Montrose Air Station Museum: MASM

Montrose Air Station Museum (MASM), located on Broomfield Rd, in Montrose, Angus, Scotland, preserves the remarkable story of Britain’s first operational military air station, established in February 1913. Originally home to No. 2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, it played a pivotal role in both World Wars as a training base and operational airfield, hosting personnel from across the Commonwealth and Allied nations.

The museum occupies original and restored station buildings, including the 1915 HQ Building and Mechanised Transport Hut, alongside later additions such as a Romney Hut and Nissen Hut funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Visitors can explore immersive displays that chart the evolution of military aviation from fragile WWI biplanes to Cold War jets. Highlights include a full-size replica B.E.2a, a Sea Vampire T.22, a Panavia Tornado GR4, and a rare Miles M.2H Hawk Major under restoration.

Facilities

• Reception and shop in the restored MT Hut
• Medal Room honouring service personnel from WWI to the present
• Video Room with a 13-minute introductory film
• Indoor and outdoor aircraft displays
• John Betty Library and Research Centre (by arrangement)
• Learning Zone for school visits and STEM activities
• Accessible toilets, free on-site parking, tea/coffee facilities, indoor and outdoor seating
• Gift shop with aviation books, models, and memorabilia

Special Exhibits

• Spitfire Room with ARP warden’s room reconstruction
• Station Commander’s Office recreated with original Air Ministry furniture
• Diorama Room depicting RAF Montrose on 6 July 1940
• ATA Pilots’ Bedroom telling the story of women ferry pilots
• Wartime pillbox and Anderson shelter
• Aircraft Restoration Building with Avro Anson project
• Jack Drummond Workshop for restoration projects
• David Butler Building housing Sea Vampire T.22, Link Trainer, replica S.E.5a, sectioned Rolls-Royce Spey engine, Jet Provost cockpit

List of Exhibits:
Replica B.E.2a aircraft, Panavia Tornado GR4, Sea Vampire T.22, Miles M.2H Hawk Major, Avro Anson (restoration), Jet Provost cockpit, replica S.E.5a aircraft, sectioned Rolls-Royce Spey engine, Link Trainer, Spitfire Room, ARP warden’s room reconstruction, Station Commander’s Office, RAF Montrose 1940 diorama, ATA pilots’ bedroom, wartime pillbox, Anderson shelter, Medal Room displays, WWI medals, WWII medals, post-war medals, historic photographs, uniforms, Air Ministry furniture, aircraft engines, propellers, aviation tools, John Betty Library archives, David Butler Building exhibits, Jack Drummond Workshop machinery, outdoor static aircraft displays, Gloster Meteor, Hawker Hunter, de Havilland Vampire, de Havilland Chipmunk, de Havilland Dove, Blackburn Buccaneer, Avro Vulcan nose section, English Electric Canberra nose section, Britten-Norman Sheriff, Hawker Hunter variants, Gloster Meteor variants.

Photo credit: Neil Williamson