RAF Association toy ducks autographed by pilots of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) are being auctioned on Ebay.

Collectors, fun-lovers and Christmas gift-hunters are expected to compete to splash out on the ducks to raise vital funds for the Association.

Every year, our charity releases a new design of our iconic ducks, by far our biggest-selling fundraising product. This year, the ducks have been designed to resemble Spitfire pilots in order to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

A flock of the ducks recently starred alongside the heritage aircraft of the BBMF, based at RAF Coningsby, for promotional videos and photographs. At the end of the photoshoot, the RAF arranged for BBMF pilots to sign all of the featured ducks.

The BBMF, which was inaugurated in1957 and originally known as the RAF Historic Aircraft Flight, maintains twelve historic and irreplaceable aircraft in airworthy condition. The line-up features an Avro Lancaster, a C-47 Dakota, six Spitfires, two Hurricanes and two De Havilland Chipmunk training aircraft.

The BBMF is a regular RAF unit manned by RAF personnel and funded by the Ministry of Defence. It has a huge international following. The Officer Commanding the BBMF, Sqn Ldr Mark ‘Disco’ Discombe AFC, is one of only two aircrew permanently serving on the Flight. The others come from seven different stations flying five types of aircraft (A400 Atlas, Hercules, C17, Sentry and Typhoon) as their primary role.

Four of the BBMF pilots, including Sqn Ldr Discombe, have signed the special ducks, which will be auctioned on Ebay in sets of three. Each duck in a set will bear a different autograph.

The highest bidder for each lot will receive three ducks signed by:

Hurricane LF363 – Disco (Sqn Ldr Mark ‘Disco’ Discombe AFC)
Spitfire P7350 – Suggs (Sqn Ldr Mark Sugden)

And either of:

Spitfire AB910 – Andy (Flt Lt Andy Preece)
Spitfire TE311 – Mark (Acting Air Cdre Mark Flewin, who is the Typhoon Force Commander)Everyone who buys a set of RAF Association toy ducks will be helping to support the nation-wide work of the RAF Association, which supports the wellbeing of the whole RAF family.

You can find out more about our charity’s work here.

People who miss out on the signed ducks can purchase a set of non-signed ducks from the RAF Association’s online shop at www.rafatrad.co.uk.