Battle of Britain Memorial Flight The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight ( BBMF ) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group comprising an Avro Lancaster , a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane . The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating the Second World War and upon British State occasions , notably Trooping the Colour , celebrating Queen Elizabeth II ' s 80th birthday in 2006 , as well as the wedding of Prince William , Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton in 2011 and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe . The Flight is administratively part of No . 1 Group RAF , flying out of RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire . Aircraft . Although usually seen flying in a formation of three , the Lancaster flanked by a fighter on each wing , the BBMF comprises a total of 12 aircraft : Spitfires . Individual aircraft have historic heritages ; the oldest of the Spitfires , P7350 , is a Mk . IIa , which originally flew in the Battle of Britain in 1940 , with 266 and 603 Squadrons . In 2011 she was repainted in the 41 Squadron codes ' EB - G ' ; those of Pilot Officer Eric Lock . The Mk Vb Spitfire , AB910 , escorted convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic , she then flew escort patrols during bombing raids on the German battleships " Scharnhorst " and " Gneisenau " , then ( as part of No . 133 squadron ) , she fought in the Dieppe Raid . Capping this long career , as part of No . 402 Squadron RCAF , she flew cover patrols over the Normandy beaches on D - Day and in the subsequent weeks – as did another of the Flight ' s Spitfires , with No . 443 Squadron RCAF . AB910 now wears the 133 squadron codes ' MD - E ' which she actually wore during the Dieppe Raid . The Mk LFIXe Spitfire , MK356 , was built in March 1944 with clipped wings optimised for low level flight , and fitted with a Merlin 66 engine . Allocated to the Royal Canadian Air Force 144 wing , based in various locations around southern England . She took part in the Rodeo fighter sweep over occupied France in the weeks leading up to D - Day . After the war she served as a gate guardian at Hawkinge and Locking , and was recovered and refurbished in 1992 for the BBMF . As of 2008 , she is displayed in a silver paint scheme used in late 1944 fighter / bomber missions over the Balkans from bases in Southern Italy . There are also two PRXIX Spitfires , both built in 1945 with Griffon 66 engines . PM631 was too late to see operational services in World War II and carried out civilian duties with the Temperature and Humidity Monitoring ( THUM ) Flight at RAF Woodvale until 11 July 1957 , when she became part of the Historic Aircraft Flight ; she is the longest serving aircraft in the BBMF and is currently painted to represent a 541 squadron Spitfire . PS915 performed various reconnaissance duties at Wunsdorf in Germany . She returned to the UK in 1954 , and was retired to gate guarding duties . In 1987 she was modified with a Griffon 58 engine and refurbished to flying condition by British Aerospace . She currently carries the markings of PS888 of 81 Squadron based at Seletar , Singapore , during the Malayan Emergency which conducted the last operational RAF Spitfire sortie on 1 April 1954 , photographing communist guerrilla hideouts over an area of jungle in Johore . The ground crew painted the inscription " The Last ! " on PS 915 ' s left engine cowling . One Mark XIX Spitfire , PS853 , was sold in 1994 to defray the costs of rebuilding Hurricane LF363 after her crash - landing on the runway at RAF Wittering due to engine failure in 1991 . The BBMF pilot escaped with a broken ankle and minor bruises , whilst LF363 was engulfed and devastated by the resulting fire . Spitfire Mark XVI TE311 was acquired in 2002 and initially allocated for spares , but officially added to the BBMF collection in 2007 . TE311 was made airworthy in the later stages of the 2012 display season and will be joining the flight to carry out commemorative sorties in 2013 . Hurricanes . There are two Hurricanes . LF363 is a Mk IIc and the last Hurricane to have entered service with the RAF . She appeared in the films " Angels One Five " , " Reach for the Sky " , " The Battle of Britain " and a TV series " The War in the Air " . PZ865 , is a Mk IIc built six months after LF363 ; she is the last Hurricane ever to have been built . She once wore the inscription " The last of the Many " on her port and starboard sides - the original fabric with this inscription is now located in the BBMF Headquarters at RAF Coningsby . Lancaster . The Lancaster bomber - PA474 , acquired by the BBMF in 1973 , is one of only two surviving airworthy examples of the type ; the other is in Canada . She was built in mid - 1945 and assigned to reconnaissance duties after appearing too late to take part in the bombing of Japan . After various duties , she was adopted by the Air Historical Branch for display work . She appeared in two films : " Operation Crossbow " and " The Guns of Navarone " . Having been flown for much of her service with the BBMF as the " City of Lincoln " , PA474 presently wears the markings of the " Phantom of the Ruhr " , a Lancaster that flew 121 sorties ( a so - called " ton - up " Lancaster ) . Originally assigned to 100 Squadron in June 1943 , the original " Phantom " was transferred to 101 Squadron in November that year and finished the war as part of 550 Squadron at Ludford Magna . PA474 displays the markings of bombs for operations over Germany , ice - cream cones for operations over Italy and poppies when she releases poppies during exhibition flights . During the 2008 RAF Waddington Air Day , PA474 was flown in formation with the recently restored Avro Vulcan XH558 in a historic display of two Avro " heavy metal " classics . Dakota . The Dakota , ZA947 , built at Long Beach , California in March 1942 , was issued to the US Army Air Forces and later transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force where she served until 1971 . The aircraft was purchased by the Royal Aircraft Establishment before being issued to the BBMF in March 1993 . She is equipped with authentic period ' para seats ' and is used in commemorative parachute drops . The Dakota did serve solely as a support aircraft for the Flight and as a multi - engine tail - wheel trainer for the Lancaster ; but recently she has also acted as a display aircraft in her own right . ZA947 is becoming increasingly popular with the public and 2013 will see the aircraft making many appearances . Chipmunks . The two Chipmunks ( WG486 and WK518 ) , are the last in RAF service , but are not intended for display use ; rather , they serve to give pilots experience in flying aircraft with a tailwheel landing gear , a design that has now vanished from the modern RAF fleet . Chipmunk WG486 flew reconnaissance missions over East Germany , as part of the " RAF Gatow Station Flight , " in co - operation with " The British Commander - in - Chief ' s Mission " to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , commonly known as BRIXMIS . Flypasts . The Flight also regularly takes part in combined flypast s with other recognisable British aircraft , such as The Red Arrows . It appeared on occasion with Concorde before that aircraft ' s withdrawal from service in October 2003 . History of the Flight . Biggin Hill . In the years following World War II it became traditional for a Spitfire and Hurricane to lead the Victory Day flypast over London . From that event there grew the idea to form a historic collection of flyable aircraft , initially to commemorate the RAF ' s major battle honour , The Battle of Britain , and latterly with broadened scope , to commemorate the RAF ' s involvement in all the campaigns of World War II . Thus in 1957 the Historic Aircraft Flight was formed at RAF Biggin Hill with one Hurricane ( LF363 ) and three Mk XIX Spitfires ( PM631 , PS853 and PS915 ) , in what , even then , had become a predominantly jet - powered Air Force . Coltishall . Originally the RAF Historic Aircraft Flight , with a small group of Spitfires and Hurricanes operating from RAF Coltishall from 1963 , the group became the " Battle of Britain Memorial Flight " in 1973 , with the acquisition of the Lancaster . Coningsby . BBMF moved to its present home at RAF Coningsby in 1976 , since then it has acquired several more aircraft including , the first Chipmunk acquired in 1983 , a Dakota was originally acquired in 1995 , as a more reliable multi - engine trainer than the De Havilland Devon , that was nicknamed the ' Devon State Two ' , due to its tendency to return to the ground on an Emergency State Two ; but has since taken a fuller role in BBMFs line up . The Spitfires and Hurricanes in the Flight have varied over the years , as new aircraft are acquired and older ones passed to museums or used for parts . Past and current BBMF homes . Over the years the BBMF have called many RAF bases " home " . These include ; Biggin Hill July 1957 - March 1958 , North Weald March – May 1958 , Martlesham Heath May 1958 - November 1961 , Horsham St Faith November 1961 - April 1963 , Coltishall April 1963 - March 1976 and RAF Coningsby March 1976 – Present . Service history of the aircraft . Aircraft currently in the Flight have served with the RAF , the United States Army Air Forces , and the Royal Canadian Air Force , as well as having been privately owned ; whilst in the RAF , they were flown by Czechoslovakia n , Polish , South African , American and Canadian pilots . Some were sold for scrapping and later saved , whilst at least one has been on operational service with the RAF for almost fifty years . Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Visitor Centre . The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Visitor Centre is located at RAF Coningsby in Coningsby , Lincolnshire . A partnership between the Royal Air Force and Lincolnshire County Council , the centre allows visitors an up - close guided tour of the aircraft when not in use , as well as exhibits about the aircraft and other temporary exhibits .