Continuing the celebrations of reaching their centenary, the Royal Air Force put on a static display of aircraft at several points across the UK.
(c) MoD
Horse Guards Parade in Central London was where the tour began and on show were:
Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c Biplane – The classic First World War bomber biplane,
Supermarine Spitfire MkXVI – A variant of the iconic Battle of Britain fighter,
Gloster Meteor F4 – The actual aircraft that captured the world air speed record of 616 mph in 1946,Harrier GR3 – The famous jump jet and veteran of the Falklands War,
Tornado GR4 – The RAF’s longest-serving strike and reconnaissance fast jet,
DC3 Dakota – The Berlin Airlift transporter,
Chinook – The distinctive twin-rotor helicopter,
Typhoon Full Scale Replica – The backbone of Britain’s air attack capabilities,
F35 (LII) Full Scale Replica – The newest of the RAF’s fast jets.
The crowds attending were huge and no-one seemed deterred by the incredibly hot weather. There were lots of RAF personnel around the stands and it was great to see children and young adults queueing patiently to ask a question or two.
Per Ardua ad Astra.
I like the Harrier jet’s ability to take off vertically, that is so impressive. I saw several videos of the fly over London for the RAF celebrations, when they spelled out coming home with their planes, I was truly gob smacked!
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