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After the war, some attempts were made to revitalize the air racing scene in the UK, with varying levels of success.

A given recipe for air racing at the time was using the many surplus military fighters available, but eventually these races never achieved the levels of popularity enjoyed by similar events during the pre-war decade. Perhaps after five years of war, the aura of magic which aviation previously enjoyed in the public mind was lost.

Here, a Spitfire F.22 from No. 607 Squadron with the squadron badge on the cowling shows off its racing number “4” at the Cooper Trophy race of 1948.
[Crown Copyright]