Air Power 2017

21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS AIR POWER 2017 121

21 ST CENTURY CAPABILITIES

Perhaps the most

well known of

all British fighter

aircraft, the

Supermarine Spitfire

has been in the BBMF

since its inception

(PHOTO: SAC GRAHAM

TAYLOR / © CROWN

COPYRIGHT )

The BBMF can be traced back to 11 July 1957,
after the last of the RAF’s operational piston-engine
fighters and bombers had almost succumbed to scrap.
As extinction loomed, a single remaining Hurricane
(LF363) and three Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered
Spitfires were collected together at Biggin Hill, for
possible ceremonial purposes, to become what was
known as the Historic Aircraft Flight. Not all these
fighters could be retained and lean years followed,
with sometimes only two aircraft being on strength
as the flight was moved from station to station. The
first Merlin-engine Spitfire, an Mk V serial (AB910),
came from industry in 1965. Another early Spitfire
was donated, a true 1940 Battle of Britain veteran in
the form of a Mk IIA (P7350), which joined in 1968.
The following year, the collection of aircraft
had officially become the BBMF. A second Hurricane
(PZ865) was presented by industry to the RAF in 1972,
and in 1973 an Avro Lancaster (PA474), a rare survivor
once destined for a museum, joined the BBMF after
being restored to flight. A Douglas Dakota (ZA947)
came as a support, training and display aircraft in 1993.
There are also two de Havilland Chipmunk trainers
that are deployed to give pilots familiarity with the
tailwheel configuration of the BBMF’s aircraft.
The Flight’s commemorative purpose is not
only to mark the victory at the Battle of Britain,
but also wider RAF operations. For this reason, the
markings and squadron code letters of the aircraft
are frequently changed to represent different aircrew
and squadrons. At various times, the colours of

aircraft of South East Asia Command, the Desert Air

Force, and markings for D-Day operations have been

carried. Markings have represented aircraft flown

by wartime pilots from Canada, Czechoslovakia,

New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.

When the Flight’s Avro Lancaster emerged this

year from major maintenance work by the Aircraft

Restoration Company at Duxford, it was carrying two

different sets of markings. On the starboard side, it had

markings for 50 Squadron, representing the crew of

Flying Officer Dougy Millikin, grandfather of the current

boss. On the port side it had the codes of a 460 (Royal

Australian Air Force) Squadron aircraft, with nose art

picturing a kangaroo playing bagpipes, reflecting the

nationalities of the crew in July 1943. The Flight’s

Mk XVI Spitfire (TE311) is now painted to represent the

personal aircraft of the commanding officer of No 131

(Polish) Wing, Group Captain Aleksander Gabszewicz,

during 1945. In contrast, the Mk XIX Spitfire (PS915)

has been finished in silver, with the codes of a Hong

Kong-based photo reconnaissance aircraft that

achieved a record-breaking altitude for a Spitfire.

The busy schedule includes

appearances at 100 air shows

and more than 300 fly-pasts