Images from the arrival ceremony of the historic Supermarine Spitfire MJ755 aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force – VIDEO

Defence Redefined

Published on 02/06/2021 at 18:00

On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, the arrival ceremony of the Supermarine Spitfire MJ755 aircraft took place in the presence of the Minister of National Defence, Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos.

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Mr. Alkiviadis Stefanis, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Greece, Mrs. Kate Smith, the Chief of Air Force General Staff, Air Marshal Georgios Blioumis, the Chief of the Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Charalambos Lalousis, the Chief of the Navy General Staff, Rear Admiral Stylianos Petrakis, Honorary Chiefs, the President of the “Ikaros” Foundation, Mr. Peter Libanos, the Vice President Mr. Demetrios Kolias, the WWII Veteran, Air Chief Marshal (ret.) Konstantinos Hatzilakos, representatives of the Panhellenic Association of Aviation Veterans as well as the Presidents and Members of the Associations of Military Retirees and the Alumni Associations of the Air Force Military Academies.

The reconstruction process of the aircraft commenced upon the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation of the Hellenic Air Force with the “Ikaros” Foundation, which undertook the reconstruction costs in October 2017. The aircraft performed its maiden flight in January 2020 in Bigging Hill of Great Britain.

After the ceremony, attendees had the opportunity to see the aircraft up close and then watch a demonstration flight of the historic aircraft as well as tour the Hellenic Air Force Museum.

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