All-female crew to lead RAF flypast over Wembley for Euro 2022 final
A Royal Air Force flypast led by an all-female crew will roar on the Lionesses from the skies above Wembley ahead of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 final today.
A C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, crewed by three women, will be flanked by two Typhoon fighter jets as they fly over Wembley Stadium before England’s historic fixture with Germany.
The aircraft will fly over at 4:57pm, immediately after the national anthems, before kick-off. The Hercules will fly from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and both Typhoons will take off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
I wish the best of luck to the Lionesses as they take on Germany at Wembley.
It’s a landmark day for English football and women’s sport and it’s fantastic that the Royal Air Force will be marking the occasion with a flypast featuring an all-female aircrew.
The Hercules is captained by Flight Lieutenant Lauren who has been in the Air Force for 12 years. She has deployed all over the world, including Afghanistan, where she helped train the first female Afghan pilots.
Speaking about the flypast, Flight Lieutenant Lauren said:
I am proud to be piloting the lead aircraft for the flypast over Wembley. I’ve flown missions all over the world with the RAF, but this will be one of the most memorable. It’s been inspiring to watch the Lionesses progress and I will be loudly cheering them on as soon as I land back at RAF Brize Norton.
Ahead of the match, the RAF and RAF Coningsby station Women’s football teams sent good luck messages to the Lionesses.
The Hercules aircraft flies a wide variety of operational missions including the delivery of humanitarian aid, with the ability to airdrop a range of stores and can operate from natural surface landing zones. To conduct these missions, it is vital that Hercules crews are highly skilled in low-level flying. Recently the aircrafts have been supporting NATO exercises in Eastern Europe, airdropping stores for the troops on the ground.
The Typhoon Fighter Ground Reconnaissance Mk 4 (FGR4) is the RAF’s fourth Generation Multi-role combat aircraft. The Typhoon provides Quick Reaction Alert with Crews on 24/7 readiness in defence of the UK, and the aircraft has been flying daily NATO air policing missions in Eastern Europe.