OK, August if you can get there Friday it appears to be a good day. This is from AAM photog Fred Miller:
Update... There will be formation flights on Friday with the 2 spits and Lancaster as well as some Museum aircraft in the formation for a second flyby. The only thing I can confirm flying Sat is the C-47. I am sure more aircraft will fly Sat but the real day to be there will be Friday. I am changing my above statement to say FRIDAY is the day you want to be there if you can only go one day.
The full release
70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain to be observed on LI with
RAF Spitfires and a four engine Lancaster flying at the
American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport
Calling all Long Islanders whose families survived the Blitz
All Labor Day weekend, the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, when Nazi and British fighters fought over the future of freedom, two rare RAF Spitfires and a heavy four engine Lancaster bomber will take to the air over the American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport to mark ceremonies that will include remarks by British Acting Consul-General Dominic Meiklejohn and welcoming British expats who are now proud Long Islanders remembering the deadly Blitz by Nazi bombers during World War II.
Following their salute flight, the RAF aircraft will be joined by American fighters that were later flown by British pilots and, together, helped turn the tide of war in Europe and the Pacific.
“The significance of this anniversary is simple for every American. Seventy years ago this summer, our very civilization stood on the edge of a horrible abyss. If Britain had fallen to the Nazis, it would have been virtually impossible for the United States to land on occupied European soil and roll back the Third Reich,” explained American Airpower Museum president Jeff Clyman. “It was the Spitfire, and its stable mate, the Hurricane, that rose to the defense of London and thereby saved humanity from the Nazis. We need to understand our history and heed those lessons today.”
Museum Vice President Jim Vocell said, “We are looking to welcome the families of British expats now living on Long Island who experienced the Battle of Britain as soldiers, airmen or sailors. In addition, we are looking for firsthand accounts from those who were in Britain as children, then immigrated here to the States. These are all valuable oral histories that become part of the fabric of fighting for freedom.”
Hensley Murray, a longtime volunteer at the American Airpower Museum, was a child in Glasgow, Scotland whose industrial area, Clydebank, took a terrible pounding from Luftwaffe bombers because of its role as an industrial center. Some 12,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and, at one point during the aerial assault, over 500 people were killed within two nights.
“London was better known as a target for Nazi bombers during the Blitz, but other cities also suffered terribly, including Belfast, Manchester, Plymouth and Coventry. Those of us who lived through it won’t forget it, and this anniversary cannot pass without every Long Islander understanding what was at stake,” offered Murray.
Labor Day Weekend’s Battle of Britain program at the American Airpower Museum will be held from Friday, September 3rd through Monday, September 6th, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Gate donations will be requested, $15 for adults, $10, for seniors and veterans and $5 for children. Flight and armor experiences will also be available. The museum’s web site is
www.americanairpowermuseum.com
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