Organisers hope Duxford air show helps keep D-Day memories alive
The event's marking 80 years since the D-Day landings
Last updated 2nd Jun 2024
Organisers of a Cambridgeshire air show are hoping this weekend's D-Day anniversary event will help tell people what life was like 80 years ago.
Battle of Britain memorial flight aircraft, which includes the likes of Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster, was due to fly over Imperial War Museum Duxford for its summer air show.
But this has been grounded after a fatal spitfire crash in Lincolnshire last week.
"It's an important thing for us to be doing"
IWM Duxford, which is expecting around 25,000 visitors on the Saturday and Sunday, has said the rest of its flying programme is due to go ahead as planned.
Eleven Dakota aircraft have been expected to make a flypast at the event, as well as the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, which played a role in dropping thousands of paratroopers over Normandy in support of Operation Overlord.
The Red Arrows are then due to round off the weekend with a flypast later today.
Adam Kendall is head of commercial services at IWM Duxford:
"It's quite a sight, it gives you a sense of what it would have been like to have seen when there were hundreds of Dakotas flying over to Normandy, so it's an important thing for us to be doing," he said.
"What the air show does is give people that experience of the aircraft flying around and dropping the parachutists; it's something you can read in a book."
What else is happening?
A Military Village will be available for visitors to meet serving military personnel and learn more about the history of D-Day, while there are special displays telling the story of British paratroopers.
Vintage aircraft displays are also on show, while visitors can take part in the Flightline Walk that allows them to see aircraft, pilots and crew who are flying.
"The sad part of this is as we get further away from D-Day, the number of veterans who went through this is starting to diminish, so I think it's important we keep these memories alive," Adam added.
"Our biggest challenge is makign sure everybody who comes has an enjoyable day out.
"If they've learnt about the Second World War, engaged with some of our re-enactors, our collections, that's fantastic."