Book 2 Agenda item: 6
6
Preservation & Scholarship
Collections - Conservation, Cataloguing, Acquisitions
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM
Charity Number
244708
Applicant
Mr Andrew McGlynn, Head of Fundraising Development
Present Appeal
Dornier Do-17 Preservation and Conservation Project. The
most significant aeronautical discovery in living memory.
Amount Requested
£30,000
Organisation Overview
The RAF Museum is a registered charity and the only national museum in the UK dedicated solely to the
history of aviation and the people who changed the world through flight. Its collections tell stories of
immense technological leaps and of ordinary people doing extraordinary things of national crisis. The
Museum charts the history of military aviation from its antecedents in army ballooning to pilotless aircraft
today. Its records include those of important pioneers of the industry, including Claude Grahame-White who
set up the London Aerodrome on the Hendon site in 1911, and those of ordinary men and women whose
service has contributed to the Royal Air Force for more than 90 years.
The Museum occupies three sites at London, Cosford, and Stafford and its purpose is: to inspire and educate
the public about the importance of aviation and air power both in today's world and in the future; •to show
how it has inspired people to important technological and personal achievements; •to be a repository for
research, public access and conservation; •to conserve, restore and display its artefacts.
The RAF Museum Cosford is home to the multi award winning Michael Beetham Conservation Centre
(MBCC). Here a dedicated team of Technicians and Apprentices manage the engineering integrity of the
RAF Museum's aircraft collection. The Museum has a highly successful technical apprentice programme
based at the MBCC Centre training young people in heritage aviation skills. The apprentices have won
regional awards in the National Apprentice of the Year Awards and the Museum won the Small Employer of
the Year award in 2010 and was a finalist in 2011.
Project Outline
The Museum has identified the intact remains of the world's only surviving WW2 Dornier Do-17 bomber in
the shallows off the Kent coast. Funding is in place to raise it in May 2013. Highlighting the significance,
the lift will be covered live by the BBC and it is anticipated wide spread coverage in other media outlets in
the UK and internationally. Preservation and conservation of the aircraft will take approx. 2 years, during
this time the public will be able to view the Dornier in a specially constructed 'Hydration Tunnel' alongside a
temporary exhibition to explore the history of the aircraft and the science behind its recovery. The Pilgrim
Trust is asked to contribute towards the conservation of this unique aircraft ensuring the long term
preservation of the most significant aeronautical discovery in living memory. Once stabilised and conserved
the Dornier will be unveiled at the RAF Museum London's 'Battle of Britain' exhibition hall in London.
The aircraft has been fully exposed for the last two years but it is believed that prior to this it was entirely
covered by sand. Once the Dornier is raised it needs to be stabilised against corrosion, the marine deposits
removed and any historical information preserved. This is an unusual and challenging engineering problem.
The Dornier is constructed of aluminium, which is very sensitive to corrosion. Few aluminium artefacts
Book 2 Agenda item: 6
have been recovered from the sea and so best practice and literature is scarce. As a reactive metal,
aluminium is particularly prone to localised corrosion damage by any chloride left on the surface once the
aircraft leaves the sea.
The Museum is working with researchers from Imperial College London to develop new methods to prevent
corrosion of the aircraft once it has been lifted from the Channel and to ensure its long term preservation.
(An overview of this conservation research is attached). The initial 'post-surface' lift and dock transfer
protection process will break the corrosion cycle by minimising the oxygen that reaches the drying surface
of the Dornier. This will be achieved by coating the surfaces of the aircraft with a gel-detergent and,
following the immediate work to separate wings and fuselage, the sealing of these gel-coated components
ready for travel. Following arrival at the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre at Cosford the Dornier will
be housed in an innovative and specially constructed 'Hydration Tunnel' where a micro-droplet spray
application of water and enviro-friendly chemical mixes will work to preserve the aircrafts structure.
Financial Information
Organisation
Year End
Restricted
31/03/12
Income
8,232,992
Expenditure
9,191,188
Total Net
Assets
Project
Overall estimated cost
Income
RAF Museum purchase grant
National Heritage Memorial
Fund
Friends of the RAF Museum
EADS
238 Support Services
Public donations
Unrestricted
Total
2,643,166
2,477,414
10,876,158
11,668,602
61,938,108
£861,229
321,000
343,826
12,000
7,500
10,000
7,000
Requested from the Pilgrim Trust...................................£30,000
Comments
This is a very expensive project and although the majority of the money has been raised there is still some
£160,000 outstanding. Sarah Staniforth has commented that the conservation proposals are appropriate,
"good science and good public access during treatment". However, it is a large project and is likely to go
ahead with or without Pilgrim Trust support and the live coverage of the lift on the BBC will undoubtedly
generate donations.