Duxford D-Day Airshow 2026 review

Untitled Document

Duxford D-Day Airshow 2026

‘Just like on the 6th June 1944, weather conditions were not ideal with a morning of rain showers and strong winds whipping from the south directly across the runway...’

Quickly following on from the VE Day Flying Day, IWM Duxford were now commemorating the 82nd anniversary of D-Day on the 6th of June with its very own flying day to inform and educate the bravery of the Normandy Landings.

Throughout the morning, aircraft were moved out from the hangars to the flightline, much to the excitement to the building crowds around the airfield as the beautiful selection of flying warbirds for the day made their way through the crowds offering a rare chance to get some close to some iconic aircraft.

Just like on the 6th June 1944, weather conditions were not ideal with a morning of rain showers and strong winds whipping from the south directly across the runway, but everyone held out hope and optimism that flying would take place at some point in the early afternoon, even if it meant turning the proposed schedule on its head so aircraft had the best chance in pockets of slightly calmer weather.

70 minutes before her scheduled display time, Plane Sailing’s PBY-5a, known as Miss Pick Up, roared her two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp engines into life and prepared herself for flight, signalling the start the flying display. It has been a slightly rocky start to the 2026 airshow season for the Plane Sailing crew, who after a lengthened winter flying training program and a shorter winter maintenance, found themselves with port side engine issues that resulted in the engine being swapped out with a recently delivered overhauled one. The crew all know just how incredibly lucky they were on the timings of these two events so they could get their season underway and their efforts were certainly not wasted.

With the crosswinds still within her operating limits, the fence lines had now filled as people waited for the Catalina to taxi out to the end of the runway. Piloted by John Harmsworth and joined by Phillip Petitt in the co-pilot seat, they both put on a fantastic tight display showing off such an incredible and well-kept aircraft to the dedicated crowds who had turned up on a day where most would have not travelled at all.

Performing some very welcomed topsides passes and routines showcasing the use of the wingtip floats and approaches, you could see the pilots wrestling against the crosswinds and at times seeing the big Cat crabbing away from the airfield.

As quickly as the display had started, the Catalina had made her final approach and landed on the grass runway for an even closer viewing for the delighted crowds, right in front of the next display item and one I personally I didn’t think we would see due to the conditions. She was welcomed back to the hardstand with a large round of applause and waves for the sterling efforts and skill both John and Phillip had shown.

Engines running and ready for take off were three Piper L-4 Grasshoppers and a Fieseler Storch. Used for their light weight and fantastic low speed capabilities they were ideal for liaison and observation duties throughout the war. The L-4 Grasshoppers supported the D-Day landings by calling back corrections for the Allied Navy shore bombardment as Operation Neptune commenced.

Phil Hardisty and Tom Turner took two of the L-4 Grasshoppers off, with an impressive takeoff across the grass runway into the wind, showcasing the characteristic of the short take off distance required that was invaluable to the Allied observation units. Both pilots who form as two of the three Flying Comrades at other Duxford events highlighted their extreme skill in formation flying in ever challenging and strengthening winds, so much so that at one point both Grasshoppers appeared to be flying in place as their speed almost matched that of the wind.

Anthony Bendowski flew the third L-4 Grasshopper starting off in formation with the other two before breaking away and joining his display partner Sam Whatmough, flying the Fieseler Storch as part of their popular Last Dogfight Display Team.

The Fieseler Storch was the German counterpart to the L-4 Grasshopper and performed the same required duties throughout their service time. However, in a strange turn of events, it was the Storch that would become the final aircraft shot down by the Allied forces on the Western Front when Lieutenants Duane Francis and Co-Pilot Bill Martin, flying their trusty Piper L-4 Grasshopper, would force the Storch down after inflicting enough damage using only their sidearms. An incredible story depicted brilliantly by both Anthony and Sam.

Sadly, once two of the Grasshoppers had landed and the Last Dogfight Display Team had departed back to Rochester, the winds again picked up, and it was decided it was now no longer possible to get any of the warbirds up and the flying display came to a close. As frustrating as this can be, it couldn’t be helped and a huge thanks goes out to all those that managed to get some flying out of the day.

One of the advantages of Duxford though is that even when there isn’t any flying, there is still plenty to see around the site. The Fighter Collection had a stall out in Hangar 2 alongside some of their own aircraft and as always, the event is very well supported by other local museums such as the Harrington Aviation Museum who despite the weather were in high spirits, talking and interacting with attendees.

Due to the cancelled flying schedule, the Duxford Aviation Society stepped in to run a second Concorde nose droop in the afternoon, an event I highly recommend anyone taking some time out of their airshow visit to go and see. Owning not just the fastest Concorde to ever fly, but also the one with the droopiest nose, the Duxford Aviation Society are incredibly proud to have kept the aircraft in such immaculate condition, and they really gathered quite the afternoon crowd with the visitors who were still roaming the museum post 3pm.

The Duxford Summer Airshow comes next on the weekend of the 4th and 5th July, with an incredible line up forming before the final Flying Day of the year on the 24th July honouring the US Air Force and its role at Duxford, both events are not to be missed.Check out www.iwm.org.uk for details.

Review by Nick Soan