Iconic RAF planes land in capital for centenary
An exhibition of the Dambusters’ portraits is being held by Welsh artist Dan Llywelyn Hall. Claire Hayhurst reports as the displays were unveiled by the only surviving UK hero
AFLEET of aircraft that tell the story of the RAF’s extraordinary 100-year history have appeared outside Cardiff City Hall.
The collection of iconic machines arrived in Cardiff as part of the RAF100 Aircraft Tour commemorating the centenary of the Royal Air Force.
Aircraft have been chosen to represent the RAF’s history, starting with the single-seat Sopwith Snipe which came into service at the end of the First World War, and finishing with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Britain’s current front-line air defence jet.
Cardiff is the first stop for RAF100 Aircraft Tour which will also visit London, Newcastle, Northern Ireland, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester throughout this year.
It will open to the public from tomorrow through to Sunday with family attractions including science and technology activities for children.
Visitors can expect to see the iconic World War Two Spitfire fighter, best remembered for its service during the Battle of Britain.
A Westland Wessex helicopter is also represented, which saw active service for the RAF from the 1960s until the late 1980s, with roles including search and rescue. The craft also played a role in the Falklands War in 1982.
The Harrier jump jet will also be on display, which served with the RAF from 1969 until they were retired in 2011.
On April 1, the RAF celebrated 100 years since it was founded as an amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. To mark the occasion, the RAF has organised events for the entirety of 2018, the centrepiece of which will take place on July 10 with a centenary service in Westminster Abbey followed by a parade in The Mall and a flypast over Buckingham Palace.
The event will be open to the public this weekend with interactive activities including virtual reality experiences and flight-based challenges.
Current trainee RAF pilots will reenact the life of their counterparts during the First World War and the Battle of Britain.
This evening at 6pm, a ceremony will take place outside City Hall marking the 75th Anniversary of the Dambusters Raid, with performances from the Royal Air Force Central Band and the Queen’s Colour Squadron making an appearance.
The RAF100 event will be open to the public in Cardiff tomorrow from 11am to 6pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm.
ALL 133 members of Royal Air Force 617 Squadron, the Dambusters, have been “reunited” in a poignant exhibition marking the 75th anniversary of the raids – thanks to the efforts of a Welsh artist.
The Dambusters conducted a night of raids with Sir Barnes Wallis’ revolutionary bouncing bombs, releasing them 60ft above ground, on German dams in May 1943.
Of the 133 airmen who left on the missions, 53 did not return, giving a survival rate of just over 60%.
George “Johnny” Johnson, 96, the only surviving British member of the squadron, was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last year following campaigns to get him knighted.
He unveiled an exhibition by Dan Llywelyn Hall, featuring all 133 of the Dambusters, to mark the mission’s 75th anniversary.
Family members of the Dambusters also attended the two unveiling ceremonies, one at the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln, and the other at the Dambusters Inn in Scampton.
“Having Johnny attend both unveilings of all the 133 men he would have last seen 75 years ago on that fateful day was a moving experience for me,” Mr Llywelyn Hall said.
“It brought tears to the eyes of several family members, 48 of which travelled to unveil their relatives’ portrait.”
Mr Llywelyn Hall – who in 2013 became the 133rd artist to paint the Queen – had a sitting with Mr Johnson, from Bristol, in February and painted the other portraits from archive pictures and research.
Mr Johnson and Canadian former front gunner Fred Sutherland are the only two living survivors who took part in the bombing raids on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany.
Some 19 Lancaster bombers flew from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire for the daring mission on May 16/17 1943 to destroy dams in Germany’s industrial heartland and cut off vital supply lines in the Ruhr Valley.
A total of 133 Allied aircrew left for the raid aboard the bombers, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, but 53 men were killed and three were captured.
Gordon Yeo, a front gunner in the first wave of bombers to attack the Mohne Dam, was brought up in Barry, where Mr Llywelyn Hall comes from.
The exhibition, Dambusters Reunited, is on display at Prospero World in Mayfair.