Pilots
Navigators, Engineers and Loadmasters
The Officer Commanding the BBMF, Squadron Leader Paul Wise, is one of only three aircrew permanently serving on the Flight; the other Pilots, Navigators, Air Engineers and Air Loadmasters come from several different RAF Stations, with primary roles flying other types of aircraft (A400M Atlas, C17 Globemaster or Typhoon) or in training/instructor roles.
The fighter aircraft types (Spitfire and Hurricane) are flown by modern RAF Fighter Pilots, whilst the Dakota and Lancaster are flown by RAF Bomber Pilots with a background on heavy, multi-engine aircraft.
The Flight’s volunteer Navigators, Flight Engineers and Air Loadmasters are all essential to the safe and efficient operation of the Lancaster and Dakota. The 2026 team of Navigators are Gp Capt Dutch Holland, Flt Lt Neil Whitehead and Flt Lt Dave Schmidt. The team of Flight Engineers are Sqn Ldr Jim Stokes, MACr Rick Gomez, FS Aidan Streete and FS Owen Hughes. Finally, the team of Air Loadmasters are Flt Lt Piers Wakeham, MACr Andrew Welham-Jones, MACr Dave Neale and FS Jay Warden.
Engineering
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight engineering team is made up of around 40 technicians, led by Senior Engineering Officer, Squadron Leader Dan Beechey. Sqn Ldr Beechey is supported in the management of the engineering function by Junior Engineering Officers' Flt Lt Joe Chartres and Flt Lt Ben Perfect, Warrant Officer Sid Siddiqi, Flight Sergeant Tim Lilley, and Chief Technicians Stu Read and Shelley Morris.
The Engineering team are responsible for the maintenance of the Flight’s eleven historic aircraft, ensuring each aircraft is maintained to a fully airworthy condition. The engineers who make up this relatively small team have all volunteered for duties with the Flight and generally serve a three to five year tour of duty and are either Avionic or Mechanical Engineers.
The Flight is supported by two Survival Equipment Technicians, Cpl Tristan Wright and Cpl Garyth Edwards, who are responsible for our aircrew safety kit, as well as a Logistics Technician, Paul Maddock, who is responsible for ensuring spares and equipment are purchased, stored and managed properly, and the BBMF Engineering Support Cell is a small team of three, Chf Tech Tim Davies, Sgt Tom Garner and Sgt Mikey Streather. The team are responsible for the training of all BBMF engineers on the Flight’s aircraft/engine mechanical & avionic systems, developing and delivering the BBMF Engineering Training Programme, maintaining authorisations, quality assurance & continuous improvement, health & safety, control and co-ordination of all aircraft documentation, IT & infrastructure support and fire/medic crash rescue training. The team also act as BBMF Eng Air Safety Managers, and provide support to the Flight’s aircraft at home base and down-route as Engineers.
Public Relations, Admin and Operations
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is also supported by a small team of dedicated support staff managing the day-to-day business on the flight.
The admin team is comprised of Chief of Staff - Flt Lt Si Parker and Administrative Officer - Diane Law-Crookes who manage everything from the daily visits and VIP tours, to sponsorship, events management and accommodation and administrative support for the BBMF team when deploying across the UK and overseas.
The Public Relations Officer - Paris Pratley-Gomez, is responsible for all marketing and communications output for the Flight, as well as managing the PR event organisation and 50-strong PR team that deploy to major airshows and events each year.
The Flight Operations Assistant - Tracey Fleming, works closely with the Operations Officer to meticulously plan the flying programme and liaises with the various event organisers to ensure flypasts can be planned and executed in line with the annual flying programme.
Public Relations Team
During the display season, the Flight is supported by a team of volunteers from across the Royal Air Force who attend over 30 events and airshows as part of the BBMF PR Team, managed by the Public Relations Officer. This team are on hand to answer any questions the public may have about our historic aircraft or how the flight is run, as well as helping us in our goals of commemorating the history of the RAF whilst inspiring future generations.
Visitor Centre Team and Tour Guides
The Flight is also supported throughout the year by the team who run the BBMF Visitor Centre, operated by Lincolnshire County Council, and their team of dedicated volunteer tour guides. The visitor centre is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, excluding Bank Holidays with hangar tours available from 10.30am.
