On the April 1, 1918 the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service merged to create the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF), and on July 10, 2018 the RAF celebrated with Queen Elizabeth, other members of the royal family and thousands of people along the Mall, in style with a flypast.
Below we take a quick look at some of the pictures, taken by by fellow Aviation Week Fleet Analyst Mike Hopwood, of the event over London.
Three Puma HC2s and six Chinook HC4s arrive over the Mall at exactly 1 p.m. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
A Jupiter H145 and a pair of Juno H135 - used as basic rotary wing trainer aircraft by the RAF. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
A Dakota - complete with photographer taking shots from the rear door. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
The unmistakable sight of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) - one Lancaster, two Hurricanes and three Spitfires. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Three Grob 120TP Prefects - Used by the RAF for flight training. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Tucano - The RAF's basic fast jet training aircraft. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Shadow R1 - used for intelligence gathering. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
C-130J - the RAF operates both the C-130J-30 (C.Mk4) and C-130J (C.Mk5). Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Atlas (A400M) - The latest transport aircraft type to be introduced into RAF service. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
C-17 and BAe 146 - The RAF's long range, heavy-lift transporter with it's "mini me" VIP configured BAe 146. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Sentinel R1 - Long range ISR aircraft. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Voyager - The RAF's only air-to-air refueling tanker. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
E-3D AWACS - one of the most easily recognized aircraft complete with its "mushroom." Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Hawk T1 - After starting life as the RAF's advanced fast jet pilot trainer, the T1 has moved into an "aggressor" role in recent years. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Hawk T2 - The T2 replaced the T1 as the RAF's advanced fast jet pilot trainer. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Tornado GR4 - The RAF's primary ground attack aircraft, sadly due to retire from RAF service in 2019. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
F-35B - The latest addition to the RAF's fleet is the fifth-generation Lightning. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Typhoon - A special "100" was formed by 22 Typhoons and was the highlight of the flypast. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
Red Arrows - No flypast is complete until the Red Arrows arrive. Credit: Mike Hopwood/Aviation Week
A total of 103 aircraft were involved in entertaining the royal family and the gathered spectators.
