A tribute to the glitz and fortitude of Second World War flying ladies is now airborne.
The female pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) delivered fighters and bombers to airfields across the country with 15 losing their lives.
These “Spitfire girls” are celebrated in a new calendar marking the 80th anniversary of the first Spitfire flight, and the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre launched The Spitfire Girls Calendar 2016, and some of the women turned out in gowns of the period.
Dr Tara Morley, 29, said: “It’s a really fun experience for any girl to get their hair and make-up done and try on some of the clothing from the war.
“And it’s great to be photographed beside this lovely replica plane, especially on a nice day like this.”
A full-time carer at Dorward House, Cheryl, 17, said: “This has been quite an exciting job. It’s been great getting all dressed up.”
The ATA toured the skies across Britain under constant threat from inclement weather.
At the closing ceremony disbanding the ATA at White Waltham in November 1945, Lord Beaverbrook said: “Without the ATA the days and nights of the Battle of Britain would have been conducted under conditions quite different from the actual events.
“They were soldiers fighting in the struggle just as completely as if they had been engaged on the battlefront.”
Local photographer Neil Werninck, who captured the girls on camera, said: “I was thinking about producing a charity calendar for the heritage centre when I watched a TV programme about the ATA’s women pilots delivering aircraft to air stations, including Montrose Air Station, during World War Two.”
Calendars can be ordered at www.rafmontrose.org.uk or from the centre.