The Kings' Birthday Flypast
Saturday 13th June 2026
On the 13th of June 2025, another of the yearly flypasts was held to celebrate the Kings' birthday, taking part were 31 aircraft,
which flew, in formation, down The Mall & over Buckingham Palace.
The flypast contained aircraft from the Royal Air Force, led by 3 x Boeing Chinooks from RAF Odiham, followed by Douglas DC-3 Dakota III, ZA947,
wearing its new South East Asia Command colours of 31 Squadron, from the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight based at RAF Coningsby, a replacement whilst Avro Lancaster PA474 is undergoing its 2 year maintenance progam at IWM Duxford.
This would be followed by several waves of aircraft
with the Red Arrows flying in formation with 4 x Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II's bringing up the rear.
Unfortunately, I didn't see the Chinooks & I only caught the Dakota in the distance, I did however see the rest of the formation.
The weather was excellent, it couldn't have been much better in fact & visibility was pretty much perfect.
Just before 1PM the first of the formation reached my position, it was Douglas DC-3 Dakota III ZA947, followed a couple
of minutes later by the start of the rest of the formation. A pretty spectacular sight with Red Arrows flying in formation with 4 x F-35B Lightning II's the highlight.
Below is a list of the aircraft participating in the Flypast...
( I missed the 3 x Boeing Chinooks that took part in the flypast but these were ZH897, ZA679 & ZD981 (Onslaught)
(I did see the BBMF Dakota but it was further out than I'd hoped)
Wave 1: Douglas DC-3 Dakota III ZA947 - BBMF, RAF Coningsby
Wave 2: Embraer Phenom T.1 ZM334 (Camel)RAF Cranwell & 2 x Texan T.1's ZM323 & ZM328 (Swift) RAF Valley
Wave 3: Airbus A400M Atlas ZM400 (Griffin) RAF Brize Norton
Wave 4: Boeing C-17A Globemaster III ZZ177 (Blackcat) RAF Brize Norton
Wave 5: Airbus A330 Voyager ZZ336 (Tartan) RAF Brize Norton & 2 x Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4's ZK342 & ZK81 RAF Coningsby
Wave 6: Boeing P-8A Poseidon MRA1 ZP806 (Gurney) RAF Lossiemouth
Wave 7: Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664 (Goose) RAF Waddington
Wave 8: 4 x Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4's ZK321, ZK427, ZK330 & ZK380 (Cobra) RAF Coningsby
Wave 9: 9 x Red Arrows Hawk T.1's XX177, XX219, XX242, XX261, XX281, XX310, XX319, XX321 & XX322 & 4 x Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II's ZM143, ZM144, ZM158 & ZM168 RAF Waddington & RAF Marham
Juno Helicopter Camera & Weather Ships ZM530 & ZM521 (Spectre)
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Below are 44 images showcasing most of the aircraft that took part in the flypast :
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.The Kings' Birthday Flypast Saturday 13th June 2026
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Douglas DC-3 Dakota III ZA947 |
Douglas DC-3 Dakota III ZA947 |
Douglas DC-3 Dakota III ZA947 |
Phenom ZM334 & 2 x Texan T.1's ZM323 & ZM328 |
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Phenom ZM334 & 2 x Texan T.1's ZM323 & ZM328 |
Phenom ZM334 & 2 x Texan T.1's ZM323 & ZM328 |
Phenom ZM334 & 2 x Texan T.1's ZM323 & ZM328 |
Airbus A400M Atlas ZM400 |
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Airbus A400M Atlas ZM400 |
Airbus A400M Atlas ZM400 |
Airbus A400M Atlas ZM400 |
Boeing C-17A Globemaster III ZZ177 |
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Boeing C-17A Globemaster III ZZ177 |
Boeing C-17A Globemaster III ZZ177 |
Boeing C-17A Globemaster III ZZ177 |
Airbus A330 Voyager & 2 x Typhoon FGR.4's |
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Airbus A330 Voyager & 2 x Typhoon FGR.4's |
Airbus A330 Voyager & 2 x Typhoon FGR.4's |
Airbus A330 Voyager & 2 x Typhoon FGR.4's |
Airbus A330 Voyager & 2 x Typhoon FGR.4's |
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Airbus A330 Voyager & 2 x Typhoon FGR.4's |
Boeing P-8 Poseidon MRA.1 ZP806 |
Boeing P-8 Poseidon MRA.1 ZP806 |
Boeing P-8 Poseidon MRA.1 ZP806 |
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Boeing P-8 Poseidon MRA.1 ZP806 |
Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664 |
Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664 |
Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664 |
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Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664 |
Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664 |
Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664 |
4 x Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4's |
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4 x Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4's |
4 x Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4's |
4 x Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4's |
4 x Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4's |
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The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
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The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
The Red Arrows & 4 F-35B Lightning II's |
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