Angus aviation fans turned out to be treated to a spectacular day of flypasts.
Arbroath and Montrose were visited by the world famous Red Arrows, an RAF Typhoon and two aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight on Wednesday.
And the trio of flypasts brought the crowds out at Victoria Park in Arbroath and Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre.
The aircraft were passing Angus on their way to displays in other parts of Scotland.
It was the first local appearance by the Red Arrows for six years.
Although it wasn’t a display event, the famous formation switched on their smoke as they passed over the two towns, delighting locals and holidaymakers.
And the memorial flight Spitfire and Hurricane made a particularly poignant sight in the skies.
There is a special link to both communities since it is the 80th anniversary of the wartime Arbroath campaign to fund the Red Lichtie Spitfire.
A replica of the plane is one of the star attractions at Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre.
And wartime pilots trained on both types of aircraft at Montrose, which was Britain’s first operational air station when it was set up in 1913.
The Red Lichtie Spitfire
Wednesday’s spectacle was a celebration of a remarkable wartime fundraising effort by the people of Arbroath.
At the height of the Battle of Britain, a campaign to buy a Spitfire was launched as part of the nation’s Wings for Victory.
Famous Scots entertainer Harry Lauder was the star act at one of the first fundraising concerts.
Another featured a male voice choir from the Polish Army.
And a charity boxing match was held at Arbroath FC’s Gayfield Park.
By March 1942, the required £5,000 was raised and donated to the government to buy Spitfire Mk. Vb, EP 121.
It was called the Red Lichtie in honour of the town.
The famed nickname comes from a light which burned to guide fishing crews safely home to the town harbour.
It reputedly shone from the ‘Round O’ of Arbroath’s near 850-year-old sandstone Abbey.
In May 1942 the Spitfire entered service with No. 501 Squadron based at Ibsley in Hampshire.
The Red Lichtie flew convoy patrols and fighter bomber attacks.
One pilot, Squadron Leader J E Johnson is credited with taking down a German FW190 near Boulogne in France in February 1943.
But EP 121 suffered a sad end to its RAF service.
In June 1943, its engine cut out in the skies above No. 416 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Sqn’s base in Lincolnshire.
It spun into the ground.
Fortunately, the Canadian pilot survived.
But damage to the Red Lichtie was so severe it was written off and scrapped.
Photographer Paul Reid captured the action at Montrose Air Station museum.
