For almost seven decades, it was a staple of the British summer, a reminder of the nation’s enduring debt to the Royal Air Force pilots who fended off Adolf Hitler’s Luftwaffe as the heavens blazed over southern England in 1940.
But aviation experts fear the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a series of annual displays honouring those who died in the pivotal conflict, may never again take to the skies.
The BBMF fleet – which includes Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster Bomber – has been grounded since late May, when an RAF pilot, Squadron Leader Mark Long, was killed in a Spitfire crash in Lincolnshire.
In response to the tragedy, which is the subject of an ongoing inquiry, the RAF immediately announced a ‘temporary pause in flying for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’.
The suspension prevented the aircraft from featuring in summer events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the 75th birthday of King Charles III, and there is a growing sense of uncertainty around the BBMF’s future.
Experts fear a risk-averse culture in the Ministry of Defence may be to blame.
‘It worries me that the aircraft in the fleet have been grounded for a long time,’ says Terry Holloway, a retired RAF group captain and former BBMF engineering officer.
‘It worries me that the Ministry of Defence, like a lot of society today, is highly risk-averse, and they might be saying to themselves, “What’s the cost, what’s the benefit of operating these aircraft to us?”
The Royal Air Force has grounded the entire fleet of second world war aircraft involved in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
A Spitfire MkXVI TE311, which is part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. After a major service, the plane was ready to return to the skies this year before the fleet was grounded
Aviation experts are now fearful that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which was inaugurated on 11 July 1957 at RAF Biggin Hill, may never fly again
Squadron Leader Mark Long, 43, was killed after the Spitfire he was flying crashed shortly after takeoff from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on 25 May 2024.
‘If they perceive there might be a risk – and the risk might be bad publicity from aircraft crashing a civilian location or in a town – [then], in a risk-averse environment, there is a possibility that the future of the BBMF is in doubt.’
Fundamental to any assessment of those risks is the question of what caused the fatal crash of Long’s Supermarine Spitfire LF.IXe, which was built at Castle Bromwich aircraft factory in 1944 and equipped with a single Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 engine.
No date has been set for the resumption of an adjourned inquest into the 43-year-old’s death. The RAF said in a statement in late November that the Defence Accident Investigation Branch investigation remained ongoing, with the outcome to be made public only once Long’s family, ministers and RAF leadership were informed.
Many within the aviation community suspect engine failure played a part in the accident but, pending clarification from investigators, safety experts believe the grounding of the fleet is justified.
‘With a small fleet of ageing aircraft it is prudent to take a cautious approach to continued operation of the aircraft after a fatal accident such as the one in question, particularly given that the investigation is still ongoing,’ said a spokesperson for the Flight Safety Foundation.
‘Once the investigators determine the cause of the accident and release their findings, the authorities will be in a better position to determine next steps.’
Holloway acknowledges the need for a proper inquiry, but says he is puzzled by the length of time it has taken. He recalls the swift remedial action taken after engine failure caused a Hurricane LF63 to crash on 11 September 1991.
Although the pilot, Squadron Leader Allan Martin, amazingly escaped with only a broken ankle and minor burns, the aircraft itself was gutted by fire. Despite the damage, camshaft failure was quickly identified as the source of the problem and, within a fortnight, the planes returned to the skies.
‘Whether it’s a historic aircraft or a modern aircraft, if a fault is found in the aircraft or its engines which, in the opinion of those who are responsible for its airworthiness, makes it a risk to fly, there should be a grounding while investigations are carried out in order to find a solution,’ says Holloway.
A Hurricane, seen in the background, piloted by Squadron Leader Mark Long at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire in May 2022
Following Long’s tragic death, the livery of one of the BBMF’s Spitfires has been repainted to include a tribute to the pilot, whose name has also been added beneath the cockpit
In a colourised image from the second world war, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane are seen in action. The BBMF fleet includes examples of both aircraft
‘The death of Mark Long in the accident shouldn’t be a factor in the grounding: the aircraft are either airworthy or they’re not airworthy.’
So why ground the entire fleet, which includes not only single-engine Spitfires and Hurricanes, but also a four-engine Lancaster – one of only two airworthy Lancasters in the world – and a twin-engine C47 Dakota?
James Holland, a second world war historian, insists the decision is ‘a massive overreaction’, not least because there has been no corresponding curb on civilian Spitfire flights.
‘Why ground the whole lot?’ says Holland. ‘They’re properly maintained. I can’t begin to tell you how many hundreds of Spitfire flights are taking place around Britain, literally every day.
‘There’s a risk getting on a train, there’s a risk getting in a car every day, but you’re still more likely to be run over by a bus than you are to come down in a Spitfire.
‘Any time you get into a bit of machinery that’s 80 years old, there’s a risk. The reason they’re grounded is because no one is prepared to put their neck on the line and sign it off, because they don’t want to get sued for industrial manslaughter three years down the line if something goes wrong again.
‘Just because one [Spitfire] crashes doesn’t mean the others are dodgy.’
Given the financial pressure on the Ministry of Defence, which faces a projected funding shortfall of £16.9 billion over the next decade, the BBMF’s estimated operating cost of £5 million could also be a factor.
‘A fleet of heritage aircraft is probably not the thing that they want to spend a great deal of time and a great deal of money on sorting out,’ says Holloway.
This Avro Lancaster, seen here participating in an air display at Old Warden, Bedfordshire in May 2018, has been part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight for more than 50 years
A Hawker Hurricane seen in the air during the second world war in 1942
‘One or two people are speculating that, with the MoD short of cash, struggling with finances, there’s a real question, do they want to keep the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at all, if it’s an expensive overhead that they can ill afford?’
In early October, a BBMF Spitfire that has been grounded since 2021 underwent a partial post-maintenance test flight, offering a measure of optimism that the BBMF will eventually return.
The flight was described on the RAF website as ‘an important step in the graduated return to flying for the BBMF aircraft’, although notably the aircraft, Spitfire PR Mk XIX PM631, is powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine rather than a Merlin.
The Spitfire’s return to the air follows a BBMF announcement in July that the fleet’s Lancaster had been cleared to fly following extensive maintenance activity and testing. Having been put through its paces, the aircraft will be equipped with a rebuilt Merlin engine over the winter period.
There was further positive news in October, when it was revealed that, after varying degrees of maintenance, most of the fleet’s remaining aircraft are expected to be ready to resume flying by March, ‘ready for an early start to the 2025 display season’.
‘The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight has concluded its display flying for 2024 and is now focusing on the maintenance of the historic aircraft, with the aim of having the majority of the aircraft available to fly early in the new year,’ said an RAF spokesperson.
While encouraging, however, the noises emanating from the RAF offer no clear guarantee that the BBMF will return to the skies. Ready and available is one thing; airborne, quite another.
Should the BBMF’s promised return fail to materialise, however, it would not necessarily spell the end for the fleet. Several civil organisations that fly commercial passengers in Spitfires and other second world war planes have acquired significant technical expertise, and could be well placed to fill the breach.
The film director Guy Ritchie, who owns Compton Abbas airfield in Dorset, has hailed the ‘experience, expertise and track record’ of Kent-based Aero Legends, which offers flying experiences in Spitfires and other vintage aircraft.
Air Leasing Ltd, which specialises in the restoration, maintenance and operation of world war II planes and runs out of Sywell aerodrome in Northampton, offers Spitfire, Mustang and Messerschmitt flying experiences, and has been in business for almost four decades.
It is no great stretch to imagine that – in principle, and given the necessary funding – such operators could maintain the BBMF tradition. Certainly there is no shortage of will, within both the military and civilian sectors, that the BBMF should survive in some form, irrespective of the defence ministry’s ability to shoulder the financial burden.
‘I’m very enthusiastic that the BBMF continues to fly, whether in military or civilian hands,’ says Holloway. ‘If the MoD decides they don’t want to continue with it, then let’s get it in the hands of somebody who will maintain the heritage and look after these precious aeroplanes.’
Meanwhile, the RAF community remains united in grief over the death of Long, who ‘personified the very best of the Royal Air Force and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’, according to his commanding officer, Squadron Leader Mark Sugden.
The esteem in which Long was held is evident in the decision of BBMF bosses to repaint one of the fleet’s Spitfires with the squadron code L-NG – spelling out ‘Long’ as it crosses the plane’s roundel – and add his name beneath the cockpit.
Given a fair wind, enthusiasts still hope that the aircraft, which Long flew regularly, may once again take to the skies for what Holloway calls ‘a living tribute’ to the few who gave so much in the late summer of 1940.