New centrepiece for Aviation and Military Museum

Soon on display - but for one week only

There will be a new centrepiece at the Manx Aviation and Military Museum this weekend - but only for one week.

Visitors over half term will be able to see the nose section of a wartime Bristol Bolingbroke bomber plane, which has been painstakingly restored by volunteers since the museum acquired it from Canada in 2004.

The Bolingbroke is the Canadian-built version of the RAF’s Bristol Blenheim Mark IV - the Blenheim is almost extinct, with just one complete and original example left.

A small number of Bolingbrokes have survived, including one which has been restored to complete, flying condition in the UK.

The museum's Bolingbroke is rare, as the oldest example in existence, and also because it has an operational history - most were used for training purposes.

This example went into service with the Royal Canadian Air Force in October 1941, and was used on patrols over the Pacific Ocean searching for Japanese submarines.

The plane was also damaged twice in collisions on the ground, but survived the war and was sold for scrap to a Canadian farmer.

It's another major exhibition piece for the Ronaldsway museum, which is currently ranked the number one Manx 'thing to do' on TripAdvisor.

The piece will be on display outside the Museum from this Saturday (27 Oct), all through half term, and then at a later date at a venue to be revealed.

The reason it's only on display for a week is because there's no space for the piece indoors, and if left outside, it will deteriorate with exposure to the elements.

Director Ivor Ramsden says many of these planes were actually based on Manx shores during WWII: