Maybe come to an agreement outside the auction? I can imagine a lot of interested museums.

More on the Lanc section and the owner / builder

Full size replica of WWII Lancaster bomber cockpit assembled by 85-year-old goes on sale for £150K (msn.com)

I still don't know whether Peter Jackson has begun/partially completed/fully completed his remake of 'The Dambusters' film. Given his financial resources, might he be the sort of person who would be interested in snapping this up?

By way of update to an old thread (only a year and a half ago, so by no means the longest resurrection in PPRuNe history!): Norman Groom's immaculate Lancaster cockpit replica is now installed at the Manston Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum. Opened by AM Sean Reynolds last week, it now appears to have a degree of simulator vision and sound capacity and is sporting new (not authentic, but fitting) nose art in tribute to the late Gerry Abrahams, ex-Lancaster aircrew and longstanding museum supporter.

Bookings being taken from the end of this month (May 24), apparently (I have no connection!)

BBC News article here; Isle of Thanet news (!) here: and it also has its own page on Facebook, separate from the Manston Museum page.