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hocks away… this is one of the few remaining airfields left that participated in the Battle of Britain and you can get up-close and personal with the iconic aircraft that kept the Luftwaffe at bay.

The museum is home to the Supermarine Spitfire MK XVI (LF) serial TB752 – try saying that in the heat of battle – which is one of the few surviving Spitfires with a bona fide wartime record.

She entered service in March 1945 and initially bombed road and rail targets in northern Holland and Germany before destroying several German aircraft in the final days of the war.

Of the 22,000 Spitfires that were built, there are only 179 still in existence – and many of those are wrecks – so the one here at Manston is a prized specimen indeed.

Sitting proudly alongside the Spitfire, you’ll find a Hawker Hurricane IIC (serial LF751), which also entered service in 1945 – but this place is not just about the planes.

You can also find out about the men who built and designed them, the pilots who took these planes into enemy territory, and the engineers who carried out the sadly frequent but necessary repairs.

It’s inspiring stuff.