The Red Arrows 1947 - 2022

The Red Arrows were formed in 1947 as a demo team to promote the Royal Air Force. Their display each summer during airshows all over the world is famous for their precision flying and tight formations.

When first formed the team flew with four Supermarine Spitfires. The number of aircraft was later increased to 6 and later still to the present nine. From the beginning the team used training aircraft of the RAF which were painted bright red. The shade of red varied over the years

Supermarine Spitfire T9, display seasons 1947 - 1950

Gloster Meteor T7, display season 1951 - 1954

De Havilland Vampire T11, display season 1955 - 1957

Hawker Hunter T7, display season 1958 - 1960

BAC Jet Provost T3, display season 1961 - 1964

Folland Gnat T1, display season 1965 - 1979

BAe Hawk T1, display season 1980 - 2018

Short Tucano T1, display season 2019 - 2021

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, display season 2022 -

Celebration flyby for 75 years Red Arrows

In 2022 the Read Arrows displayed their 75th season. To celebrate this a special formation was flown at the 2022 RIAT of all nine aircraft tyoes flown by the team.