Spitfire and Hurricane added to RAF Cosford line-up
Iconic World War Two fighter aircraft, including Spitfires and Hurricanes, are the latest aircraft added to list of attractions for this year’s RAF Cosford Air Show.
Visitors to the event on June 10, which celebrates 100 years since the formation of the Royal Air Force, will bear witness to aerial displays from an assortment of historic aircraft.
Organisers have announced that a rare ‘Mark 1a’ version of the Supermarine Spitfire would be performing in the flying display, a first for the RAF Cosford Air Show.
This particular Spitfire, known by its registration N3200, fought during the Battle of France in 1940.
It was tasked to provide air support for the evacuation of Dunkirk, protecting the British forces below.
During combat with German fighters, N3200 was hit by a German aircraft and forced to land on the beach at Sangatte, and the pilot taken as a prisoner of war.
The Spitfire remained on the beach, slowly buried in the sand, and remained there until 1986.
The airframe was returned to the UK in 2000 and after a lengthy restoration flew again in 2014. Spitfire N3200 recently starred in Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed film Dunkirk thus repeating the true history of this aircraft.
The Spitfire will perform a display in the skies above Shropshire, as part of the six-hour flying display planned for the show.
Air Show director, Clive Elliott, said: “To celebrate RAF100 we’ve got a huge assortment of ex-RAF warbirds coming to the Air Show, of which Spitfire N3200 is the latest exciting attraction.
"This selection of aircraft, in the air and on the ground, has never been seen together before, and will never be seen again, making the RAF Cosford Air Show 2018 an unmissable and unique event."
As well as the flying displays, an assortment of vintage aircraft will be flying in to RAF Cosford to bolster the RAF100 static exhibition at the Air Show.
It has been confirmed that a genuine Battle of Britain veteran Hawker Hurricane would be present, surrounded by World War Two re-enactors and period vehicles, to recreate a historic scene from a Battle of Britain fighter airfield.
Other vintage aircraft recently added to the ground displays include World War Two training aircraft such as the Tiger Moth and Harvard.
Visitors are encouraged to buy their Air Show tickets soon, at the discounted price of £25 per person, which are available from the Air Show website.
From April 17 tickets for the Air Show will be priced £29.
