19 Hawks from 19FSqn and 208Sqn take to the skies over Anglesey to form the number 70. 18 T1 Hawks and 4 T2 Hawks were all used for the event answering to Mustang and Wizard callsigns.

It had been a week of celebrations with the 70th Anniversary of Royal Air Force Valley and 70th Anniversary of 208 Sqn’s Formation at RAF Valley. This included a visit from three 350 Squadron aircraft of the Belgian Air Force returning to the Station for the first time since 1941. Flying F-16 aircraft as opposed to wartime Spitfire IIAs, the aircraft touched down in Anglesey to begin a series of celebratory events.

No 350 Squadron formed at Valley on 12 November 1941 as the first Belgian-manned fighter squadron. It became operational on 22 December 1941, but after 3 months of relative inactivity flying the monotonous convoy patrols, it left for Atcham on 19 February 1942.

Group Captain Bruce Hedley, Station Commander at RAF Valley said: “It’s a real honour to welcome 350 Squadron back to Valley. We are very conscious of the Station’s considerable history and of 350 Squadron’s contribution in the early days of Royal Air Force Valley.”

Source and image: RAF