Britain will come together to commemorate VE Day’s 80th anniversary tomorrow with the Red Arrows set to arc across the skies. The date saw Nazi Germany officially defeated in 1945 as World War 2 came to an end in Europe after six long years.
The skies over central London will be left red, white and blue tomorrow as the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows soar over the capital. Alongside the Red arrows, 23 military aircraft including current and historic military vehicles such as a Voyager transport aircraft, a P8 surveillance aircraft as well as Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets will fly over The Mall and Buckingham Palace following a military procession, as thousands below watch on.
The flypast on Monday’s Bank Holiday will be central to what is the first of four days of celebration.
The flypast will begin at 1.45pm and last for approximately five minutes. A Lancaster bomber will be the only aircraft from the conflict taking part, with Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes flown by the pilots known as ‘The Few’ during the Battle of Britain not making an appearance.
Before the big event the planes will need to make their way to the capital and in doing so will pass a number of UK locations meaning you may just be able to catch a glimpse of their spectacular display.
The flypast will start in the North Sea, just off the coast of Norwich before making its way inland over East Anglia and Essex.
It will come closest to Surrey after passing the palace, and will come the closest to Staines, and Walton on Thames.
Next, the iconic squad will fly over London leaving behind red, white and blue colours in a reference to the Union Jack.
After passing the palace they will fly close to Surrey before dispersing over Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
The Red Arrows are the RAF’s aerobatic display team, operating nimble Hawk T1 jets.
The aircraft will take off from RAF stations around the UK, joining holding patterns around south-east England before coming together in formation for the flypast.
Anyone not lucky enough to be there on the day or catch a glimpse of their dispay can catch the flypast on the television, with cameras catching some of the best views.
The list of destinations and expected timings:
