The RAF is 100 years old, and the occasion has been marked in Downing Street by an eyecatching display.
A Red Arrows Hawk jet, or at least a replica of one, was deployed outside the Prime Minister’s residence to mark the Royal Air Force’s anniversary.
Theresa May praised the force’s contribution to the nation in a street famous for all sorts of manoeuvres – but not necessarily the aerial kind.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson stands next to the replica (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Junior ranks from the RAF, Fleet Air Arm, and Army Air Corps, wait to greet personnel from the Army, Navy and RAF, at an RAF100 reception recognising the contribution the Army and Navy played in the formation of the RAF (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Second World War Air Transport Auxiliary pilot Mary Ellis, who delivered Spitfires, arrives in Downing Street (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (centre) arrives in Downing Street (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Theresa May said the RAF has ‘proved it is not only the first independent air force in the world, but also the finest’ (Jonathan Brady/PA)
