Manx Aviation and Military Museum

About the museum

The Manx Aviation and Military Museum is run by volunteers from a site on the south side of Ronaldsway Airport, on the road to Castletown. The charity behind it was formed in 1994 as the Manx Aviation Preservation Society and was renamed in 2022. The museum itself opened on Remembrance Day in 2000. Some of its buildings were put up in 1944 as part of the Royal Naval Air Station at Ronaldsway, known as HMS Urley.

The museum is dedicated to the Manx men and women who served in the wars, to people of other nations who came to the island through wartime service and to those who lost their lives in aviation accidents on the island. The reception area shows a large relief map of wartime military sites and aircraft crash sites, and the rooms and corridors hold models, photographs, stories and recovered aircraft parts. Part of the museum covers Manx civil aviation.

Since 2005 the museum has also housed the Museum of the Manx Regiment, which tells the story of the 15th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. Its displays include uniforms, weapons and a section on life in German prisoner-of-war camps. The collection holds about 8,500 register entries, and a preserved British Aerospace ATP airliner can be visited at weekends in summer.

Highlights

• Museum of the Manx Regiment with uniforms, weapons and prisoner-of-war displays
• Shell casings from the first British shots of the Second World War
• Relief map of wartime military sites and aircraft crash sites
• Manx civil aviation displays
• Preserved British Aerospace ATP aircraft G-MAUD (weekends in summer)

Permanent exhibitions

• Museum of the Manx Regiment – The wartime story of the Manx anti-aircraft gunners, with uniforms, weapons, equipment, photographs and a section on life in German prisoner-of-war camps.
• Aviation and wartime exhibits – Models, photographs and recovered aircraft parts, a relief map of wartime sites and displays on Manx civil aviation.

Founded

2000

Operated by

The Manx Aviation and Military Museum (Isle of Man registered charity no. 827)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free for everybody.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is about half a mile south of the airport terminal on the main road to Castletown. The postcode IM9 2AT also covers other parts of the airport, so check the location before using satnav.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

There is a museum shop. Wi-Fi is not mentioned.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit