Our guide to this weekend’s Battle of Britain Air Show at IWM Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford – housed on one of the airfields that made history during the Second World War – will stage its annual Battle of Britain Air Show this weekend (September 10-11).
Visitors to the site over the two-day event often dress in period clothing and immerse themselves in the summer of 1940 when the Spitfire and the Hurricane ruled the skies and the ‘Few’ brought hope during one of the UK’s darkest hours.
The flying is scheduled to be from around 1pm-5.30pm. There is no definite timetable or order of events, as everything is subject to change – due to weather and serviceability, etc – right up until the day, but the full flying list can be found at: iwm.org.uk/airshows/duxford-battle-of-britain-airshow/flying-list.
The organisers are also planning to work something commemorating Her Majesty the Queen’s passing into the programme.
Set to appear are the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Tiger 9 Aeronautical Display Team, along with many other aircraft including the Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX (Silver Spitfire), the Supermarine Spitfire PR XI (The NHS Spitfire), the Hawker Hurricane Mk I, the Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk Ib, the Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Sally B’, the P-51D Mustang ‘Tall In The Saddle’, the Bristol Blenheim Mk IF, the Fairey Swordfish Mk I, the Goodyear Corsair FG-1D, and helicopters such as the Mil Mi-17-1 Hip and the Mil Mi-24 Hind – both from the Czech Air Force.
[Read more: In pictures: Flying high at IWM Duxford as air show returns]
IWM air show event manager, Phil Hood, said: “We are gearing up for a fantastic show this weekend as the much-loved Battle of Britain Air Show makes its annual return to IWM Duxford.
“Highlight acts include two recently-announced helicopters from the Czech Air Force, the world’s only two-seater Hurricane, airworthy Bristol Blenheim and fully-chrome Spitfire, and the spectacular Tiger 9 Aeronautical Display Team, amongst many others.
“The finale flypast is set to be a spine-tingling site with over 20 Spitfires and Hurricanes flying in formation over the airfield which was the first to receive the Supermarine Spitfire back in 1938. We can’t wait to welcome visitors over the weekend and see all our hard work come to life.”
