Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
Slovenia mushroom foraging
Slovenia • 6 days, 5 nights
Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
“Yo Soy el Buen Pastor Ego Sum Pastor Bonus” by Bernardo Ramonfaur.
Museo Arquidiocesano de Arte Sacro (Archdiocese Sacred Art Museum)
Burke Building.
Burke Building
‘La Grande Assiette Brisée’ (‘The Large Broken Plate’)
Ellijay Mushrooms Farm
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
View of the full general store from the second floor.
MoonPie General Store
A slice of cake is the perfect coda to a meal at Piatto Romano.
Piatto Romano
Crunchy and supremely satisfying, suppli might be the ultimate street food snack.
Supplizio
The pedigreed pistachios here are from Bronte.
Gelateria dei Gracchi
This tiny hole-in-the-wall serves one of the world’s most magnificent sandwiches.
Er Buchetto
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Our journey begins in Texas—more specifically in Big Bend National Park.
The Atlas Obscura (Audio) Guide to the National Parks
about 10 hours ago
While initially unsanctioned, Toronto’s graffiti community converted this largely ignored alleyway into an epicenter of world-class street art.
10 Unexpected Places Where Creativity Shines in Toronto
about 10 hours ago
Prehistoric creatures roam the grounds of the Dinosaur House.
Roadside Dinosaurs: An American Love Story
about 11 hours ago
There’s No Right Way to Say ‘Taco’
about 15 hours ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England Blackpool Spitfire Visitor Centre
AO Edited

Spitfire Visitor Centre

See reconstructed Spitfires and other World War II-era planes in a hangar originally used by the Royal Air Force.

Blackpool, England

Added By
Dark Nebula Deluxe
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The Spitfire Visitor Centre.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
The Spitfire Visitor Centre.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
The Spitfire Visitor Centre.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
The Messerschmidt bf109e at the Spitfire Visitor Centre.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
A recreation of a briefing room at the Spitfire Visitor Centre.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
A room in the Spitfire Visitor Centre with equipment salvaged from crashed aircraft and other airplane-related items.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
Cockpit equipment that will be used to reconstruct an Airspeed Oxford aircraft.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
One of the aircraft at the Spitfire Visitor Centre.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
One of the aircraft at the Spitfire Visitor Centre.   Dark Nebula Deluxe / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Located in Hangar 42 at Blackpool Airport, which was built in 1939 for the Royal Air Force, the Spitfire Visitor Centre is a museum featuring, among other attractions, full-scale replicas of World War II-era Spitfire fighter aircraft.

Reconstructed using original parts, the aircraft on display also include a Hawker Hurricane MKI and the Messerschmidt bf109e. Visitors can even sit inside the cockpit.

The museum also contains recreations of some of the offices and meeting rooms used by the RFA, aircraft parts (including items salvaged from aircraft that crashed in the Blackpool area), and a flight simulator.

In 2009, John Coombes, then-leader of the Lytham St. Annes Council, uncovered a photograph from World War II of a Spitfire fighter plane in the local council’s files.  Through some research, Coombes learned that the plane had been funded by the local community and had gone into operation in February 1942, but both the plane and its pilot were lost in the English Channel four months later. Moved by this story, Coombes organized a volunteer group named the Lytham St. Annes Spitfire Display Team to construct a full-scale replica of a Spitfire as a memorial to both the individual pilot as well as the other members of the Royal Air Force who served in the Blackpool area during World War II. That memorial, commonly called the Lytham St. Annes Spitfire, now stands on the shore of Fairhaven Lake between Lytham and St. Annes.

The volunteers and staff at the museum continue to work on aircraft restoration, give talks, and even provide both aircraft and people for filming and re-enactments.  However, work is still ongoing to improve and expand the museum at the center to record and preserve the history of World War II in the Blackpool area.

Related Tags

Museums Aircraft World War Ii

Know Before You Go

The Spitfire Visitor Centre is open from March to November, and only during select days of the week. The exact opening times depend on the availability of volunteers.

The floor of the hangar is flat and therefore wheelchair-accessible.

The location can easily be reached by car or by bus from other places within Blackpool or from the communities to the south of Blackpool, including Lytham and St. Annes. The Squire’s Gate Train Station and the southern terminus of the Blackpool Tram at Starr Gate are both located nearby.

The entrance to the Spitfire Visitor Centre can be accessed from a road running south from Squires Gate Lane at the west end of the airport. Visitors need to stay on the far west side of the airport until reaching a car park (or parking lot). A footpath clearly marked with signs for the Spitfire Visitor Centre leads from the south side of that car park to the entrance.

Community Contributors

Added By

Dark Nebula Deluxe

Edited By

rbenn250

  • rbenn250

Published

December 26, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.showtownblackpool.co.uk/things-to-discover/hangar-42-lytham-st-annes-spitfire-visitor-centre
  • https://spitfirevisitorcentre.co.uk/
Spitfire Visitor Centre
Hangar 42 (South, Squires Gate Ln)
Blackpool, England, FY4 2QY
United Kingdom
53.77607, -3.044219
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Sand Dunes of St. Anne's

Blackpool, England

miles away

Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machines

Blackpool, England

miles away

Old Lifeboat House

Lytham, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Blackpool

Blackpool

England

Places 5
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Sand Dunes of St. Anne's

Blackpool, England

miles away

Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machines

Blackpool, England

miles away

Old Lifeboat House

Lytham, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Blackpool

Blackpool

England

Places 5
Stories 1

Related Places

  • The interior of the Control Tower is still undergoing work. Note the row of hangars in the background in this eastward view.

    Wendover, Utah

    Historic Wendover Airfield

    This pristine World War II airfield gives a comprehensive look at atomic development and aviation history.

  • F14 Fighter Jet

    Alameda, California

    USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum

    After serving in World War II and picking up Apollo astronauts, this aircraft carrier has been turned into a museum overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

  • The only restored Halifax in Europe

    York, England

    Yorkshire Air Museum

    This aircraft museum is home to one of just three Halifax bombers in the world.

  • Schorfheide, Germany

    Finowfurt Aviation Museum

    This former Soviet military base has over 10 original aircraft and an enormous amount of memorabilia on display.

  • Glasgow, Scotland

    Spitfire LA198

    An icon of the Battle of Britain is frozen in flight in a grand Victorian museum.

  • The H-4 Hercules, aka “Spruce Goose.”

    McMinnville, Oregon

    The Spruce Goose

    The wooden airship was the largest flying boat ever built.

  • L-birds at Cannon Field.

    San Antonio, Texas

    L-Bird Flying Museum

    A collection of vintage liaison aircraft kept in flying condition and on display at an airfield in San Antonio.

  • Westland Lysander

    Central Bedfordshire, England

    Westland Lysander at the Shuttleworth Collection

    A rare example of the RAF’s flying spy taxi.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.