A sight to make my heart soar...
NOW LET’S HAVE A WHOLE CANBERRA TO MARVEL OVER!
I COULDN’T agree more with John Kennedy about the commemoration of the RAF’s centenary (Letters). The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton, Suffolk, is a very good aviation museum and has an exhibit that is close to my heart: the nose section of XM 279, the first combat aircraft I flew on my first tour as an RAF pilot 51 years ago. The Canberra B(i)8 was deployed by the RAF in Germany in the nuclear strike role as a part of Nato’s nuclear deterrent force. Though I was pleased to see it on my visit, it is a great shame that the whole aircraft isn’t on display. I don’t think any of the Canberra B(i)8s have survived in a flying condition and remain in this country, though a few were sold overseas. There should be one in the RAF Museum, because this combat plane made a major contribution to the West ‘winning’ the Cold War. Perhaps arranging this was too difficult for the pen pushers in the Ministry of Defence and, of course, there is no money for history. ROBIN KIRKHAM, Swaffham, Norfolk. LIKE John Kennedy, I believe museums are being dumbed down. A recent visit to the Imperial War Museum was disappointing for me while my grandson found it boring. In contrast, the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum and the Yorkshire Air Museum are brilliant, well stocked and living places with all-year-round events. As a former RAF serviceman, it seems to be a sad reflection of the times that some of our more well-known museums want to focus on being politically correct and revenue-conscious.
VINCENT J. BERGIN, address supplied.