Map shows Red Arrows flypast route for D-Day 80th anniversary – and it’s not in London

Look to the skies here for the display in Hampshire this afternoon (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

The RAF’s acrobatic Red Arrows planes will put on a major display today to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings during World War Two.

People in Hampshire will have a chance to see the impressive jets in action today.

The jets will fly from Bournemouth for a 25-minute loop over the south coast and the Isle of Wight, with the flypast happening above Portsmouth Southsea Common at 12.31pm.

It is part of major events taking place today to mark the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, when over 150,000 troops landing in France in a huge push to defeat Nazi forces and end World War One.

On June 6 1944, the forces launched a huge attack from land, air and sea. It was the largest invasion ever assembled, and was the start of operations by Allied forces including Britain and America which would officially end the war a year later.

A Red Arrows display during the King’s Birthday Parade in June last year (Picture: Getty)

The Red Arrows usually put on their flypasts over London, often to mark occasions such as Trooping the Colour, with the royal family turning out onto the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch them go.

Today, they will be in the south of England as Portsmouth and Southampton played key roles in planning and executing the D-Day landings.

What is the Red Arrows route today?

If you want to see the famous planes trailing red, white and blue smoke behind them, you need to get to Portsmouth and the surrounding areas.

The Military Air Shows published an air restrictions map which demonstrates the expected official route of the Red Arrows and the display team of fellow aircraft.

They will take off from Bournemouth at 12.17pm and head south over the Isle of Wight before going east to Portsmouth, north to South Wonston, over the New Forest and then back to Bournemouth.

In total it will take 25 minutes, with the flypast itself the centrepiece of events in Portsmouth to mark the day.

Before the display flight, they will leave RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire where they are based at 9.14am and fly south for 33 minutes until they reach Bournemouth.

A Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) had been scheduled to happen too, using historic aircraft such as those used during the war.

However, after the death of RAF pilot Sqn Ldr Mark Long when the Spitfire he was flying in crashed in a field in Lincolnshire last month, this will no longer take place.

The remaining aircraft are grounded while an investigation into what caused the crash is ongoing.

What time is the flypast expected to take place?

The full display route over Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will last 25 minutes, from 12.17pm until 12.42pm.

But for the flypast itself, look to the skies above Portsmouth at 12.31pm (or if you’re not there in person, it will also be broadcast live on BBC1).

What aircraft are taking part?

The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, known as the Red Arrows, is made up of Hawk fast-jets.

All pilots taking part have flown operationally, in frontline fighter jets such as the advanced Typhoon or Harrier.

The team is intended to show the speed, agility and precision of the RAF, with the arrows flying since 1965. Trademark moves include the Diamond Nine shape, close formations and precision flying, as well as trailing smoke in the colours of the Union flag.

Commemorations of D-Day anniversary

Those on the ground in Portsmouth will have more than just the Red Arrows display to mark the occasion.

Thousands of people will join D-Day veterans, Armed Forces personnel and politicians at a ticketed event on Southsea Common from 10am, hosted by Dame Helen Mirren.

The event will also feature military musicians, and tributes to those who lost their lives fighting to defeat Hitler’s forces.

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