Tuesday 10 July 2018

Up to 70,000 people line The Mall as ONE HUNDRED aircraft take to the skies above London in historic fly-past to celebrate RAF centenary

The largest concentration of military aircraft in recent memory formed in the skies above London today as the Royal Air Force marks its centenary year.

Up to 100 jets, helicopters and aeroplanes from across a range of different eras of RAF history roared over Buckingham Palace as the Queen watched on from the royal balcony.

As many as 70,000 lined the streets of the capital to catch a glimpse of the iconic fly-past, which included some of the most iconic aircrafts to take flight during the Second World War, including the Spitfire and the Lancaster bomber.

The RAF's new cutting-edge stealth fighter F-35 jets also featured, making their first ever public appearance, as well as helicopters including the Puma, Chinook, Juno and Jupiter, while the Red Arrows completed the fly-past followed by a stream of red, white and blue.


Seconds before, the largest ever formation of Royal Air Force Typhoons spelt out 100 in the skies above Buckingham Palace to mark the centenary of the service. 

A total of 22 of the fighter jets took part in the fly-past, forming into the numbers, which had served as a surprise for the public and royal family watching the spectacle.

Diana Terpougoff travelled from Malta to watch the flypast from The Mall. She said: 'I couldn't have felt more full of pride.

'What impressed me most was the pure skill on show, and of course the amazing 100 formation at the end. Both my dad, and brother Tony were in the RAF for 25 years, so it makes this really special. It was worth the trip!'

Malcolm Evans, from Birmingham, was in the RAF police between 1958 and 1968. He spent time in Hong Kong during his service and remembers it with great fondness.

'It brought tears to my eyes to see those planes go through the sky. I'm so pleased we're still able to put that many planes in the air,' he said after watching from The Mall.

The crowd in The Mall watched agog as first the helicopters, then the light aircraft, the transport planes and finally the Red Arrows flew over.

Groups of schoolchildren stood open mouthed while visitors munched happily on their picnics and Champagne corks popped.





MailOnline

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