The East Essex Aviation Society and Museum has been housed in the historic Martello Tower at Point Clear since it's first opening to visitors in 1985. The Tower is one of the first to be built on the east coast to repel any possible invasion from France during the Napoleonic war and is one of the few Martello Towers still open to the Public. The Society was formed in 1985 when interest grew locall
y in the recovery of a crashed American P51-D Mustang of the US 479th Fighter Group that was forced to ditch into the sea off Clacton on the 13th January 1945, with the loss of the Pilot's life. The Tower was an ideal place to store and preserve the wreckage after it was retrieved from the sea. The remains of this aircarft now takes pride of place along with a memorial display to the Pilot. Flying Officer Raymond E King. In addition to this the Museum also houses a large collection of displays covering the major conflicts of the 20th century. On the ground floor, are many items recovered from local crash sites several displays and "Freds Workshop" where volunteers clean and preserve recovered crash site artefacts. The oldest artefact we have is a Mammoth bone which is believed to be One Million years old! On the First Floor, the visitor is greeted by a wide range of memorabilia that has been lent or given to the Museum, or is part of our members personal collections. These displays contain uniforms, equipment, and items from the First World War, Second World War, Army, Navy, American Forces, The 479th Fighter Group, Home Front, Civil Defence, Royal Observer Corps, RAF, German, ATS and much more. On the roof, there are more displays including a large aircraft wheel from a Shackleton Coastal Command aircraft. The views on a clear day are superb ranging from Colchester, some 14 miles away, to Mersea Island and Bradwell Atomic Energy Power Station. Much More nearer is the town of Brightlingsea across the River Colne. We very much regret that owing to the type and age of the building, disabled visitors may find they are unable to visit the roof and first floor. However they are most welcome to explore the ground floor and society members will be available to talk about other displays and hopefully make their visit enjoyable. We are open :
Monday 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm throughout the year. April to October
Sunday 10.00 am to 2.00 pm
June to September
Wednesday 10.00 am to 2.00 pm
Extra opening on Bank Holidays. We are pleased to open the museum for groups of a reasonable size at prior arrangement.
