Practice makes perfect: RAF conducts final rehearsal for VE Day London flypast

Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft of all shapes and sizes have conducted a final airborne rehearsal for a spectacular event that will take place in the skies over Central London on Monday, May 5, 2025.

23 aircraft from various RAF squadrons, along with an Avro Lancaster bomber from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), will combine to perform a low-level flypast to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day – the day on which the hostilities of the Second World War in Europe officially ended, which was declared on May 8, 1945. The date for the flypast has been selected as May 5, 2025, as the day is a public holiday across the UK.

As part of the rehearsal held on April 28, 2025, the 23 aircraft that will participate in the VE Day flypast congregated in several specially selected air corridors over Eastern England before lining up in formation to pass in turn over the iconic College Hall at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, historically where any officer serving in the RAF, including pilots, will have been selected and trained.

Royal Air Force Aircraft including Eurofighter Typhoons, Airbus A400M Atlas multipurpose transport aircraft, a C-17 Globemaster, F-35 combat aircraft, a Voyager air-to-air refueller, plus the RAF’s Rivet Joint and Boeing Poseidon reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft all took their turns to fly over the building, which doubled up as Buckingham Palace, on whose front balcony King Charles will be watching on the day of the flypast. The flypast will be similar to one that was conducted for the 75th anniversary of VE Day back in May 2021.

The real flypast will conclude with the legendary RAF Red Arrows aerial display team, flying their nine iconic flame-red British Aerospace Hawks in close formation over the Palace.  

“I was reviewing the Flypast from a safety and execution perspective, ensuring the timings, spacings, and overall structure were on track for the special VE Day 80 celebrations on 5 May,” said Air Vice-Marshal Mark Jackson, the flypast’s Senior Responsible Officer. “It’s a great honour to be part of the events to remember those who served our nation 80 years ago.”

“We are very proud to be able to show the nation and His Majesty the King, our Commander-in-Chief, on this historic occasion, our capability and present that as a fitting and appropriate tribute for the millions of people who served in the Second World War,” added Wing Commander Andrew Watson, the flypast Mission Commander, “It should be a good spectacle for the nation and the Commonwealth.”

Royal Air Force Subject to weather, aircraft serviceability, and operational commitments, the flypast is scheduled to begin precisely at 13:45 local time (12:45 GMT) on Monday, 5 May 2025. The flypast will follow a military procession involving more than 1,300 members of the UK Armed Forces, uniformed services, and young people. The flypast itself is planned so that aircraft fly down The Mall from the east, before heading directly over Buckingham Palace and then heading to a dispersal area to the west of London.

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will lead a procession from Parliament Square at midday, down Whitehall and past the Cenotaph. It will then head up The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where the procession will end as the RAF flypast brings the curtain down on the UK’s VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations.

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