the present day through the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust.
tegic bombers and transport aircraft. In this period, the show became known for debut appearances of cutting-edge military hardware, such as the Panavia Tornado, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, and later the Rockwell B-1B Lancer.
Cold War and Internationalism Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, the Air Tattoo became an unofficial diplomatic platform. Aviation historian Derek Wood noted in Air Shows of the Cold War( 1989) that the Tattoo played a role in“ soft diplomacy,” bringing together aircraft from both NATO and, occasionally Warsaw Pact nations
Expansion and Relocation: RAF Greenham Common By 1973, the Air Tattoo had outgrown North Weald. Participation from overseas increased markedly, with NATO allies eager to strengthen military and civilian ties in the Cold War era. The organisers
moved the event to RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, a site better able to handle the logistics of a larger show, including wide runways for big transports and secure areas for sensitive military aircraft. Greenham Common provided the Air Tattoo with significant growth opportunities. It allowed demonstrations by aircraft that had been unable to operate at North Weald— particularly large stra-
in a rare public setting.( First Warsaw Pact / Soviet FIRST appearance was Russian airforce( VSS) MiG- 29s at Farnborough in 1988). While the majority of participants were Western, RIAT 1991 had the participation of the Czech and Slovak Air Force with Mig-29, Mig-23ML, AN-12, Tu-134 and L-39 Such dis-
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