IWM Duxford is Britain’s best preserved Second World War fighter station. Home to the first operational Spitfires and the USAAF 78th Fighter Group, Duxford also played a key role in the Battle of Britain. It is a place where human endeavour and innovation unite to change the course of world history and our lives.
With the centenary of the Second World War on the horizon, IWM Duxford is set to be transformed. With IWM’s unrivalled collection of aircraft and military vehicles centre-stage, visitors will discover more about the people who designed, built, flew, drove, and repaired them.
As part of a ten-year, multi-million-pound plan, new exhibition spaces will integrate aircraft, land vehicles, and objects to tell a more coherent and engaging story. We will bring Duxford’s historic significance back into focus and allow visitors to immerse themselves in a journey through the site’s history.
New Second World War exhibitions
Made possible thanks to National Lottery players and money awarded from its heritage fund, our new Second World War exhibitions will tell compelling, human stories and explore the pivotal aerial conflicts of the Battle of Britain. We hope to open these to the public in 2027.
They will be housed in our historic hangars 3 and 4, currently home to our Battle of Britain and Air and Sea exhibitions. On display will be almost 150 items from IWM’s unrivalled collection of aircraft, vehicles, and objects, as well as almost forty objects previously displayed in the Land Warfare Hall. With the centenary of the Second World War on the horizon, these new exhibitions will engage a new generation with stories of this devastating conflict.
These new exhibitions will engage a new generation with stories of this devastating conflict.
In Hangar 3, Visitors will have the chance to explore displays covering the outbreak of the Second World War, the Battle of Britain and the individual human stories of those who were there.
Hangar 4 will explore the end of the conflict, from 1943 to 1945, and how technology shaped the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3 being lowered to ground level inside AirSpace, IWM Duxford.
IWM collections update
Our Sepecat Jaguar GR1 will be donated to the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. In return, BAe Sea Harrier FA.2 ZA175 – a veteran of the Falklands War - will return to IWM to its new home in Duxford's AirSpace hangar.
The English Electric Canberra B.2 WH725 is returning to its owners at The Royal Air Force Museum in September 2025 and will be on temporary display opposite AirSpace until then.
de Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth N6635 will be donated to Bottisham Airfield Museum.
Looking ahead
There is more exciting change ahead at IWM Duxford. At the heart of this revival is the need to conserve and care for IWM’s vast collection.
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Second World War immersive spaces
Additionally, in Winter 2025 three of Duxford's historic spaces will be transformed, immersing visitors in the stories of those who served at Duxford during the Second World War.
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Land Warfare Hall and The Lab
Underpinning Transforming IWM Duxford will be The Lab, a new state-of-the-art conservation and much-needed storage centre to store large objects, set for completion in 2029.
To facilitate this, the Land Warfare Hall has now permanently closed, as this exhibition space can no longer meet the environmental conditions required to keep IWM’s collections safe. Over 80% of vehicles and large objects currently contained within the Land Warfare Hall will be retained by IWM, with the majority going on public display at Duxford as part of new exhibitions. The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum will relocate within IWM Duxford. We plan to display their collection in AirSpace in the future.
In its place, The Lab will provide storage space for some of the largest objects in our collection and will be home to our world-class conservation team. Guided tours and open days will give visitors a first-hand view of this vital work.
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Cold War and Contemporary Conflict
The current Air Space hangar will become a dedicated space for telling the story of Cold War and contemporary conflict, due to open in around five years time.
When the Large Object Moves project concludes on 13th June, AirSpace will fully reopen to the public with a new temporary layout. This layout will remain in place until rearrangements begin for the completion of the Cold War and Contemporary Conflict exhibition.
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Duxford AvTech
Alongside the plans for Transforming IWM Duxford, IWM and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge have announced Duxford AvTech - the UK’s new home for the research and development, prototype testing and manufacture of new low and zero carbon aircraft technology.
Duxford AvTech, sited on land adjacent to the existing museum site, will bring jobs, training and investment to the region.
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Pavilion
Our ambition is to complete the heart of the site with a beautiful pavilion where our missing historic hangar once stood. This pavilion would host a range of activities and events, including temporary exhibitions.
We look forward to sharing more details of our plans for Transforming IWM Duxford in due course, so please continue to check this page for further updates.