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Exhibits at the North East Land Sea & Air Museums

100 Years of Transport History

The North East Land Sea & Air Museum - NELSAM - contains exhibits both locally and nationally significant, from whole airframes to important records, military to civilian. This page gives details of what you can expect to see in our collection.
Select the areas below to browse our collection by area, or use the search section below to search through our full collection.

Our Displays

Plan your visit


607 Squadron display

607 Squadron Display

WW2 Street Scene

WWII Street Scene

Main Hangar

Main Aircraft Hangar

Outside

Outside

Military Collection

Military Romney

navy

Navy Collection

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History of the North East Land Sea & Air Museums

  1. March 1974

    A group of vintage aircraft enthusiasts began to meet at Sunderland Airport (formerly RAF Usworth) to exchange views, slides and information about their chosen interest. To this aim the informal gathering became formalised as the North East Vintage and Veteran Aircraft Association or NEVVAA, a pun in there never being any opportunity to see vintage aircraft in the region. The group establishes a site in Lambton Pleasure Park.

  2. March 1975

    A Dragonfly helicopter is purchased from Hughes scrapyard in Richmond, North Yorkshire and moved to the new site.

  3. May 1975

    A Meteor F.8 is purchased from the M.O.D and moved to the site on the 3rd May 1975 becoming the first jet fighter to travel through the Tyne Tunnel (albeit on the back of a lorry!). Further airframes arrive by the end of the year. Namely a Jet Provost T.5 fuselage from RAF Leeming and a Luton Minor with a Brown Helicopter which were found locally in a derelict barn and donated to the museum.

  4. February 1977

    An ex Danish AF Hawker Hunter F.51 is the first airframe to arrive at the new site established now at Sunderland Municipal Airport.

  5. May 1977

    NEVVAA changes its name to the Northumbrian Aeronautical Collection (NAC).

  6. February 1978

    The NAC adds a F.100 Super Sabre to its collection.

  7. August 1978

    Another American jets arrives in the shape of a Lockheed T.33 Shooting Star.

  8. 1979

    A Vickers Valetta which had been a long term resident at the airport is placed under the care of the NAC.

  9. 1979

    The NAC adds a Mystere IVA to the collection. Its also changes its name again. This time to the North East Aircraft Museum (NEAM)

  10. May 1981

    The museum successfully negotiates the loan of two historical airframes. A Bristol Brigand and the Supermarine Swift which broke the world air speed record in 1953 (WK198). By the end of the year the collection had been expanded further by the arrival of a DH Sea Venom from Belfast.

  11. 1982

    The nose section of a Canberra arrives

  12. 21st January 1983

    A significant part of the airport and museum history is made when on the 21st a Vulcan B2touches down at Sunderland airport to join the NEAM, becoming the first Vulcan into a private collection.

  13. April 1984

    Sunderland council announce that Sunderland Airport is to close to make way for a car factory. The future of the museum remains uncertain until late in to the year when the council offers a long term lease on a four acre site just outside the boundary of the former airfield. Two more exhibits for the museum arrive in the form of Whirlwind HAS.7 and the cockpit of a Comet.

  14. October 1985

    A arrives by road from Greece. The nose section of a Meteor NF.11 follows.

  15. 1987

    NEAM decides to open the museum on a full time basis. A F-86D Sabre arrives from Greece.

  16. 1988

    British Aerospace donates a Canberra TT.18 to the museum.

  17. December 1988

    An early military Gazelle (3rd prototype) arrives and is displayed alongside its civil counterpart G-BAGJ which had arrived the year before.

  18. 1989

    A project is started centred on raising the necessary funds to place a number of airframes undercover. In April an ex Saudi AF Lightning F.53 arrives at the museum. The Comet nose is removed by its owner, but a replacement is found in the form of G-BEEX.

  19. 1991

    Planning permission is granted for a new display hangar. The development is celebrated by the arrival of a rare Vampire FB.5, a Whirlwind HAR.10 and a Jet Provost nose section.

  20. 1993

    The erection of a new display hangar is started and more exhibits arrive in shape of a Dove in January and Shorts SD330 in April. The cockpit sections of both the Canberra and Jet Provost are transferred to another museum. In September an ex Argentine AF Pucara arrives followed by two helicopters. The helicopters were the first exhibits to be placed straight into the new hangar.

  21. 1994

    The original and badly corroded Pucara is replaced with a much better example from the Fleet Air Arm.

  22. 1994

    Disaster struck, when the Valetta C2 was destroyed by arsonists.

  23. 2009

    Save The Trident group starts moving parts of DH Trident G-ARPO - the last remaining Trident in the world - from Durham Tees Valley airport to the NELSAM site for restoration work to begin.

  24. January 2012

    The former Military vehicles museum moved from Newcastle's Exhibition Park to sit alongside NEAM, and formed the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums - NELSAM - as it is today.

  25. March 2012

    The Blitz Street scene is completed after taking over 14 months so set up.

  26. November 2012

    New exhibits arrive - a 1942 Austin K2 Heavy Pump unit ex-Stockton Fire Service, and a unique Dennis F12 based fire tender, modified to be bespoke for Middlesbrough Fire Service to cope with low bridges in the area.

  27. April 2013

    The North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust (NEETT) begins moving trams and buses into the new tramshed on the NELSAM site.

  28. May 2013

    Trident G-ARPO lifted out of the museum car part, where it had been since 2011, and into the museum grounds to be with the other outdoor exhibits - the Vulcan and Lightning - whilst restoration continues.

  29. November 2013

    The grand opening of the 607 Squadron display at the museum - attended by 15 veterans from the 6-7 (County of Durham) Squadron, mounting a guard of honour whilst the Mayor and Mayoress of the City of Sunderland, and local MP, cut the ribbon. An ex-RAF Bulldog also made a series of flypasts.

  30. December 2013

    The tram shed for NEETT gets track installed and extension completed.

  31. May 2015

    New exhibit Saunders-Roe (SARO) Skeeter AOP.12 XM555 arrives at NELSAM from the RAF Museum's collection.

  32. February 2018

    New exhibit - an Abbot self-propelled gun - arrives. This is significant to the local area as it was manufactured locally at the Vickers plant in Elswick, Newcastle.

  33. October 2018

    The Museum takes delivery of a new exhibits - a 15/19 Hussars Scorpion Tank, and moved into place to be with the other military vehicles.

  34. March 2019

    A new adition to the collection arrives - a mock-up of Vigin Trains class 390 (Pendolino) cab. This will be displayed in the Tram Shed.

  35. June 2019

    Vulcan B.2. XL319 gets some much needed restoration work, courtesy of the Bluebird Restoration team, including painting external surfaces and even turning the engine over with compressed air. Later in the month, a limited fuel run was completed on a single engine as a 'proof of concept' - this will not be repeated but it was great to see and hear the engine run again after over 35 years of being outside at the museum.

  36. January 2020

    The long-term residents, Lockheed T-33A 'Shooting Star' and Dassault Mystere were moved from site after being dismantled by specialist firm GJD Services. Loaned from the USAF in 1979 and 1982 respectively, these exhibits are moving in line with the major plans for the museum, which will see a priotiy to owned rather than Loaned exhibits. The removal of these two, plus the F-100 Super Sabre (for which a home is being sought) will allow the EE Lightning to be moved inside, as well as making access to other exhibits easier for visitors, and the re-assembling of the Short 330-100.
    The Mystere is heading to the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow, with the T-33 moving to the South Wales Air Museum (SWAM) at St. Athan.

  37. March 2020

    Amidst COVID closures, NELSAM takes delivery of an aircraft tug, formerly serving on HMS Ark Royal - this will help facilitate future aircraft moves with much more ease. Also added to the collection are some new exhibits from Britvic - 3 delivery lorrys and a horse-drawn Dray.

  38. 2021

    With the museum finally reopening to visitors in May 2021, later in the year a fantastic new addition was gifted to NELSAM by the RAF - a Tornado F3 ZE204, and unveiled to the public in September with a ceremony attended by several RAF and other dignitories

  39. March 2022

    The museum takes delivery of another high profile exhibit, Sea Harrier ZD582 for the Falklands 40th Celebrations

  40. May 2024

    The museum takes high profile delivery of a Hawk T1 into the collection - unveiled to the public in a ceremony covered by the BBC and other media.

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Registered Charity Number: 1150286 - Limited Company Number: 02828043 - Member of Aviation Heritage UK (AHUK)