Spitfires, Hurricanes and Blenheims will take part in a historic flypast across London and the south of England on Tuesday to mark the 75th anniversary of victory in the Battle of Britain.
Around 40 aircraft from the UK, USA and Europe will gather at Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex for the Battle of Britain Day Flypast, before taking off as wings in groups of four.
The event, which will bring together in one place more Battle of Britain aircraft than at any time since World War Two, will see the flypasts go on 10 different routes across parts of London, the south coast and home counties.
Organised by the Boultbee Flight Academy, there are three routes set to make their way over London, Surrey and north-east Hampshire.
The first section (white) is due to roll at 12pm and will begin and end at Goodwood, flying over Basingstoke, then to the south of Aldershot and above the Godalming and Haslemere areas.
It is estimated there will be four-minute gaps between subsequent sections getting airborne.
The red section, Goodwood to Northolt, will be second off at 12.04pm, returning via Berkshire before heading back to RAF Northolt.
The green section from Goodwood to North Weald should be off at around 12.08pm. This one will skim the Surrey-Hampshire border past Haslemere and Aldershot.
Then the blue section from Goodwood-Duxford should be in the air shortly after 12.12pm heading again for Aldershot, before passing in between the Guildford and Woking areas, then across parts of north Surrey and into London.
Dozens of events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain have already taken place across west London.
Bentley Priory Museum in Stanmore is holding a week-long series of events to mark Battle of Britain Day (September 15), with further special events to be held at the weekend.
Earlier this month, a new Polish remembrance garden was officially opened to mark the anniversary, designed and created by Hillingdon Council.
And sadly, back in June, tributes were paid following the passing of Flight Lieutenant Owen Valentine Burns, of Brentford, who was one of the last surviving Battle of Britain airmen.
Battle of Britain Hurricane and Spitfire pilot, 95-year-old Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC, AFC, AE, will lead the formation from the rear of a two-seat Spitfire before the wings go on their separate routes.
Wg Cdr Neil will be joined by wounded service personnel who have been training to fly the Spitfire as part of the Spitfire Scholarship set up by the Boultbee Flight Academy.
Channel 4 will be capturing the event with two documentaries presented by Dermot O’Leary featuring behind the scenes access to the build-up and aerial coverage of the unique spectacle.
The day promises to be a historic and fitting tribute not only to those brave pilots who defended Britain's shores in 1940, inspiring Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s iconic speech 'The Few', but to everyone who contributed to the war effort.
Legendary WWII fighter aircraft previously appeared in the skies over the region in a similar memorial flypast on August 18, which marked the anniversary of the day of heaviest fighting during the Battle of Britain.
