Cosford Air Show: Those magnificent men in their flying machines - the highs and lows of Cosford Air Show's 45-year history

This weekend, the village of Cosford, between Wolverhampton and Telford, will see its population increase tenfold as thousands of plane buffs will travel from all over the country.

The annual event of Cosford Air Show, with its spectacular aerial displays and static exhibitions, is the only remaining RAF-backed air show in the country, and regularly draws crowds of more than 50,000 aviation aficionados, turning the area into something akin to a mid-sized town.

In one respect, it is an unlikely location for such a spectacular display, as the runway at Cosford is not long enough for the large jets, which have to fly over from Shawbury for the event - not that the thousands of visitors have any complaints.

Over the years, there have been countless memorable moments. In 2013 Prince Harry put in a surprise appearance when he formed part of the Apache Attack Helicopter Display Team, attracting praise of television presenter Carol Vorderman who was among those in attendance. 

The 2015 show was the last time the formidable Avro Vulcan took part, its deafening roar heard for one final time.

In 2009, so many people turned up - 58,300 - to be precise - that "show full" signs went up,  and thousands were turned away.

And there have been the odd occasion when the show itself had been grounded, most notably in 2003 when the impending Iraq war meant there would be insufficient planes available.

More recently, coronavirus restrictions caused the show to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021, but it was back with a bang the following June, marking the triple celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubliee, the 80th anniversary of the RAF Regiment's formation, and the 40th anniversary of the Falklands war.

The cancellations during the Covid years were also a blow to the four RAF charities that the event supports: the RAF Association, the RAF Benevolent Fund, the RAF Charitable Trust and the RAF Museums.

Like many air shows, it is difficult to pin down a precise date when the show began.

'Flying circuses' were a popular form of entertainment in years gone by, and it is probably there would have been displays of some kind pretty much as soon as the Second World War was over, and there appear to have been some air shows in the 1960s.

But the start of the modern public Cosford Air Show can probably be traced back to Saturday June 3, 1978, when an event was held to mark the 40th anniversary of the Cosford air base. It also coincided with the takeover of the famous Cosford Aerospace Museum, which held the largest collection of historic aircraft in the country, by officials from the RAF Museum at Hendon.

More than 30,000 flocked to watch the action in a two-hour display in which top of the bill were the Red Arrows aerobatic team.

Other aircraft which took part included a Spitfire and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a Vulcan bomber and a Nimrod anti-submarine aircraft.

It was probably intended as a one-off, though, as there does not appear to have been such an event the following year, and in September 1980 there was a private air show at Cosford for thousands of schoolchildren from all over England who travelled to the base for a military careers convention.

There was a show on June 14, 1981, although it was an international aerobatic competition rather than the flying display which is so familiar today.

However the air show as we know it was clearly soon to become an established annual event which went from strength to strength during the 1980s.