Best WWII museums

[Archie Goodwin]

New Orleans and Singapore

The National D-Day Museum in New Orleans dedeicated to all amphibious landings of WW2, with a current special exhibit on the Battle of Midway. Also, there is a really good museum in Singapore dedicated to the the defense and occupation of Churchill's unsinkable aircraft carrier.

 

[Miss Sis]

Ooooo, the Tank Museum in Bovingdon is quite good too.

http://www.tankmuseum.co.uk/

 

[Alan Eardley]

That's two votes for the tank museum at Bovington, then...

Alan

 

[Twitch]

Here's a place to go if you're interested in aircraft. They have 156 of them and quite a few fly. http://www.planesoffame.org/menu.php

 

[1911 Man]

If you're interested in WWII weapons, a number of the small arms of the time were invented by John Moses Browning, a resident of Ogden, Utah. So naturally there is a museum in Ogden that contains a large display of guns invented by him, including the Colt Government 45, the BAR, and the 50 cal machine gun, plus many others. The museum also has a display of a few vintage cars from around 1920 to 1930, all in very pristine condition. The unfortunate part is that the museum is rather small, and the entire thing can be viewed in about an hour, but for a gun nut like me, I loved it.

 

[Diamondback]

If you can tolerate Cold War/semi-modern in the mix, the USS Midway in San Diego is nice. (The last generation of WWII flattop design; even after two modernizations, you can still see a lot of WWII material, especially on the bridge.)

The Museum of Flight in Seattle (so I'm biased 'cause I grew up there, humor me.)

+1 on Dayton and P-cola--I'm semi-acquainted with one of NMNA's restoration guys from a plane-modelers' board.

 

[KilroyCD]

The RAF Museum is great, as are all the Imperial War Museum locations (Kennington Road, HMS Dorsetshire, Cabinet War Rooms and Duxford), but one that hasn't been mentioned as yet is the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington. Although the main hangar is a new structure, the majority of the buildings on site are original WWII ear buildings. The aiurcraft collection does include a number of postwar aircraft as any aircraft museum is bound to, but the jewel in the crown at Elvington is their handley Page Halifax "Friday the 13th". http://www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk/
Try the online tour.
-Chris

 

[KilroyCD]

If you really want to visit a neat museum in an incredible setting, try the Shoreham Aircraft museum in the village of Shoreham, near Sevenoaks, Kent. Geoff Nutkins and his wife Leslie are the caretakers of this evocative museum, and it's well worth the trip. http://www.shoreham-aircraft-museum.co.uk/
-Chris

 

[hd74man]

Home of the "Bloody 100th" Heavy Bombardment Group

Anybody who wants to experience the real deal on the ETO heavy bomber air war should travel to Thorpe Abbotts, UK and visit what was Station 139 with it's
old airfield and restored air control tower museum which contain an incredible array of artifacts relative to the 100th Bombardment Group of the Mighty 8th.

Part of the exhibit is piped in BBC radio programs & music from the early 40's period.

It's just like stepping back in a time warp. Very haunting.

Nearby airfields include-Rattlesden, Lavernham, and Rougham (Bury St. Edmunds)

Stay at local B&B's. Much less expensive than London.

Don't forget your copy of After the Battle's-"The Airfields of the 8th,Then and Now" for maps.

 

[Diamondback]

Also, it's rather out of the way, and has a lot of post-WWII as well, but March Field at Riverside is pretty nice. (The highway exit's almost their driveway, if you know what to watch for.)

 

[leaette]

the Springfield Armorery in Mass is a nice place to walk thru too.

 

[Steven180]

Victory Park and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is one of the best I've seen on World War II. Surprisingly, they provide exceptional exhibits from all allies and axis powers as well.

Can't speak highly enough of the Invalides for World War II, or for any era of conflict for that matter.

The Britain at War Experience is grand and shows an intriguing angle from London.

The Resistance Museum in Copenhagen probably has the most extraordinary exhibit on unconventional warfare I've seen to date. An incredible collection of underground equipment and artifacts.

The D-Day Museum in New orleans has a thorough, compact collection.

The museum at West Point Military Academy is outstanding as well.

The Airborne and Special Operations museum in North Carolina is excellent.

Thanks for all the other recommendations here, a lot I had never even heard about!
M.

 

[ButteMT61]

Anyone with WWII era museums in the Normandy (FR) area please let me know. Heading there this Thanksgiving day...

 

[Steven180]

Anyone with WWII era museums in the Normandy (FR) area please let me know. Heading there this Thanksgiving day...

ButteMT61, try these threads for starters...

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?18226-Touring-the-Beaches-of-Normandy

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?49336-France-sites-beyond-D-Day

Do a search here in the Lounge too!
Good Luck, M.

 

[JWS34]

The USAF Museum has been a favorite summer trip since I was a child. We went to the National Armory at Springfield Mass. last year and found it to be very much worth the time. I would like to mention Patriot's Point near Charleston South Carolina. The have The USS Yorktown (Essex Class CV-10), the USS Laffey, and other ships along with great displays and aircraft. I also like the USS North Carolina in Wilmington North Carolina, The USS Massachusetts In Fall River Massachussetts.

 

[Phantomfixer]

My top 5 picks
#1 The Eigth AF Museum in Georgia. The best AAF museum
http://www.mightyeighth.org/
#2 is Duxford
#3 USAF Museum in Ohio
#4 AMC Museum in Dover DE (its in my backyard folks and it has a B-17 among other WWII acft)
#5 National Air and Space Museum Washington DC

 

[DNO]

Once the mainstay of the Battle of the Atlantic, now unique: HMCS Sackville, the last corvette. Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

While I'm at it...the last Tribal Class destroyer, HMCS Haida is on permanent display in Hamilton, Ontario.

The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is excellent, as is the National Aviation Museum in the same city.

While I certainly concur with the high opinion of the Tank Museum at Bovington, the Imperial War Museum and the RAF museum, let me add the Royal Marines Museum in Southsea as an institution well worth a visit.

 

[Spitfire]

Anyone with WWII era museums in the Normandy (FR) area please let me know. Heading there this Thanksgiving day...

Read the first post in this thread.

 

[Sgt Brown]

HNO beat me to it - the Canadian War Museum gets four stars in my book.

Early on in this thread Leaette mentioned the WWII Vehicle Museum and Learning Center in Hubbard, OH. Fantastic place! Regretfully, it was a privately-owned museum. When the owner died the heirs began pressing for their money and the museum was sold off. Those of us that lived in the area REALLY miss it!:cry:

Tom

 

[DNO]

Anyone with WWII era museums in the Normandy (FR) area please let me know. Heading there this Thanksgiving day...

The Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer.