BBMF 2026: where to see the Spitfire this summer

If you have been keeping an eye on the skies this summer for a Spitfire over Poole, there is some news that changes the picture. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is indeed flying across the country this season, but its schedule does not list a Poole flypast. The closest thing on the calendar is over in Dorset, where the BBMF is sending its Douglas Dakota to the Swanage Carnival on 25 July.

It is worth knowing what you are actually looking for, because the BBMF is not a single aircraft. Based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire since 1976, it is a Royal Air Force display flight that keeps a fleet of historic aircraft airworthy. The usual line-up is a heavy bomber Avro Lancaster flanked by a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane, and the unit puts in well over 700 sorties a year. This year, however, the formation is different. The Lancaster PA474, known as 'City of Lincoln', went to IWM Duxford on 29 October 2025 for major maintenance and will not be available for air shows in 2026. In its place, the Douglas Dakota ZA947 is taking the lead, with a Spitfire and a Hurricane following behind in what the RAF calls 'Memorial' formation.

The Spitfires themselves are a real mixed bag of history. The flight keeps five of them going, from the Mk IIa P7350, built in 1940 and the oldest of the lot, to the LF Mk XVIe TE311, which joined the flight in 2000. The Hurricanes are the Mk IIc LF363, first flown on 1 January 1944, and the Mk IIc PZ865, which rolled off the production line on 27 July 1944. The Dakota ZA947 was built in Long Beach, California, in March 1942 and has been with the BBMF since March 1993.

There is a sadder side to the fleet as well. The LF Mk IXe MK356, built in 1944 and with the flight since 1997, crashed on 25 May 2024, killing the pilot, Squadron Leader Mark Long. In his memory, the Spitfire TE311 was repainted with the code 'L-NG', and a fundraising appeal was set up for his family and a flying scholarship. It is a reminder that keeping these aircraft in the air is a serious job, not a hobby.

So, if you were hoping to catch a Spitfire over Poole, the answer is that it is not on the BBMF's 2026 schedule. The Swanage Carnival on 25 July is the nearest appearance, and that is the Dakota rather than the Spitfire. If you are determined to see the flight in person, the Visitor Centre at RAF Coningsby is the place to go, and it reopened on 26 June 2024. For anyone who wants to keep track of where the aircraft are heading next, the full 2026 schedule is kept up to date at military-airshows.co.uk.