RAF LOSSIEMOUTH JETS will today play a leading role in marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain when they take part in a flypast over Buckingham Palace.
Four Typhoons from the Moray-based No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron will take their place alongside Spitfires and Hurricanes in the flypast to mark the day on July 10, 1940 when the Luftwaffe attacked shipping off the south-east coast.
That is widely acknowledged as the start of the air battle that was expected to be the prelude to an invasion – Nazi Germany had to claim control of the skies before they could launch troops over the English Channel.
On the opening day of the battle the RAF shot down 14 enemy aircraft and damaged another 23 – and in the months that followed thousands of missions were flown in a battle that is every bit as important in British history as Waterloo and Trafalgar.
History shows that it was the decision by Germany to switch their focus away from attacking the RAF on the ground to launching bombing raids on Britain’s factories and cities that proved decisive.
Today’s flyover will see the Typhoons form up as part of 10 aircraft that follow an enhanced changing of the guard conducted at the palace by the RAF’s Queen’s Colour Squadron between 11am and 11.45am.