North East Land, Sea and Air Museum Review, 2020

North East Land, Sea and Air Museum in Sunderland is the new home of the Society’s ‘Aksel’ Spitfire replica and our Vice-Chair Steve Pearse with his wife Louise visited on 15 August 2020 to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Luftwaffe attack on the North East.  NELSAM can trace its history back to 1974 and opened as a full time Museum to the public from 1987 on the edge of what was RAF Usworth/Sunderland Airport, the main site today is the Nissan factory.   

The Museum is well worth a visit and a member you get free access on production of your membership card.  I first visited in 2012 and the images included of the various exhibits are from this time and indeed some have now moved onto different Museums.  Highlights for me at least are the Vulcan XL319, which recently had one of its engines run after more than 30 years of static display, an immense achievement.  Along with the Lightning ZF594, Canberra WJ639, Meteor WL181 and Hunter E-419 represent the heyday of British designed and built jet aircraft.  Also of note are the FMA Pucara captured during the Falklands War and the last remaining Trident 1C, G-ARPO. 

To find out more about the Museum see https://www.nelsam.org.uk/ and help support their work.  Our replica is for once undercover and in good hands, we’ll be undertaking further restoration work and an overdue re-painting to enhance this memorial to a young Danish pilot who fought and died in this aircraft during the Second World War.