Central Air Force Museum

Central Air Force Museum
	Aerial view of the outdoor exhibit
	Location in Russia
Established	28 November 1958
Location	Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia
Coordinates	55°49′58″N 38°10′59″E / 55.832778°N 38.183056°E
Type	Aviation museum
Website	https://www.cmvvs.ru/

An exhibit room of the Central Air Force Museum.

The Central Air Force Museum (Russian: Центральный музей Военно-воздушных сил РФ) is an aviation museum in Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia. A branch of the Central Armed Forces Museum, it is one of the world's largest aviation museums, and the largest for Soviet aircraft, with a collection including 173 aircraft and 127 aircraft engines on display. The museum also features additional displays, including Cold War-era American espionage equipment, weapons, instruments, uniforms, artwork, and a library containing books, films, and photos is also accessible to visitors.

The Central Air Force Museum is located on the grounds of the Gagarin Air Force Academy on the site of the former Monino Airfield, 40 kilometers (25 mi) east of Moscow.

History[]

The origins of the museum go back to 1940 when the village of Monino was selected to be the location of the Gagarin Air Force Academy. The museum itself was founded in 1958, two years after the airfield was closed, and had 6 aircraft and 20 aircraft guns at the time. When it opened to the public another two years later in 1960, it had 14 aircraft. By early 1970, the museum's collection had expanded to about 40 aircraft. In 1990, the aircraft on display were rearranged according to design bureau and chronological order.^[1] The museum's main hall was mostly destroyed by fire in 2005.^[2] By 2013, a new hangar had been built to house the World War II aircraft.^[3] In 2016, it was reported that the museum was to close, with the exhibits being transferred to Patriot Park.^[4] However, a new exhibition hall was opened in February 2020.^[5]

Prior to 1999, the museum was closed to the public, because of the display of classified prototypes from the era of the former Soviet Union.^{[citation needed]}. Today, the museum contains a range of aircraft, both domestic and foreign, including military, civil and special purpose. The museum also houses associated pieces, such as the uniforms, documents, models and equipment related to the aircraft. The museum is currently open to members of the public to visit.^[6]

Visiting[]

Since the museum is situated on the territory of a military unit (Gagarin Air Force Academy), all visitors must pass the entrance gate to the military complex. As of summer 2006, special permission to visit is no longer required. As of March 2012 there are apparently only five full-time employees at the museum, which opens on an occasional basis. Visitors are advised to confirm in advance when the museum is open.

The Museum guide offers this advice for visiting the museum:

by minibus or bus no. 362 from Schelkovskay metro station/bus station to Monino.
by bus no 322 (Moscow - Noginsk route) from the bus station near Partizanskaya station to "Academy VVS" stop (38 km).
by train from Yaroslavsky railway station (Komsomolskaya metro station) to Monino.
by Yandex from/ to Central Moscow: Business Class ~2600 rubles, Comfort + about 1600 rubles. Door to door, takes about an hour each way depending on traffic. (Current as of January 2020). Entry fee 250 rubles.

Facilities[]

There are lavatory facilities, a small shop and vending machine for food and drinks (May 2014). There are two large hangars with well-displayed items and much material about the items, but all in Russian, although some have a brief translation into English. Another hangar, as of March 2012 is under construction to house more exhibits that are to be moved from the field into the new hangar. A museum booklet is available, published in 2008, from the museum officials. 36 A4 pages long, the booklet includes an introduction, along with photographs and descriptions of each individual aeroplane.^{[citation needed]}