Imperial War Museum London

Did anyone notice radio silence for a week? I was overseas for the first time in the COVID era and that was itself an experience. While I was overseas, I took some time to swing by the Imperial War Museum in London as it's been 15 years since I was last there and was interested to see what had changed. 

One of my favourites is still sitting in the main atrium:

 

I remember being shocked at just how big the V2 is. This might be due to never having seen a modern ICBM in the flesh, as it were, but it's comfortably 2.5 stories of the IWM atrium.   The rear side has been cut open so the inner workings of the missile can be seen too.

 

 

On the subject of big, MBTs! Last time I was here, this spot was occupied by a Matilda II in Caunter camouflage which was large but this T34/85 staggers me. There's a Sherman elsewhere in the museum and man they're just big. I mean sure, not as big as a modern MBT but still. Shortly after I took this, a bunch of kids appeared from behind the tank and barely even came up to the top track!

 

 I do love good nose art and while this lacks the pin-up-ness of the side of a B25, I really enjoyed getting up close and personal with the nose of a Lancaster. I overheard someone tap on the nose bubble and comment to a small child "imagine what flying in there would have been like" and y'know what? I choose not to.

 

I included this image just for blogger Tank, who actually owns a 28mm version of this Home Guard weapon. The Smith Gun was one of those ingenious British inventions of World War II to make up for the shortfall of kit after the Battle of France. While it had both a reputation for killing it's crew and was not anywhere near as effective as anyone hoped, it's still brilliant.

 

This Harrier, hanging from the ceiling, might be one of my favourite museum presentations of an artifact ever. I love being able to look down the intakes to the actual turbines. It comes alongside a really good biography of the plane lingering on a sortie where it flew danger-close air support during the war in Afghanistan. 

 

Also hanging in the atrium are a Spitfire (because obviously) and again, hanging it from the ceiling is cool. There's also a specific exhibit of the Rolls-Royce engine elsewhere in the museum that gets into why it's so good! In the foreground though is a Japanese MXY-7 Ohka rocket powered kamikaze aircraft which I'd never seen. I assume it was here last time I visited but I don't remember!

Finally this Ferret Scout Car from UN Service in the Balkans IIRC. When I was last in the UK, the British Army were retiring the Ferret and were selling them on the open market. I thought about how much fun it would be to own one until I realised it wouldn't fit in the supermarket car park (that was 100% the reason I didn't buy one. Honest.) 

Exhbitions

The World War I and World War II exhibits were both very good and I loved that, as part of half-term activities, there was a dazzle camouflage class. New since the last time I visited was a sobering and very effective Holocaust exhibit that used some very personal narratives to tell the story of the persecution of Jews in Europe from the 20s to the end of the war. It was, fittingly, quiet and reflective compared to the rest of the museum. I also found the potted history of the Cold War and the part of the museum dedicated to the British Army's operation in Northern Ireland during the Troubles both very worthwhile.

 There was also an exhibition about wargames (of the electronic variety) that I didn't even get near given the half-term ness which was a shame given I think it would have been interesting to see but hey. 

Next Time

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