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Some of the fun and excitement of the 2005 Whitehaven Maritime Festival weekend...
   
To order festival pictures contact Peter Reay of Whitehaven or the Whitehaven News.
 

 

Over 200,000 visitors enjpyed this festival June 24/25 &26th 2005

*Four magnificent tall ships.
*Aerial fly-pasts (see below) from both the Battle of Britain ere and up to the minute Tornado jet fighters.
*The biggest ever firework display.
*Military commemoration of the victory in World War 2.
* Last Night at the Proms open air concert on Friday in St Nichs gardens.
* Abba tribute band and a Blitz Ball with the Glenn Miller sound.
* Fun fair .
The Air Displays, now considered a major part of Whitehaven Maritime Festival are guaranteed to be the best in the area and will leave people breathless.

Air displays will include The Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight; the Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane. The Red Arrows, a Tornado GR4, The Utterly Butterly Wingwalkers, RNLI Search and Rescue & HMS Garnet SAR Helicopter

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will be performed on Sunday 26th June at 11.15am. In a three aeroplane flight will see displays from two fighters , Spitfire and Hurricane. The original World War Two planes flown by volunteers from the RAF.

These displays bring together some of the rarest aircraft in the world. The RAF estimate that there are no more than a handful of surviving Spitfires and Hurricanes in Britain, most of which are in private collections.

The Royal Air Force also be provided a fast Jet Display by a Tornado GR4 from XV® Squadron. Displays are at 16:30 on Saturday 25th June and 16:30 on Sunday 26th June.
Gerard Richardson, Deputy Chairman said "The Tornado appeared over our skies for the 2001 Festival and was an absolute Show Stopper. The sheer power, noise and excitement created by this amazing aircraft stunned the crowd. Several high speed passes over the harbour both the right way up and upside down left us all waiting for more and when he did his finale of going Balistic (vertical for laymen), you could feel the harbour vibrate."
In another coup for Whitehaven Maritime Festival The Utterly Butterly Flight Team will be performing their amazing aerobatics and wing walking. Display times are: 14:30 Saturday, 13:30 Sunday 26th June.
RNLI Search and Rescue & HMS Garnet SAR Helicopter will also be demonstrating their techniques, display times 1530 Saturday 25th June and 15:30 Sunday 26th June.


Battle of Britain Memorial Flight 2005 marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The original purpose of the Memorial Flight was to help celebrate the Allied victory and the anniversary of the end of the Second World War. It has since become a flying memorial to all members of the Royal Air Force, who lost their lives during the War. The Lancaster bomber, Dakota transport, five Spitfire fighters and two Hurricane fighters represent the types of aircraft which played such important parts in the final victory.
The Flight is unique as a living tribute and more evocative than any static memorial. It flies in memory of those who flew. In these days of fast jets, it is a reminder of the remarkable achievements of the men who flew and maintained these historic aircraft in the heat of the great battles of the War.