FLYING LEGENDS TO RETURN IN 2023
The Fighter Collection’s Flying Legends Airshow, the most popular warbird air show, is set to return in 2023 after a 3-year absence. The event will be held at the new venue of Leeds East Airport, formally RAF Church Fenton over the weekend of 15th-16th of July 2023.
In a short Facebook post released on Tuesday, February 21, Flying Legends officially announced that the Flying Legends Airshow will be back in 2023 after a 3-year absence.
The Flying Legends an Airshow which many people regard as the finest Warbird event in the world was previously held at Duxford and will now be held at the Leeds East Airport 4.3 miles south-east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and 6.3 miles north-west of Selby, North Yorkshire, near the village of Church Fenton.
Much like Duxford the Royal Air Force Station Church Fenton has a rich military history, having served as a fighter base during WWII it should prove to be an excellent venue for the Flying Legends,
The Mustang with reenactors at the Flying Legends 2013
RAF Church Fenton
Opened in 1937, it saw the peak of its activity during the years of the Second World War, when it served within the defence network of fighter bases of the RAF providing protection for the Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Humber estuary industrial regions.
In September 1940 it became home to the first RAF "Eagle squadron" of American volunteers being No. 71 Squadron RAF initially with the Brewster Buffalo I for one month before changing to the Hawker Hurricane I. The airfield was also home to both the first all-Canadian and all-Polish squadrons, with No. 242 Squadron RAF for the Canadians and No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron for the Polish. 242 Squadron, first established in the First World War and then disbanded, was re-formed here in October 1939, using Canadian personnel.
As technologies evolved, No. 54 Operational Training Unit (54 OTU) was formed at Church Fenton in 1940, the first-night fighter OTU, staying until 1942. Some of the squadrons stationed there also flew the de Havilland Mosquito.
The following squadrons were billeted at Church Fenton at various times:
No. 25 Squadron RAF
No. 26 (South African) Squadron RAF
No. 46 Squadron RAF
No. 64 Squadron RAF
No. 68 Squadron RAF
No. 71 (Eagle) Squadron RAF
No. 72 Squadron RAF
No. 73 Squadron RAF
No. 85 Squadron RAF
No. 87 (United Provinces) Squadron RAF
No. 96 Squadron RAF
No. 124 (Baroda) Squadron RAF
No. 125 (Newfoundland) Squadron RAF
No. 183 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF
No. 234 (Madras Presidency) Squadron RAF
No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF
No. 245 (Northern Rhodesian) Squadron RAF
No. 249 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF
No. 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron RAF
No. 288 Squadron RAF
No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron
No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron
No. 409 Squadron RCAF
No. 456 Squadron RAAF
No. 488 Squadron RNZAF
No. 600 (City of London) Squadron RAuxAF
No. 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron RAuxAF
3 Year Break
The 2020 Flying Legends Airshow just like most of the other airshows that year was cancelled because of the Coronavirus outbreak, this was followed by the Imperial War Museum and The Fighter Collection statements to announce that the show would no longer be held at Duxford.
A proposed new venue at Sywell Aerodrome was announced at the end of 2020 and the details of the 2021 show were developed with tickets going on sale shortly after. However, at the end of May, the organisers announced that the 2021 edition of the show has also been cancelled.
On the 11th of February 2022, Flying Legends released a statement announcing yet another cancellation.
12 ship formation featuring a number of different warbirds at the Flying Legends 2013
The Event
The Flying Legends Airshow is all about classic piston engine-powered aircraft, operating just as they would have done during wartime years (just without the bombs and bullets). With displays flown by expert pilots, these shows always present enthusiasts with the opportunity to take some memorable pictures of the occasion
The Flying Legends will traditionally feature historic piston-engined aircraft in rare combinations in the air and on the ground in an authentic 1940s atmosphere. Besides the historic aircraft, we can also expect to see the current military aircraft alongside the aircraft from World War II such as the USAF F-35A Heritage Flight which was announced by the USAF Air Combat Command earlier in the year. Just like in the previous year we can also expect the impressive finale 'balbo', a massed formation featuring many of the aircraft that took part in the flying displays.
