70th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
DUXFORD SEPTEMBER 2010
Review & photographs by Simon Fenwick & Jeremy Welsman
Having been to many airshows over the years anticipation is always high when a really special occasion comes along. With 2010 being the 70th Anniversary of The Battle Of Britain, there were of course many special events planned right across the country and the IWM at Duxford was no different.
Duxford can rightly claim to be famed for its part in the Battle. It was a 12 Group sector station that was at the thick of the events of that summer. The first Spitfire squadron, number 19 sqn, was formed here and the famous – or some would say infamous – Bader ‘Big Wing’ was flown from the station.
Since those days, Duxford has also become famous, not only as the home of the IWM aircraft collection, but also for the part it played in the Battle Of Britain film, much of which was filmed at the airfield – indeed it still bears the scars – and which also gave a massive boost to warbird preservation in Britain. Duxford is now also home to what must be one of the largest collections of airworthy WWII aircraft and also boasts a thriving preservation ‘industry’.
Throughout 2010, the museum put on several special events and exhibitions, but the centrepiece of these was always planned to be the two-day Battle Of Britain Airshow weekend in early September. Right from the beginning of the year, expectation was very high as to what would be on the programme and the organisers excelled themselves. In fact on the Saturday, such was the height of that expectation that the crowds were simply too large for Duxford to cope with queues stretching so far and with car parks totally full, that gates had to be closed early. This reviewer has certainly never seen crowds like it at this venue and immediately prior to the flying display it was almost impossible to move about as people were packed in so tightly.
The traditional Flightline Walk gave the public an opportunity to get as ‘up close and personal’ as possible to the aircraft which included for the first time two Hispano Buchons (Spanish built Bf109s), both of which took part in the making of the film mentioned above. Visitors included representatives from Belgium and Norway, illustrating the link that still exists from the days when pilots from many countries fought alongside our ‘boys’ in the skies above. From Belgium there was a SIAI-Marchetti SF260 and there was a Vampire from the Royal Norwegian Air Force Historic Squadron. In the flying display on the Saturday, the ‘Allies’ included ‘Mitch’ Beulen from the Belgian Air Component in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and making a welcome return for a full display were the 8 Alpha Jets from The Patrouille de France.
The Royal Air Force gave great support to the show including 5 Hawks (including the new T.2) from today’s 19 Sqn at RAF Valley who performed a couple of flypasts before a moving ‘missing man’ formation which was followed by a well respected (on the whole) minute’s silence. 19 Sqn also provided a T.2 and a T.1A on the Hangar Base (the area where one of Duxford’s famous hangars were blown up for the Battle Of Britain film) for the public to get a very close look at these exceptional trainer aircraft. The Hawk was also represented in the world class style of The Red Arrows who opened the show on both days.
Saturday also saw the display by the Typhoon FGR.4 from 29(R) Sqn and Tom Bould flew the specially schemed Tucano T.1 on Sunday. On what was a busy weekend for them, The Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight added to the WWII aircraft with the Lancaster, Spitfire V and Hurricane IIc.
Of course on this special weekend it was aircraft from The Second World War that were at the forefront and following the Reds, it was the home-based Fighter Collection that got things started with the Sea Fury T.20, Mustang ‘Miss Velma’ and making a very welcome return this year the mighty Grumman Bearcat. Duxford based B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Sally B’ – now the only airworthy example in Europe – flew on both days whereas OFMC’s P-51D ‘Ferocious Frankie’ and Plane Sailing’s Catalina only took part on the Sunday. The other Sunday only participants were The Aerostars in their Yak-50s.
There was a very wide range of aircraft which took part in the Battle Of Britain, not just the famous fighters. Those at Duxford included versions of some of the training and liaison aircraft that were in service at the time. These included the famous Harvard trainer on which so many pilots learnt their trade. Also on the trainer theme, but this time from the Axis side, Anna Walker gave one of her remarkable performances in the Bucker Jungmann and she was joined in the sky by Mark Rijkse in his Jungmeister. Representing the aircraft which acted as the important liaison machines were Mark Miller’s Dragon Rapide (which saw service as a Dominie) and the very rare Leopard Moth. During the war, ATA pilots delivered Spitfires and Hurricanes to the stations and it was aircraft such as these two which were used to ferry those pilots back to collect their next ‘delivery’.
The main theme of the show of course was The Battle Of Britain and naturally this formed the centrepiece of the flying. First up was The Shuttleworth Collection’s Gloster Gladiator I representing the RAF’s last biplane fighter – earlier on the flightline it was joined by the Fighter Collection’s example which is still to fly a public display.
Although it was responsible for more ‘kills’ than any other Allied aircraft during the battle, the Hurricane has always taken more of a back seat compared to the Spitfire and this has also resulted in there being far less airworthy examples in preservation. At this show though there were four examples flying in formation and undertaking a very rare tailchase sequence which also included The Aircraft Restoration Company’s Buchon in the hands of John Romain. (Details of the Hurricanes and all the Spitfires, including serials, operators and pilots are given in a special table at the foot of this review).
The ultimate highlight for the eyes and the ears was the closing sequence commemorating the Battle with a massed formation of Spitfires (15 Spitfires and Kennet Aviation’s Seafire). The massed take off was full of sound and atmosphere, especially for those at the western end of the airfield who got the full feel of what this must have been like 70 years ago. As the formation got together to the south, the sound could be heard building and when it turned in from Royston to run along the crowd line was awe-inspiring and there was total silence which turned into spontaneous applause. However, if that single massed formation flypast was special, then words can’t really described what was to follow. As they broke up into their sections, flypasts were flown to illustrate what a squadron section would have looked like and then followed one of the best flying sequences ever staged at Duxford. This was a most incredible tailchase with one set of Spitfires chasing to the south of the runway, whilst another flew fast and low the length of the airfield. Back and forth they went. Such was the spectacle that even some hardened photographers put down their cameras to gaze in awe. Over the top of the chase, Alan Wade and Charlie Brown flew tight formation loops in the Mk.Vs. Unfortunately, all good things have to end and these wonderful machines started their down wind legs for landing whilst Brian Smith in OFMC’s famous Mk.IX MH434 gave a final solo display.
To say that The Battle Of Britain Air Show exceeded all expectations would be a massive understatement. Everyone who attends airshows has their favourite but surely no one came away from this one with anything other than praise for everyone involved, especially the pilots who put on such a sparkling display. This show ranks up there with the very best ever staged.
HURRICANES
Mk.I R4118 Peter Vacher Carl Schofield
Mk.Ib Z7015 Suttleworth Collection Dave Mackay (Sea Hurricane)
Mk.IIc PZ865 BBMF
Mk.IIb BE505 Hangar 11 Collection Peter Teichman
Mk.XII Z5140 Historic Aircraft Collection Dave Harvey
SPITFIRES
Mk.I AR213 Sheringham Aviation Jonathon Whaley
Mk.Vb AB910 BBMF
Mk.Vb BM597 Historic Aircraft Collection Charlie Brown
Mk.Vb EP120 Fighter Collection Alan Wade
Mk.IX MH434 OFMC Brian Smith
Mk.IX TA805 Peter Monk Clive Denney
Mk.IX PL344 Spitfire Ltd Cliff Spink
Mk.IXc MK732 R Neth AF Chris Lorraine
TR.IX PV202 Historic Flying Dave Ratcliffe
TR.IX SM520 Spitfire Displays Pete Kynsey
TR.IX ML407 Air Leasing Richard Grace
TR.IX MJ627 MSB Aviation Paul Day
TR.IX PT462 Anthony Hodgson John Romain
Mk.XVIe TE184 Paul Andrews Dan Griffith
Mk.XVIe TD248 Spitfire Ltd Rod Dean
Mk.XVII SX336 Kennet Aviation John Beattie (Seafire)
PR.XIX PS853 Rolls-Royce (Static)
PR.XIX PS890 Christophe Jacquard Eric Goujon
Review & photographs by Simon Fenwick & Jeremy Welsman
Having been to many airshows over the years anticipation is always high when a really special occasion comes along. With 2010 being the 70th Anniversary of The Battle Of Britain, there were of course many special events planned right across the country and the IWM at Duxford was no different.
Duxford can rightly claim to be famed for its part in the Battle. It was a 12 Group sector station that was at the thick of the events of that summer. The first Spitfire squadron, number 19 sqn, was formed here and the famous – or some would say infamous – Bader ‘Big Wing’ was flown from the station.
Since those days, Duxford has also become famous, not only as the home of the IWM aircraft collection, but also for the part it played in the Battle Of Britain film, much of which was filmed at the airfield – indeed it still bears the scars – and which also gave a massive boost to warbird preservation in Britain. Duxford is now also home to what must be one of the largest collections of airworthy WWII aircraft and also boasts a thriving preservation ‘industry’.
Throughout 2010, the museum put on several special events and exhibitions, but the centrepiece of these was always planned to be the two-day Battle Of Britain Airshow weekend in early September. Right from the beginning of the year, expectation was very high as to what would be on the programme and the organisers excelled themselves. In fact on the Saturday, such was the height of that expectation that the crowds were simply too large for Duxford to cope with queues stretching so far and with car parks totally full, that gates had to be closed early. This reviewer has certainly never seen crowds like it at this venue and immediately prior to the flying display it was almost impossible to move about as people were packed in so tightly.
The traditional Flightline Walk gave the public an opportunity to get as ‘up close and personal’ as possible to the aircraft which included for the first time two Hispano Buchons (Spanish built Bf109s), both of which took part in the making of the film mentioned above. Visitors included representatives from Belgium and Norway, illustrating the link that still exists from the days when pilots from many countries fought alongside our ‘boys’ in the skies above. From Belgium there was a SIAI-Marchetti SF260 and there was a Vampire from the Royal Norwegian Air Force Historic Squadron. In the flying display on the Saturday, the ‘Allies’ included ‘Mitch’ Beulen from the Belgian Air Component in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and making a welcome return for a full display were the 8 Alpha Jets from The Patrouille de France.
The Royal Air Force gave great support to the show including 5 Hawks (including the new T.2) from today’s 19 Sqn at RAF Valley who performed a couple of flypasts before a moving ‘missing man’ formation which was followed by a well respected (on the whole) minute’s silence. 19 Sqn also provided a T.2 and a T.1A on the Hangar Base (the area where one of Duxford’s famous hangars were blown up for the Battle Of Britain film) for the public to get a very close look at these exceptional trainer aircraft. The Hawk was also represented in the world class style of The Red Arrows who opened the show on both days.
Saturday also saw the display by the Typhoon FGR.4 from 29(R) Sqn and Tom Bould flew the specially schemed Tucano T.1 on Sunday. On what was a busy weekend for them, The Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight added to the WWII aircraft with the Lancaster, Spitfire V and Hurricane IIc.
Of course on this special weekend it was aircraft from The Second World War that were at the forefront and following the Reds, it was the home-based Fighter Collection that got things started with the Sea Fury T.20, Mustang ‘Miss Velma’ and making a very welcome return this year the mighty Grumman Bearcat. Duxford based B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Sally B’ – now the only airworthy example in Europe – flew on both days whereas OFMC’s P-51D ‘Ferocious Frankie’ and Plane Sailing’s Catalina only took part on the Sunday. The other Sunday only participants were The Aerostars in their Yak-50s.
There was a very wide range of aircraft which took part in the Battle Of Britain, not just the famous fighters. Those at Duxford included versions of some of the training and liaison aircraft that were in service at the time. These included the famous Harvard trainer on which so many pilots learnt their trade. Also on the trainer theme, but this time from the Axis side, Anna Walker gave one of her remarkable performances in the Bucker Jungmann and she was joined in the sky by Mark Rijkse in his Jungmeister. Representing the aircraft which acted as the important liaison machines were Mark Miller’s Dragon Rapide (which saw service as a Dominie) and the very rare Leopard Moth. During the war, ATA pilots delivered Spitfires and Hurricanes to the stations and it was aircraft such as these two which were used to ferry those pilots back to collect their next ‘delivery’.
The main theme of the show of course was The Battle Of Britain and naturally this formed the centrepiece of the flying. First up was The Shuttleworth Collection’s Gloster Gladiator I representing the RAF’s last biplane fighter – earlier on the flightline it was joined by the Fighter Collection’s example which is still to fly a public display.
Although it was responsible for more ‘kills’ than any other Allied aircraft during the battle, the Hurricane has always taken more of a back seat compared to the Spitfire and this has also resulted in there being far less airworthy examples in preservation. At this show though there were four examples flying in formation and undertaking a very rare tailchase sequence which also included The Aircraft Restoration Company’s Buchon in the hands of John Romain. (Details of the Hurricanes and all the Spitfires, including serials, operators and pilots are given in a special table at the foot of this review).
The ultimate highlight for the eyes and the ears was the closing sequence commemorating the Battle with a massed formation of Spitfires (15 Spitfires and Kennet Aviation’s Seafire). The massed take off was full of sound and atmosphere, especially for those at the western end of the airfield who got the full feel of what this must have been like 70 years ago. As the formation got together to the south, the sound could be heard building and when it turned in from Royston to run along the crowd line was awe-inspiring and there was total silence which turned into spontaneous applause. However, if that single massed formation flypast was special, then words can’t really described what was to follow. As they broke up into their sections, flypasts were flown to illustrate what a squadron section would have looked like and then followed one of the best flying sequences ever staged at Duxford. This was a most incredible tailchase with one set of Spitfires chasing to the south of the runway, whilst another flew fast and low the length of the airfield. Back and forth they went. Such was the spectacle that even some hardened photographers put down their cameras to gaze in awe. Over the top of the chase, Alan Wade and Charlie Brown flew tight formation loops in the Mk.Vs. Unfortunately, all good things have to end and these wonderful machines started their down wind legs for landing whilst Brian Smith in OFMC’s famous Mk.IX MH434 gave a final solo display.
To say that The Battle Of Britain Air Show exceeded all expectations would be a massive understatement. Everyone who attends airshows has their favourite but surely no one came away from this one with anything other than praise for everyone involved, especially the pilots who put on such a sparkling display. This show ranks up there with the very best ever staged.
HURRICANES
Mk.I R4118 Peter Vacher Carl Schofield
Mk.Ib Z7015 Suttleworth Collection Dave Mackay (Sea Hurricane)
Mk.IIc PZ865 BBMF
Mk.IIb BE505 Hangar 11 Collection Peter Teichman
Mk.XII Z5140 Historic Aircraft Collection Dave Harvey
SPITFIRES
Mk.I AR213 Sheringham Aviation Jonathon Whaley
Mk.Vb AB910 BBMF
Mk.Vb BM597 Historic Aircraft Collection Charlie Brown
Mk.Vb EP120 Fighter Collection Alan Wade
Mk.IX MH434 OFMC Brian Smith
Mk.IX TA805 Peter Monk Clive Denney
Mk.IX PL344 Spitfire Ltd Cliff Spink
Mk.IXc MK732 R Neth AF Chris Lorraine
TR.IX PV202 Historic Flying Dave Ratcliffe
TR.IX SM520 Spitfire Displays Pete Kynsey
TR.IX ML407 Air Leasing Richard Grace
TR.IX MJ627 MSB Aviation Paul Day
TR.IX PT462 Anthony Hodgson John Romain
Mk.XVIe TE184 Paul Andrews Dan Griffith
Mk.XVIe TD248 Spitfire Ltd Rod Dean
Mk.XVII SX336 Kennet Aviation John Beattie (Seafire)
PR.XIX PS853 Rolls-Royce (Static)
PR.XIX PS890 Christophe Jacquard Eric Goujon
