The Royal Air Force (RAF) still has World War II fighter planes in service

Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which was a golden age for military aviation.

The 303 Squadron of the RAF: the Polish airmen who defended the United Kingdom
Two original Messerschmitt Bf-109s of the World War II still airworthy

During that war, in just a few years there were still some biplanes and open-cockpit aircraft in operation (for example, the Italian Fiat CR.32 fighters, known as "Chirri" in Spain) to jet aircraft, such as the Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe.

Today, World War II aircraft are hopelessly outdated. However, some air forces still have aircraft from that era in service, some of them modernized. For example, the South African Air Force still has Douglas C-47 transport aircraft, upgraded to the C-47TP Turbo Dakota version and with new turboprop engines. Something similar occurs in the air forces of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mali, Mauritania and Thailand, which operate Basler BT-67 transport aircraft, a re-engined version of the C-47 based on original aircraft of that type.

However, World War II fighter aircraft have disappeared from the inventories of all air forces, being too outdated to be of any use today. However, there is one exception: the British Royal Air Force (RAF), one of the most modern air forces in NATO and in the world.

In the official RAF organisation chart, there is one unit that is part of RAF No. 1 Group, one of the two large operational groups into which the British air force is divided and whose headquarters is at RAF High Wycombe. That unit is the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England.

Esta unidad tiene siete cazas en total: dos Hawker Hurricane y siete Supermarine Spitfire (de las variantes Mk. IIa, Mk. Vb, LF Mk. IXe, LF Mk. XVIe y PR Mk. XIX). Además, tiene un Dougles C-47 Dakota (en su estado original, a diferencia de los que están en servicio en otros países) y uno de los dos únicos bombarderos Avro Lancaster que aún están en condiciones de volar, y que es la gran joya de esta unidad. Además, el BBMF tiene dos De Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10 (un modelo de 1946) como aviones de entrenamiento.

Obviously, the purpose of the BBMF is commemorative, as it explains on its website: "The mission of the RAF BBMF is to maintain the priceless artefacts of our national heritage in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of this country. The RAF BBMF also serves to promote the modern day Air Force and to inspire the future generations."

The unit's motto is "Lest We Forget", a motto that "reflects our mission and honours the thousands of men and women, in the air and on the ground, that gave their lives for this country in the noble pursuit of freedom." Unlike other historic aircraft, BBMF aircraft are flown by regular RAF crews. "The BBMF is a regular RAF unit, manned by service personnel and funded by the Ministry of Defence," it notes on its website.

BBMF aircraft not only remember the service of British pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain, defending the United Kingdom against attacks from the German Luftwaffe in one of the most heroic fights of the Second World War. Several of its aircraft are dedicated to foreign RAF pilots. For example, the Spitfire Mk XVI TE311 was painted as a Polish aircraft until January 2024, when it was repainted as TD322 "3W-M" of the Dutch 322nd Squadron. The Spitfire Mk IIa P7350 pays tribute to the aircraft of Polish pilot Ludwik Martel, shot down on 25 October 1940. The Hurricane LF363 bears the numeral RF-J, flown by Sergeant Michal Brzezowski of the 303 Polish Squadron, the Allied unit that achieved the most victories during the Battle of Britain.

The BBMF was founded on 11 July 1957 at RAF Biggin Hill, initially known as the RAF Historic Aircraft Flight. It began operations with three Spitfire PR Mk XIX fighters and the last Hurricane to enter service with the RAF, the Hurricane Mk. IIc LF363, an aircraft that appeared in the film "Battle of Britain" (1969). The unit acquired its current name in 1969. Due to its aircraft being old, the unit has had a number of accidents. The worst of these occurred on 25 May this year, when a Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk. IXe, MK356, crashed shortly after takeoff at Langrick Road. Squadron Leader Mark Long, a Eurofighter pilot, was killed in the accident.

If you can't afford to attend one of the displays that the unit puts on, here you can watch a BBMF flight in a video posted by Ted Coningsby a year ago, in which we can see the Lancaster bomber and Hurricane and Spitfire fighters (remember to turn up the volume to enjoy the roar of the engines):