BBMF at Fifty 'Less we Forget'.

[Batchy]

Here is the first of many images from yesterday's celebrations at Duxford, in somewhat overcast conditions the entire fleet took to the air, a feat that hadn't occurred since the early seventies. A big thank you must go to all the engineering team at Conningsby for enabling today's event to be be commemorated in such style.

Its just a shame that more of the former crew members of the Historic Aircraft Flight/ BBMF weren't there to see it.
Batchy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF9.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF15.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF12.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/woodlands/BBMF14.jpg

[treadigraph]

A rare treat indeed to see the entire fleet, great pics! I like matey in the Dak's door!

[Scoggy]

Tredi...the one with the close-fitting bone-dome? Great picture.

Batchy, thanks for the pictures. What a wonderful turnout.

Our taxes are being well spent in some quarters at least.

Long may they fly.

Long may we remember. Never may we forget.

[norman atkinson]

I missed old Devon C1- VP-981, my old girl. She flew away and was replaced by a 'Dak as a hack' in the BBMF

She was one of RAF 31 Squadron's adoptees at Hendon. Actually she was the private kite for the AOC in C, Coastal Command.

The older ones amongst you will recall the sad film of 'Morning Departure' which told the story of the loss of a T Class submarine. When it was released in early 1950, it was showing at the flea pit just outside Hendon at Burnt Oak. As a sprog corporal, I felt somewhat happier that the pale blue was mine.
Then, the words 'Subsmash' came and I was running to little VP-981 which was aborting its 'Minor' and flying down to see what little it could do for the real T Class- HMS Truculent which had gone down in a collision off Sheerness. Maybe we were looking for that all revealing Dan Buoy and to drop our marker- a bass fiddle- that normally lived along the seats.
We had 'nowt else', no dinghy, no Maewests, no chutes.
Whatever we had or had not, it was already futile- those who escaped had died and those left inside had perished.

At least, we had tried.

[Hobo]

Fantastic Pics, Thanks G.

The Lancaster is doing a round robin flight on Sunday 13th. The BBMF website doesn't have the timetable. Anybody know what it is?