The spiritual home of Naval aviation shed new light on its heritage by putting on show items often hidden from public view and hosting a sale of art works.

The Fleet Air Arm Museum, which sits on part of the RN air station Yeovilton site, hosted one of the largest art exhibitions in the south-west, with original prints and sculptures on display.

It is also home to far more items, artefacts and even veteran aircraft than it can put on public display.

But bosses decided their reserve collection was worth seeing, and threw open the doors of Cobham Hall, opposite the main museum buildings.

As museum curator Cdr David Hobbs explained: “Our reserve collection is larger than that of many other aircraft museums.”

Around five miles of shelving and more than 30,000 records and artefacts were on display in the hall, where the climate is specially controlled to preserve the items.

Among the treasures on show were a prototype bouncing bomb, and more than 30 historic aircraft, from the first swept-wing aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier to the gazelle helicopter in which the Duke of York learnt to fly.

The building has been opened on three days this year to the public but the work of staff at Cobham Hall extends beyond simply looking after the treasures of the FAA – there are some natural gems which they are also keeping a close eye on.

For example, a Little Owl is using the owl nesting box at the site, and staff are tending to the wild orchids on the surrounding grass banks.

The museum has also hosted a display and sale of artwork with a distinctly military theme as part of Somerset Art Weeks.

Well-known artists such as Edward Ash, Rex Phillips and Andrew Simpson, as well as the Canvas Club and the Armed Forces Art Society made use of the museum’s facilities to display their work.

Jon Jefferies, the museum’s head of marketing, said: “There is a huge amount of interest in the arts in the south and the number of potential exhibitors has exceeded our expectations.”