The flypast of 71 aircraft, which featured Spitfires, a Lancaster Bomber, and the Red Arrows, was the highlight of today’s events to honor the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
While standing next to senior royals such as Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, and Kate and their children on the Buckingham Palace balcony, Her Majesty beamed as she watched planes and helicopters sail overhead.
15 Typhoon fighter jets were also seen in the sky, flying in the number 70 configuration as a special tribute to Her Majesty’s long reign.
The planes that took part, with the exception of the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force’s famous aerobatics team, have all participated in military operations for the UK, most recently in the evacuation of Kabul in August and NATO operations to defend Eastern Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
The formation was led by helicopters such as the Wildcat, Merlin, and Apache. They were followed by the Lancaster Bomber and Britain’s most renowned Second World War planes, the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters.
The Hercules C-130, which was among the planes used to transport people from Kabul following the Taliban’s takeover, followed behind them.
The Red Arrows and the Typhoon FGR4 – the RAF’s flagship fighter aircraft – were the last planes to appear, streaking across the sky with their signature red, white, and blue smoke.
The flypast formation was led by RAF, Royal Navy, and Army helicopters. The one Royal Navy Wildcat led the way.
It is the Navy’s most recent helicopter generation, and it flies from frigates and destroyers. It has a top speed of 181 mph (157 knots) and is capable of carrying Sting Ray torpedoes, a heavy machine gun positioned on the door, and anti-surface guided armament missiles.
Two Merlin aircraft from the Navy accompanied the Wildcat. It features a five-person crew and a 3.8-tonne lifting capacity. Its primary mission is to search for submarines, but it also conducts general maritime patrols.
It is equipped with Sting-Ray Torpedoes, depth charges, and a machine gun with a caliber of.50 caliber. It can also be used for troop transport, casualty evacuation, and search and rescue.
One Army Wildcat, three Army Apaches, and then three RAF Puma helicopters followed the Merlin.
According to the Army, the Apache attack helicopter is possibly the most advanced piece of equipment available to frontline troops anywhere in the world.
Its purpose is to track down and destroy air defense units, tanks, and armored vehicles. It has the capability of carrying 16 Hellfire missiles, 76 Hydra 70 rockets, and 1,200 30mm machine gun ammunition.
The Puma is utilized in a number of combat duties, including troop, weapon, and ammo transportation.
It can also be used to save lives and has aided humanitarian and disaster relief efforts. It has the capacity to transport 16 passengers, 12 fully prepared troops, or two tonnes of cargo. It can also be used to evacuate casualties.
There are two 7.62mm general-purpose machine guns on board. Three Chinook helicopters trailed the Puma, which are employed by the RAF for a variety of missions, including troop transport and casualty evacuation. They can also assist in the resupply of ground soldiers.
Three Spitfires and two Hurricanes flanked a Lancaster Bomber that flew behind the RAF’s Chinook helicopters today. During WWII, the Lancaster was one of the most essential aircraft.
By the end of the war, 7,377 Lancaster Bombers would have flown over 150,000 sorties, including the daring Dambuster Raids of 1943, and dropped over 600,000 tons of bombs on the enemy, a feat unmatched by any other plane.
The soldiers who flew them, in the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, had the most dangerous assignment of the war, with 3,249 aircraft and crews lost in combat. The Lancaster’s earliest prototypes were developed in 1941. They made an immediate impression on test pilots.
The plane ‘took off like a spooked stallion,’ according to one witness. The plane was ready for active duty by 1942. In 1942, Lancasters were employed in an attack on Augsburg.
Three Spitfires and two Hurricanes flanked a Lancaster Bomber that flew behind the RAF’s Chinook helicopters today. During WWII, the Lancaster was one of the most essential aircraft.
By the end of the war, 7,377 Lancaster Bombers would have flown over 150,000 sorties, including the daring Dambuster Raids of 1943, and dropped over 600,000 tons of bombs on the enemy, a feat unmatched by any other plane.
The soldiers who flew them, in the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, had the most dangerous assignment of the war, with 3,249 aircraft and crews lost in combat.
The Lancaster’s earliest prototypes were developed in 1941. They made an immediate impression on test pilots.
The plane ‘took off like a spooked stallion,’ according to one witness. The plane was ready for active duty by 1942. In 1942, Lancasters were employed in an attack on Augsburg.
In today’s flypast, three Spitfires flew beside the Lancaster. The fighter plane is the most best-known of the Second World War, having aided in the repelling of Nazi bombing attacks as well as participating in British attack missions.
The Spitfire was designed by RJ Mitchell in the 1930s and built in larger numbers than any other aircraft during WWII, with over 20,000 constructed in less than a decade.
During the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire, with the support of the larger Hurricane, downed 1,887 German planes in just over three months.
As the Germans suffered growing losses in the face of the valiant RAF during the Battle of Britain in 1940, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring summoned top Luftwaffe fighter ace Adolf Galland to his headquarters.
Frustrated by the Reich’s failure to acquire aerial dominance over southern England, a necessary prelude to Hitler’s planned invasion, Göring asked Galland what he wanted. The response was, “Give me a squadron of Spitfires.”
Those words perfectly encapsulate the fighter plane’s unrivaled combat reputation. The Germans were terrified by its power, speed, and maneuverability, while the British were reassured.
The Spitfire was not only the first all-metal monoplane when it entered service in 1938, but it was also the RAF’s fastest aircraft, capable of reaching 350 mph.
Due to its sleek, aerodynamic design, thin, elliptical wings, and sensitive controls, the Spitfire’s agility was perhaps its greatest asset.
‘There was no heaving, pushing, tugging, or kicking going on.’ You took a deep breath and inhaled it. ‘I’ve never flown anything sweeter,’ 19 Squadron’s George Unwin said.
Today’s flypast featured two Hawker Hurricanes. Despite being less well-known than the Spitfire, the Hurricane had a greater impact on Britain’s war effort.
The aircraft was designed in the 1930s in response to requests from the Royal Air Force for a new, more modern fighter plane.
The Hurricane was built around a 12-cylinder Rolls-Royce engine and was capable of carrying eight machine guns on its wings, as well as being roughly 100mph quicker than any other RAF fighter plane at the time of its introduction.
The Merlin engine’s power allowed the plane to be modified for numerous purposes, and it was deployed as both a fighter and a bomber throughout the war.
While the Spitfire, which was designed about the same time, was faster, the Hurricane had a combat range of more than double that of the Spitfire and was capable of missions of 600 miles.
Hurricanes were crucial in ensuring that the German Luftwaffe did not rule the skies during the Battle of Britain, destroying more enemy planes than all other air and ground defenses combined.
Following the Battle of Britain, squadrons operating the aircraft played critical roles in the defense of Malta, the campaign in North Africa, and the war against Japan in the Far East.
The Royal Air Force’s aerobatics display team is known as the Red Arrows. They are made up of 11 pilots and are headquartered at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, flying the BAE Hawk jet aircraft.
They were the last planes to appear in today’s flypast, unleashing red, white, and blue smoke as they passed over Buckingham Palace as the Queen looked on.
Wing Commander David Montenegro, the unit’s commanding officer, published a book about the unit this year.
The Red Arrows got their moniker from the Folland Gnats, which had swept-back wings and were flown until 1979.
Diamond Nine is the unit’s most famous configuration, in which Red 1 – the unit’s most senior pilot – flies in front, with the other eight spaced out behind him.
The Deep Diamond was added for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, with multiple planes at varying heights to create a 3D impression.
The Red Arrows have performed at important royal ceremonies and other special occasions, as well as airshows across the country, since their formation in 1964.
Despite the fact that pilots do not risk their lives in combat, their job is not without risk. Since the team’s inception, ten pilots and one engineer have died.
When two planes collided during a practice session in 1971, four pilots died in the same accident.
In 2010, Wing Commander Montenegro was engaged in an accident, but he was able to land safely, and the other pilot was able to survive after utilizing his ejector seat.
Corporal Jonathan Bayliss, a 41-year-old RAF engineer, died in a Hawk T1 collision at RAF Valley on Anglesey in 2018.
After ejecting moments before the plane impacted the ground, the pilot, Flight Lieutenant David Stark, was critically injured.
Last year, four C-17s, an RAF Atlas, and a Hercules were all involved in evacuation attempts in Kabul, Afghanistan.
As part of its primary mission to provide tactical airlift, the Atlas can carry a 37-tonne payload, complementing the Hercules and C-17s.
It has space for 116 troops, vehicles, helicopters, and nine aircraft pallets.
Since its introduction in 1999, the Hercules has been the RAF’s primary tactical transport aircraft.
As part of its ability to drop paratroopers and supplies, its aircrew are very adept in low-level flying. They will be operational until 2030.
The C-17’s principal mission is to ferry soldiers and supplies to the RAF’s worldwide operating sites in a timely manner.
It can transport up to 100,000 pounds of huge and sophisticated things, such as Chinook helicopters and other military vehicles.
During the Afghanistan evacuation, it was employed as a humanitarian aircraft.
During today’s flypast above Buckingham Palace, a lone RAF Rivet followed the Poseidon.
The RAF Rivet is an electronic surveillance aircraft that is used for both strategic and tactical operations.
Its primary job is to gather intelligence for commanders by absorbing electronic transmissions using its sensors.