2-854-383 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Tower Bridge, Tower Hill, Tower Hamlets, Greater London Authority, 1951. A Short Sunderland flying boat on the River Thames at Tower Bridge, with the bridge in the background, during the Battle of Britain Week. The Battle of Britain Week was an annual celebration by the Royal Air Force of the victory in September 1940. In 1951 it ran from 10th-16th September, and included a fly-past over London on 15th September. The Short Sunderland was developed by Short Brothers as a flying boat and patrol bomber for the RAF, and was introduced in 1938. A Sunderland was shown on the River Thames every September in the 1950s as part of the Battle of Britain Week celebration, until the aircraft type was retired from the RAF in the late 1950s. In 1951, a Sunderland flying boat was moored on the River Thames opposite the Tower of London from 12th September.