Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating World War II, upon British State occasions, notably the Trooping the Colour celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006, and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
The Flight is administratively part of No. 1 Group RAF, flying out of RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
Although usually seen flying in a formation of three, the Lancaster flanked by a fighter on each wing, the Flight actually comprises 11 aircraft, including five Spitfires, two Hurricanes, a Douglas C47 (DC3) Dakota, and two De Havilland Chipmunks.
The two Chipmunks are the last in RAF service, but are not intended for display use; rather, they serve to give pilots experience in flying aircraft with a conventional landing gear, a design that has now vanished from the modern RAF fleet. One of the two Chipmunks regularly flew reconnaissance missions over East Germany, as part of the RAF Gatow Station Flight, in cooperation with The British Commander in Chief's Mission to the Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany, commonly known as BRIXMIS.
The Douglas C47 Dakota fills a dual role, serving both as a support aircraft for the flight (and as a multi engine tail wheel trainer for the Lancaster) and, more recently, as a display aircraft in her own right.
The Flight also regularly takes part in combined fly pasts with other recognisable British aircraft, such as The Red Arrows. It appeared on occasion with Concorde before that aircraft's withdrawal from service in October 2003.
The Memorial Flight (the Lancaster with two Spitfires and two Hurricanes) flew over the celebration for Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday on June 17th 2006.