A range of aircraft, cars and motorcycles were housed at the Lower Campfield Hall for decades when it was still part of the Museum of Science and Industry.
Avro Shackleton plane in the hall(Image: Science and Industry Museum)
A kamikaze aircraft, a Bensen B-7 and a rather rickety flight simulator – they were all part of an experience most Mancunians will remember well.
A wide range of wacky, wild and sometimes terrifying aircraft were on display at the Museum of Science and Industry for decades.
Like me, you’ll probably remember Castlefield’s Lower Campfield Hall as the home of the MOSI’s Air and Space Hall.
An Avro 707A plane, built in 1952
It was very easy to while away a couple of hours among the Avro 707 and Rolls-Royce Merlin at the awe-inspiring exhibit – which showcased aviation history.
At one time, a space-themed gallery took up the majority of the upper balcony in the huge warehouse. But you’re most likely to remember exhibits such as the cockpit of a Trident 2E G-AVFH.
Japanese kamikaze airplane in the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
Large scale models of aircrafts such as a Fokker Dr1 Triplane hung from the ceiling, while a huge RAF Avro Shackleton took up much of the space on the ground floor.
The Japanese kamikaze airplane on display was striking simply because of its intended purpose, while the precarious look of the rotor kite Bensen B-7 showed just how courageous our pioneering aviation experts once were.
Spitfire is taken out of the Museum of Science and Industry
Eventually, the hall suffered leaks and required ‘extensive and intensive’ repairs that made it no longer fit for purpose. But like most Mancs, I was gutted when it finally closed in 2021.
The majority of the items were on loan and have been returned, with much of the collection remaining in the North West.
A plane covered in tarpaulin as museum staff dealt with leaks(Image: David Gordon)
Significantly, the RAF Museum’s Avro Shackleton plane returned to its ‘spiritual home’ at the Avro Heritage Museum in Woodford, Stockport – the same site where it was originally made by Manchester-born Alliot Verdon Roe.
Other objects – including the 1905 Rolls-Royce motor car used by Henry Royce himself – was placed in the museum’s Revolution gallery.
Avro Shackleton plane in the hall(Image: Science and Industry Museum)
In the four years since the shutters came down, the Lower hall has been renovated by Allied London. And bosses say it will be so cool once it’s finished that ‘people will just hang around’ outside.
In fact, they’ve likened the Castlefield landmark to Bilbao’s Guggenheim museum, claiming the new ‘campus’ at Campfield Market will have such strong cool credentials people will want to simply soak up the atmosphere, like hipsters do around the Basque gallery.
I’m sure it’ll be a lovely place for a flat white when it opens this summer, but for those of us who remember the aerospace collection, it’ll always be synonymous with those great feats of engineering.