Aviation celebrates Victory in Europe Day

In May, countries around the world held ceremonies and flypasts to mark the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Given Australian troops continued to fight on, many thought it was inappropriate to celebrate what is now known as VE Day at the time. However, in Melbourne, 100,000 people attended a service at the city’s Shrine of Remembrance on 9 May, while a further gathered in Sydney’s Kings Cross. Altogether, roughly 10,000 Australians are thought to have died during World War II while a further 8000 became prisoners of war. The end of the war in Europe brought about liberation for Australians being held in prisoner of war camps in Germany, and other held in forced labour and concentration camps around Europe.

This spectacular photo shows the British military’s aerobatic display team, the Red Arrows, soaring over Buckingham Palace in their BAe Hawk T Mk1’s ahead of four Typhoons. Unlike the turboprop PC-21s used by the RAAF’s own Roulettes, the Hawks are fast jets more capable of playing an active warfighting role. Each aircraft has two underwing pylons cleared to carry AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and carry up to eight 3kg practice bombs. The Hawks were withdrawn from service with 100 Squadron on 31 March 2022 but will continue to serve with the Red Arrows until 2030.

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