Naval Aircraft Museum (Kolkata)

The Naval Aircraft Museum is a military aviation museum located in New Town, Kolkata, India. It is built by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and is exhibiting a Tupolev Tu-142 of Indian Navy.

Not to be confused with Naval Aviation Museum (India).

Naval Aircraft Museum
LocationKolkata, West Bengal, India
Coordinates22.57704°N 88.47818°E / 22.57704; 88.47818
TypeMilitary aviation museum
OwnerWest Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation
Public transit access Sub CBD 1 metro station

Details

Location

The museum is located in DJ Block, Narkel Bagan, Action Area I of New Town, Kolkata, next to the New Town police station.[1][2][3]

History

The initiative for a military museum was taken by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is second museum of its kind in the country, after Visakhapatnam.[4] West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) wants to build attraction zones at each leg of Kolkata Gate. So, a two-acre land that was chosen by HIDCO near the gate. After completion, KMDA will handover the museum to HIDCO.[5] The museum is being built in phases. The first phase was clearing and flattening the land,[6] erecting the foundation, reassembly and installation of the aircraft.[7] The next phase includes identification of an architect to design the layout of the museum.[8] Initially, the opening of the museum was expected by mid-2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.[9][10][11]

Aircraft on display

A decommissioned, 29-year-old Tupolev Tu-142 of the Indian Navy was handed over to the government of West Bengal in February 2020, for setting up the aircraft museum. The aircraft was brought from INS Rajali, Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu, in pieces on sixteen trucks.[12] Transportation and installation costs are being borne by the state government.[9] Reassembly process of the aircraft was started by KMDA, in March 2020.[8][5] Other exhibits for its interior and surroundings like a mannequin pilot, bombs, machinery etc. will be developed by the Navy.[1][6][11] The architect responsible for Master Plan and Illumination Design of the Museum is Debmalya Guha of PACE Consultants Kolkata. The museum was inaugurated by Smt. Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, on 8 June 2022. Apart from the aircraft on display, there is a small children's park and a coffee shop.

See also

References
  1. "Naval museum in New Town". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  2. "Naval Aircraft Museum Kolkata". AviationMuseum. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  3. "Navy to set up aircraft museum in Kolkata". The Hindu. 4 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  4. "Vizag: Indian Navy aircraft turned museum attracts visitors". ANI News. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. "Tupolev 142 plane to be set up at naval aircraft museum". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  6. "Navy may offer Sea Harrier fighter jet for aircraft museum in Kolkata". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  7. PTI (2 August 2021). "Bengal FM writes to Sitharaman against privatisation of insurance cos". www.millenniumpost.in. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. "Indian Navy aircraft arrives in city, to be soon put up at naval museum". The Statesman. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. "Tupolev aircraft arrives in Kolkata, will be installed at India's second naval museum". Zee News. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  10. "Tupolov aircraft for India's second naval museum arrives in Kolkata". WION. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. "Tupolev 142 plane to be set up at naval aircraft museum". outlookindia.com. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  12. "West Bengal to get its first aircraft museum in Kolkata, second in India". Deccan Chronicle. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
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