Danmarks Flymuseum in Skjern - Royal Danish Air Force Museum

[BlackWidow]

During my vacations in Denmark in September one of my goals was to visit the Flymuseum in Skjern which is also known as the museum of the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF). For those of you who never have the chance to get there (of course for all others too …) I would like to show some of the photos I made there. As this will become a larger report than I first thought, it will be continued over some weeks, as I have to prepare the photos first …

… the museum consists of 3 halls of different sizes …

…outside a Spitfire Mk. IX in danish markings welcomes the visitors …

… let’s now step in the first hall, which shows various aircraft of the RDAF after WW2. It’s a bit cramped in there, so I often could not take the photos I would have liked to. But the light conditions in here are simply fantastic with a whole glass front and skylights in the roof. Let’s start with an old acquaintance, the Hawker Hunter Mk. 51, which was in RDAF service from 1956 to 1976 …

… next to the Hunter we see a North American F-100 D Super Sabre, which was in service from 1959 to 1982 …

… the air intake always makes me think of a whale shark …

… next we have a Lockheed CF-104 Starfighter. The first came to Denmark in 1964 and some more in 1972. This Starfighter here is one of 15 purchased from Canada …

… behind the Starfighter you have already seen one of the most popular transport planes of the world, the Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota. Denmark used them from 1953 to 1982. Please note the skis on the landing gear!

… most of the flights of the Skytrains/Dakotas were in Northern Europe. So they flew 2-3 times a week to Greenland and the Faroe Islands to supply everything which was needed. The painting was made after a photo …

… Meanwhile the RDAF uses C-130 Hercules and with the North and Baltic Sea around their country the Danes sure know life is a beach …
Final aircraft for today is the North American F-86 D Sabre which came to Denmark in 1958 …

Hope, you like this thread so far. Will be continued in the next days. Have to check the photos first …

Happy modelling!
Torsten

[varanusk]

Very nice museum and photos, thanks for sharing!

[18bravo]

Nice photos. Curious if you’ve got any of the Saab 37 Viggen. When I was at Flyvestation Karub in '84 I used to watch the Saabs take off and immediately go vertical. Pretty impressive stuff.
Whale burgers and fries every day we weren’t in the field.

[BlackWidow]

Thanks guys!

Denmark had no Viggen, only Draken. Viggen only used in Sweden. And yes, there’s a Draken in the museum …

[litespeed]

Great set of images Torsten. The C-47 ski undercarriage is interesting. Excellent caricatures of the huskies pulling the sledge

[BlackWidow]

Thanks, Tim. The C-47 sure is a beauty, especially in this unusual painting! Many many years ago I’ve built the Revell-Monogram kit in D-Day markings.

We have already mentioned the Draken, so here she is. Those of you who know me from the old Aeroscale Forum. know, that I have a soft spot for the planes of Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, especially the Draken. So I was more than happy to see this RF-35 Draken in the museum. I have the Hasegawa kit still sleeping in my stash. I think it’s time to wake it up … The Draken was in RDAF service from 1970 to 1993. Last flight of the museum machine was in September 1991 …

… and the enblem of Eskadrille (Squadron) 729 on the left side …

… I was really surprised to find this rare bird in the mseum, a Fairey Firefly TT 1. Can’t remember ever seen a real Firefly. The RDAF had 6 Fireflys from 1951 to 1958 for target towing. 3 of them crashed during their service. The other 3 were sold to a swedish company later. This bird is on loan from the Flygvapenmuseum in Linköbing/Sweden …

… the first jet aircraft of the RDAF was the Gloster Meteor Mk. 8, which was in use from 1951 to 1957 …

… another early RADF jet aircraft was the Republic F-84 G Thunderjet. The first came to Denmark in 1951 and by 1957 when the last ones arrived, the RDAF had 238 F-84 G in use …

… there are also some Air Force related vehicles shown in the museum, unfortunately without any information. Can anyone identify this old DAF truck? Must be something like air traffic control, a real jewel …

…and a look inside …

And that’s it for Part 2 of my report. More to follow soon.

Torsten

[BlackWidow]

In previous photos you sure have already seen the biggest bird of the museum, the Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina. While this -6A came in 1957 to Denmark, the first -5A were already delivered to the RDAF in 1947. No chance to get the whole aircraft on a photo …

… the Lockheed T-33 A had nearly an as long service time in the RDAF as the C-47, from 1953 to 1977…

… beside the F-84 Thunderjet Denmark used also the RF-84 F Thunderflash, the first arrived in 1957, the last one in 1963. Sorry, but I couldn’t take any better photos of this bird, it was just too cramped here …

… the most modern aircraft of the RDAF is the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Between 1980 and 1983 58 aircraft arrived in Denmark. During my 3 days stay on the small island Rømø I haven’t seen them but I heared them. In the north of the island there’s a training area of the Air Force …

… there are also some helicopters in the museum, the oldest is the Sikorsky S-55 C, in service from 1957 to 1966 …

And that’s all for Part 3 of my skjern report. More to follow soon …

Torsten