircraft that can be viewed on these rare occasions, many of them have indeed never been on permanent display in the FAAM.

Several aircraft are only partially assembled and some are even only part airframes. Before Cobham Hall was built, many of the FAAM exhibits were stored off site, with several being a long distance from RNAS Yeovilton. The work of transporting the collection to the hall began in September 2003, with the stored aircraft being in various disassembled states, to make the journey to their new home in Somerset. The rebuilding process is still very much underway and although progress has been relatively rapid, there is still clearly much work to do here.


Although some aircraft are incomplete, most, if not all, are easily recognisable. There are indeed one or two notable aircraft currently stored inside the hall, including the first swept wing aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier, Supermarine 510, serial number VV106 and the Gazelle HT.2 helicopter, serial number XW864, in which His Royal Highness (HRH), The Duke of York learnt to fly. Also stored inside are two ex Argentine aircraft which were captured during the 1982 Falklands War, being a bullet ridden Beechcraft T-34 Mentor, serial number 0729 and a Bell UH-1H Iroquois helicopter, serial number AE422.

The Aeronautical Hall not only houses all of the aircraft collection but either side of the hall there is an enormous amount of racking, which is home to many aircraft parts, aircraft engines and other large objects, such as wind tunnel models. The shelving runs for some five miles and contains over 30,000 records and artefacts.

Facilities on Offer:
When you enter the hall, you will be given an information leaflet, which is very useful, particularly for those enthusiasts who like to collect aircraft serial numbers. This four sided, A5 size leaflet has the back page dedicated to listing aircraft type, serial and code details,
However please be aware that there was one aircraft omitted from
the leaflet that I was given on my visit in April 2005 and two aircraft were listed which were not on view. There were also two aircraft stored outside the hall, which were not listed either, although technically that is correct, as the list pertains to those stored inside the hall. Photography is allowed inside and you are made welcome to take photographs, with a vantage point even being made available from the Mezzanine floor, by stair access, which gives a superb view over the Aeronautical Hall.

There are some areas which cannot be accessed, such as smaller store rooms, which are not open to the public. A rope boundary marks out the public area in the hall and there are many members of staff and ‘explainers’ on hand to ensure everyone adheres to this and you are instructed in the leaflet to not cross the rope barriers. The barriers are well laid back anyway and photography is relatively easy for getting photographs of almost all of the aircraft, with only one or two exceptions and the lighting conditions are surprisingly good too. Also more importantly, the staff are present to answer any questions you may have about the collection and as the booklet quotes, “Don’t hesitate to ask”!

Smoking, eating and drinking are not allowed, as the building is a NO SMOKING area. The hall has been designed to promote the long term preservation of everything which is stored in it and that is why there is also a food and drink ban. Food residues encourage pests, who of course, are the ‘enemy’ of preservation! Obviously with this rule, there is no cafeteria on site, although there is one nearby at the FAAM but toilet facilities are available in the building though.

Make a Date:
The remaining dates for the Cobham Hall Open Days are Sunday July 24, 2005, with opening times from 12:00 to 16:00 and Friday September 16, 2005, with opening times from 10:00 to 16:00. Admission charges are £4 per adult and £1 for children, however if you also visit the FAAM on the same day, you will receive a £1 discount per adult, or 50 pence discount per child on the charge for visiting Cobham, on production of a valid FAAM visit receipt. You do not need to book to reserve a place, or purchase tickets in advance and can pay at the entrance.


Cobham Hall is situated at RNAS Yeovilton and is on the opposite side of the B3151 road to the FAAM and it is well sign-posted from the Museum car park. The hall is within easy walking distance of the FAAM however there is a car park at the back of the hall, for anyone wishing to park at close quarters.


The aircraft that were on display with the collection on April 1, 2005 were as follows;   

Type Serial/Code Notes
     
Beech T-34C Mentor 0729 411 Ex Argentine AF
Bell UH-1H Iroquois AE422 Ex Argentine AF
Blackburn NA-39 XK488  
British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A.2 XZ499 003  
British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A.2 ZA195 Outside
De Havilland Sea Venom FAW.21 WW138 Z 227  
De Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.1 XJ481  
De Havilland Tiger Moth G-ABUL Ex XL717/T7231  
De Havilland Vampire T.22 XA129  
Douglas Skyraider AEW.1 WT121 CU 415  
Douglas Skyraider AEW.1 WV106 27 Outside
Fairey Barracuda II DP872 Frame Sections Only
Fairey Gannet COD.4 XA466 LM 777  
Focke Achgelis FA.330A-1 100545  
Gloster Meteor T.7 WS103 VL 709  
Hawker P.1052 VX272  
Hawker Sea Hawk WF219 Tail Section Only
Hiller HTE.2 XB480 537  
Hunting Jet Provost T.3A XN462 17  
Hunting Percival Sea Prince T.1 WP313 CU 568  
Northrop Chukka Drone XW994 On Shelving
Saunders Roe P.531 XN332 759  
Saunders Roe P.531 XN334  
Sopwith Triplane Replica N5492 BAPC 111  
Supermarine 510 VV106  
Westland/Aerospatiale Gazelle HT.2 XW865 CU 54  
Westland Dragonfly HR.1 VX595  
Westland Lynx HAS.3 XZ699  
Westland Sioux AH.1 XT176 U  
Westland Wasp HAS.1 XT427 606  
Westland Wasp HAS.1 XT778 430  
Westland Wessex HAS.3 XP142  
Westland Wessex HU.5 XS508  
Westland Whirlwind HAR.1 XA864  
Westland Whirlwind HAR.3 XG574 PO 752  
Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 XG594 517  
Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 XL853 PO  

Considering that this year’s final Open Day is September 16, 2005, which also coincides with the arrivals day for the RNAS Yeovilton Air Day, it is perhaps a good time to make a date there, so why not pay Cobham Hall a visit?

For the latest details of the Air Day, take a look at www.yeoviltonairday.co.uk

Rick Sleight