Today the Queen of England presided over a celebration marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. The event was capped off with a flyby by two Hurricanes and four Spitfire warbirds, along with four modern . July 10th is a historical date as it was then, 75 years ago, the Luftwaffe began attacking southern England.

Although any flyover (or “flypast” in the UK) is a great thing, I really thought this would be larger, given the occasion. The world famous Red Arrows were not even involved. You can see the extent of the formation in the graphic below.

No matter how big or small the flyover, here’s to our friends across the pond and to their stoic victory over Hitler’s aerial onslaught that began 75 years ago today.

Contact the author at .