On the Estonian Victory Day, June 23, the British Royal Air Force Aerobatic team, called the Red Arrows, will display an airshow over Tallinn Bay.
On the morning of the same day, the Red Arrows will fly over the Victory Day parade in Paide, in which the soldiers of the eFP NATO battlegroup will also take part. The equipment of the battlegroup can be seen up close on Victory Day in both Paide and Tallinn, the Tallinn City Government said in a statement.
The Red Arrows is, according to the statement, “one of the best aerobatic teams in the world”.
Their airshow over the Tallinn Bay starts on 23 June at 4:05 PM and lasts about 25 minutes. “The best view of the airshow is from the Pirita promenade between the Charles Leroux monument and the Pirita River.”
British and French tanks and other equipment can be explored between Regati Street and the coastline. A member of the Red Arrows crew will provide explanations on the elements of aerobatics on site, the Tallinn City Government added.
A seven-day cycling event to finish in Pirita
Just before the start of the Red Arrows airshow, the team that passed the NATO Velo cycling marathon will finish in Pirita, including both soldiers from the Estonian Defence Forces and the allied NATO battlegroup. The seven-day cycling event is taking place for the second year in a row, the route will take cyclists around Estonia and on June 23 they will also ride past the parade in Paide.
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton. The team was formed in late 1964.
The Red Arrows have a prominent place in British popular culture, with their aerobatic displays a fixture of British summer events.
Initially, they were equipped with seven Folland Gnat trainers inherited from the RAF Yellowjacks display team. This aircraft was chosen because it was less expensive to operate than front-line fighters. In their first season, they flew at 65 shows across Europe.
In 1966, the team was increased to nine members, enabling them to develop their Diamond Nine formation. In late 1979, they switched to the BAE Hawk trainer.
The Red Arrows have performed over 4,800 displays in 57 countries worldwide.
Marking the Estonian and Latvian victory
The Estonian Victory Day (Võidupüha in Estonian) marks the victory of Estonia and neighboring Latvia in the Battle of Cēsis against the Baltische Landeswehr on 23 June 1919.
The battle was part of the 1918–1920 Estonian War of Independence, in which the new Estonian government fought the Russian Red Army and the Baltische Landeswehr, which consisted of Baltic German nobility and the Governorate of Livonia that served the German Empire and aimed to establish the United Baltic Duchy.
Read also: Gallery: British Red Arrows air acrobats performing a show in Tallinn.
Cover: The Red Arrows on an annual exercise to Greece. Photo by the United Kingdom’s defence ministry, shared under the Open Government License.
