The de Havilland Aircraft Museum in London Colney is one of two projects to secure investment from the National Lottery Fund in a bid to safeguard the East of England’s Second World War heritage.

Also set to be transformed by the investment is Bawdsey Radar Transmitter Block in Suffolk, home to the world’s first fully operational radar station.

Robyn Llewellyn, head of Heritage Lottery Fund East of England, said: “The East of England played a vital role during the Second World War, particularly in the field of aviation.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, the Heritage Lottery Fund has been able to invest in two transformational projects that will ensure many more people in the region and beyond are able to explore these pivotal stories from one of our nation’s most important periods in its history.”

The de Havilland Aircraft Museum has been awarded £62,200 out of Heritage Lottery Fund’s £1.5 million to build a new hangar that will better house its collection of de Havilland aircraft.

The museum’s new hangar will be linked to the main hangar, which was built in the early 1980s and houses the DH98 Mosquito prototype.

It will replace the museum’s small original hangar in which its first aircraft, the Mosquito prototype, was initially housed.

Museum marketing director Mike Nevin said: “The new hangar is the most ambitious project on which the museum has ever embarked since it opened to the public in 1959 and it will see us becoming even more closely involved with the community as we will be developing close links with local school and organisations and providing employment and training opportunities.”