A STALWART of the Battle of Britain is to make a flypast over Redditch on June 9.
The Hawker Hurricane will be flying over the borough to highlight a special exhibition at St Philips Church in Webheath marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Organised by local historian Philip Jarvis the exhibition will detail the significance of the Normandy landings which liberated Europe from the Nazis.
The Hurricane was a mainstay of the Second World War and during the Battle of Britain shot down 60 per cent of all enemy aircraft.
While the Spitfire attracted all the headlines due to its beautiful lines, it was the Hurricane – rugged, reliable and cheap to produce – that saw a huge amount of combat throughout the war.
Thousands were produced although today only seven are still flying in the UK.
“It could sustain a lot of battle damage and still get the pilot home,” said Philip, who acknowledged Redditch was lucky to have one scheduled to fly past.
“It just so happens that there are a number of displays on at that time if the year and it will be in transit from one to the other.
“The pilot will ring me on the morning on June 9 and he or she will tell me which direction they’ll be flying from and a time to expect them.
“Obviously it is all dependent on the weather and mechanicals and things like that but I’m hoping it should prove quite spectacular.”
