Discover more at the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum, in our rooms and collections, find out about Air Intercept, the Bloodhound, Nuclear Reporting Cell and more!
Air Intercept Room
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Air Intercept Room
The room has some WW2 Airborne Radars and models of the early and latest Air Intercept Aircraft.
History Room
History room charts the history of Radar, through from the predecessor, the Sound Mirror, the Chain Home Radar, used in WW2, to more modern Radars. The room has a lot of working models of Radars.
You can also try out your skills on the Plotting board, a fighter control simulator from the ‘80s and try your hand at backwards writing, used on the tote boards.
Please note that due to Covid-19, some of our interactive displays or activities are not available.
Coltishall Collection
Within the Museum there are five rooms accommodating the aptly named ‘Spirit of Coltishall Association’ Collection with the aim of keeping the memory of the former RAF Coltishall Station alive. RAF Coltishall, some six miles from RAF Neatishead RADAR Museum, began life as a WW2 Fighter Station and was in full operation from 1940 until its closure in 2006. Many of the station’s items of interest were collected after the closure and in 2007, collated and brought to the Museum for display by the Association.
Come and see our special exhibition featuring the Wartime Pilot, Douglas Bader who served at the Station. Included artefacts are ‘Baders Bunny’ – the rabbit mascot carried by Bader on all operations and various photographs with citations.
Neatishead Room
The Neatishead room not only provides a TV documentary of an Neatishead operational exercise when the base was at the height of the Cold War, but also outlines the history and development of the former RAF base.
Bloodhound Room
The Bloodhound MKII missile system was a key part of the integrated UK air defences during the Cold War, a wholly British designed defensive weapon to counter nuclear armed, high flying bombers at long range. Bloodhound MKII became operational with the RAF in 1964.
The Nuclear Reporting Cell
The Nuclear Reporting Cell (NRC) at RAF Neatishead was manned by volunteers of the Royal Observer Corp. This cell was an element of the UK Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) which was established in 1957 to warn the public, government, and the military of a nuclear attack. The role of the NRC at RAF Neatishead was to warn military commanders of a nuclear strike and the expected nuclear fallout, allowing time for personnel to don their Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Warfare suits, and take shelter.
Cockpits – Tornado and Jaguar
Our aircraft hanger features a Tornado and Jaguar cockpit.
Royal Observer Corps Post
Over 1,500 of these small bunkers were built at various points around the country during the Cold War. They were designed to house three members of the Royal Observer Corps, whose job it would be to use supplied equipment to gauge the bomb power and ground zero of a nuclear blast and report back to a group H.Q
The Aggressor Room
Formed in 1976, the 527th Tactical Fighter Training & Aggressor Squadron, based at RAF Alconbury, was a unique USAF Squadron in the UK. Operating the fast and agile F-5E Tiger II Fighter, wearing Soviet insignia and colour schemes, the Squadrons’ role was to provide realistic adversary air to air combat training to RAF and NATO aircrews and was the UK’s ‘Top Gun’ Fighter School.
These Fighters were controlled from RAF Neatishead in a self-contained mini Ops Room with three Interceptor Control consoles, radios, and totes and was known as the ‘Aggressor Cabin’. It was from here that USAF and RAF Fighter Controllers controlled the ‘Aggressors’ conducting Dissimilar Air Combat Training against other fighters such as the RAF’s Lightening and the F-4 Phantom interceptors.
The room that once was the ‘Aggressor Cabin’ at the Air Defence Radar Museum now exhibits some of the Squadrons memorabilia and tells the story for the continuous need of adversary air to air combat training and highlights the Soviet air threat against the UK during the ‘Cold War’.
Communications
In the collection we have several old types of telephones and also we have a switch board from the sixties and switching gear from the early 1900’s.
Frame Room
The museum also has the original frame room from when Neatishead was operational showing how a telephone exchange works.
