THOUSANDS of visitors from all over the world enjoyed thrilling flying displays and a nostalgic 1940s atmosphere at the Flying Legends Air Show on Saturday (July 13).

In the Vintage Village, visitors enjoyed singing performances by New York-based Andrews Sisters-style group The Manhattan Dolls and swinging big band tunes from the Wilmslow Concert Band. They also explored the Home Front Bus, had the chance to sit in a replica Spitfire, and relaxed in the sunshine in our traditional deckchairs.

Members of living history groups representing Second World War RAF pilots from the Battle of Britain, US Army medical personnel and US Parachute Infantry chatted to visitors and brought a forties atmosphere to our historic airfield with their authentic uniforms and displays.

The flying display was preceded by a solo display by The Fighter Collection’s Stephen Grey in a Grumman Bearcat.

The flying display commenced with a worldwide debut performance by The Bremont Horsemen in three Supermarine Spitfires. This display showcased the iconic Spitfire with incredibly tight formations and thrilling manoeuvres against a brilliantly blue sky.

It was followed by a Battle of Britain-style tailchase with four Supermarine Spitfires and two Hispano Buchons (Messerschmitt Bf 109s).

The Fighter Collection’s P-47 Thunderbolt Snafu then took to the skies, followed by an IWM Duxford favourite, B-17 Flying Fortress Sally B, which performed an elegant display, mastering the skies over the IWM Duxford airfield.

A celebration of Curtiss aircraft saw The Fighter Collection’s P40-F Warhawk and P-40B Warhawk fly together with their Hawk 75 and SDPA’s P-40N Warhawk.

Representing Luftwaffe aircraft were a Junkers Ju-52 and a Bucker Jungmann. This was followed by a celebration of naval aviation with a Sea Fury and The Flying Bulls’ F4U-4 Corsair.

Aerobatic excitement came from the Aerostars, whose fabulously creative aerobatic manoeuvres certainly had the wow factor!

Two rare Gloster Gladiator biplanes flew together for the first time anywhere in the world, another unique moment for the Flying Legends Air Show.

This was followed by the roar of four Mustang aircraft, including two rare blue-nose aircraft, Princess Elizabeth and Moonbeam McSwine.

A glorious four-ship of Hawker bi-planes (two Nimrods, a Demon and a Hind) reminded us of the golden age of aviation. They were joined by that other iconic British fighter aircraft, the Hawker Hurricane.

The ever-popular Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane reminded us of the sacrifices made by young pilots and ground crew at RAF bases such as Duxford during the Second World War. This was followed by a display by three L-4 Cubs, three Yaks and a display by Naval carrier aircraft, including the FM-2 Wildcat, TBM-3E Avenger, a rarity at IWM Duxford, and the Royal Navy Historic Flight’s Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Swordfish.

The last display section of the afternoon saw the Shuttleworth Collection’s Lysander and Storch display, followed by the Morane-Saulnier MS406 and the Dakota DC-3.

The day concluded with the stunning balbo. Unique to the Flying Legends Air Show, this sees a huge number of the aircraft that have performed in the display, taking to the air for a mass flypast.