SECOND World War veteran Derek Lovell has taken a trip down memory lane to the days he flew Hawker Typhoons on missions over Europe as the the RAF celebrated 100 years of the RAF with an incredible flypast in London on Tuesday.

Back in the 1940s Mr Lovell, 96, flew Typhoons on 135 missions but the aircraft has come a long way from the single-seater plane he was familiar with.

On Tuesday the massive flypast included the Eurofighter Typhoon which is one of the most popular fighter jets in the world. It first flew in 1994, and since then it has been at the forefront of air combat.

The jet has an impressive 13 external weapon stations on the underside — and can go twice the speed of sound at 1,550mph.

But it is the Hawker Typhoon that he remembers fondly and which brought him back safely from bombing missions. Mr Lovell, of The Breach, Devizes, was honoured by the French government for his part in the liberation of the country when he took part in the Battle of Normandy.

He volunteered for the RAFVR in January 1921 and first trained in Canada on Tiger Moths and Oxfords. He received his wings in 1942 and after a number of postings he joined 197 Squadron at Needs Oar Point in the New Forest in June, 1944, to fly Typhoons.

He was involved in the Normandy campaign and continued to fly until VE day.

He said: "I was very lucky. I was never shot down and only received damage to my aircraft once and even then it was a rifle bullet and I wasn't aware of the damage until I got safely back."

He said that although he lost many comrades who failed to come back from flying missions he has no memories of feeling scared or upset. He said: "We just had to get on with it. I have no recollection of ever feeling frightened."

Mr Lovell, who is married with two daughters and three grandchildren, moved to Wiltshire in 1984 and settled in Box where he became chairman of the parish council. He and his wife Joan moved to Devizes about 20 years ago.