The Manx Aviation and Military Museum

Open 10.00 to 4.30 every weekend throughout the year and daily from mid-May to 30 September. Also open during most school holidays.

The museum is situated to the south of Ronaldsway Airport on the road to Castletown. It is open from 10am to 4.30pm every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year and daily during the summer months. We are always willing to open at other times if you want a private viewing or a guided tour. For more details on how to get to the museum please click here http://www.maps.org.im/location

 

The museum is dedicated to the Manx men and women who served their Island in the cause of freedom; to those people of other nations who were brought to our shores by wartime service and to all those who, in war and peace, have lost their lives in the Isle of Man in aviation accidents.

The museum site is perfect because the site is not only on the present day airfield, but some of the buildings were constructed as part of the Fleet Air Arm station, Royal Naval Air Station Ronaldsway (HMS Urley), in 1944.

The reception area provides an introduction to the Island with a large relief map showing wartime military installations and the many aircraft crash sites. The exhibition rooms and corridors are packed with exhibits, models, stories and facts, photographs and recovered aircraft crash parts.

The museum does not cover just military history; a part of it is devoted to Manx civil aviation in general, and is a fascinating story of local achievement in terms of both people and organisations.

There were few Manx families which were unaffected in some way by one or both Wars and the Museum will remind present and future generations of their ancestors' involvement. Many Manx people are commemorated on the Island’s war memorials, but we feel that the stories behind their names are worthy of record before the memories of their families and friends fall victim to time. The stories of their surviving comrades and those of the people left at home are equally worthy of record.

Through the display of gathered artefacts/memorabilia etc., the museum hopes to convey the rich heritage of this part of the Island’s history for all to appreciate. We are always pleased to receive contact/support from people who wish to contribute to our growing knowledge of this important and absorbing subject.

The Museum is operated by volunteers.