The BBMF had intended to mark the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain on 15th September (Battle of Britain Day), but strong surface winds prevented the aircraft from flying. The plan was, therefore, enacted on Friday 19th September.
The three BBMF fighter aircraft involved, Battle of Britain veteran Spitfire IIa P7350, Hurricane Mk II LF363 (in 303 Squadron Battle of Britain markings) and Spitfire PR Mk XIX PM631 pre-deployed to Lee-on-Solent (Solent Airport Daedalus) the day before.
The day’s events on 19th September began early with a dawn TV interview with OC BBMF, Squadron Leader Mark Sugden, for ‘Good Morning Britain’. The BBMF team was joined by privately operated two-seat Spitfire T9 SM520 G-ILDA with Spitfire.com pilot Matt Jones flying it and British astronaut Tim Peake in the rear cockpit. (SM520 is normally based at Goodwood and is now painted in a 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron Battle of Britain scheme.)
Right: Briefing the sortie. Left to right: Tim Peake, Sqn Ldr Al Luckins, Sqn Ldr Mark ‘Suggs’ Sugden, Matt Jones and Flt Lt Andy Preece. (Photos: BBMF)
The four fighters flew in formation along the south coast to conduct a flypast at the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne near Folkestone at 11.00. The opportunity was then taken for an air-to-air photo shoot for the lens of talented aviation photographer Darren Harbar, who took the photos from the Sptfire.com GippsAero Airvan, which is often used as a chase plane for the company’s Spitfire experiences.
Right: The pilots, left to right: Matt Jones, Sqn Ldr Mark ‘Suggs’ Sugden, Tim Peake, Flt Lt Andy Preece and Sqn Ldr Al Luckins. (Photo: Darren Harbar)
After landing from the formation flight, Tim Peake, who is a former military pilot, test pilot and astronaut, said: “What an incredible honour to participate in this Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. We took off on Friday morning in orderly fashion after a thorough briefing from Squadron Leader Mark ‘Suggs’ Sugden, leading ‘Fighter Formation’. But as soon as the roar of Merlin engines filled the air my thoughts were of the tens of thousands of sorties that did not have the luxury of time or full briefings, over the summer of 1940. As they scrambled into the air, flown by brave young pilots from airfields across the south of England, the stakes could not have been higher. This sortie was a really emotional, powerful experience. We will remember them.”
