VISITORS to this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo were flown back in time 75 years to the Battle of Britain.

RAF Fairford took the place of 1940 South East England and provided the setting for a collection of Spitfires and Messerschmitts to fly amongst each other once again.

Across the weekend there was a variety of displays involving the iconic Second World War planes, with special praise from spectators reserved for a synchronised display involving a Spitfire and the Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon.

The day also saw the final air tattoo flight of the last airworthy Vulcan bomber, joined by the Red Arrows. The Cold War bomber is now in her final days of being airborne as costs have grown too high.

Rob Jefferies, 44, of Leicester, said: “The memorial flight was very special, with all the old planes and the music playing too. It made the hairs on my neck stand up.”

Ellen Martin, 63, of Truro in Cornwall, said: “This is why you travel so far for a show like this. It’s very special to see such aircraft in action.

“When I was growing up, my grandparents would tell me stories about the Spitfire and to see them in action together has brought a lot of memories back for me.”

Across the weekend there were hundreds of planes and helicopters, both static and flying, on display for the thousands who descended upon South Gloucestershire.

With the sun staying out for much of the show, many were happy to graze on the grass and enjoy the displays amongst their friends and families.

RIAT provides more than simply aircraft though.

As the name suggests, there were members of the royal family out and about, with some stealing a glimpse of HRH The Duke of Kent and HRH Prince Michael of Kent.

It is not just the RAF which gets to stretch its wings at Fairford. Among the international air forces on show were Spain, Belgium, Italy and Jordan.

One static aircraft attracting a lot of attention on the runway was the US Army’s Black Hawk helicopter, an identical model to those seen in the Hollywood film Black Hawk Down.

Alex Drouin, 38, of New York, has been a US Army pilot for 10 years and spent the past two years at a multinational medical evacuation unit in Germany, which supports all NATO forces.

He flew a Black Hawk in Iraq for three years from 2006, supporting British and American troops on the ground.

He said this was the first opportunity in many years the US Army had been able to bring one of its Hawks, of which there are only six across Europe, to the UK.

“The biggest advantage is for people to see the US Army. No-one gets to see it anymore,” he said, as he hoisted another child into the helicopter cockpit for a closer look.

“It’s great for us because we get to see the kids. The kids are the best part of an event like this.

“This is the only time these children will ever get to play in a Black Hawk.

“I joined the army to help people and to do things like this.”

He was at Fairford with seven colleagues, who were also showing visitors around a US Army Apache helicopter.

  • Jade Legg photographed the Red Arrows at RIAT

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