The missing man formation flying over the USS Arizona memorial in Hawaii

The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event. The missing man formation is often called "the missing man flyby". (Note: the term flypast is used in the UK, the Commonwealth and in other territories for flyover or flyby.) Aircraft in the missing man formation over the USS Arizona Memorial during the 57th Commemoration ceremony of the attack on Pearl Harbor. ... Aircraft in the missing man formation over the USS Arizona Memorial during the 57th Commemoration ceremony of the attack on Pearl Harbor. ... Vince Welnick (February 21, 1951 – June 2, 2006) was an American keyboardist, best known for playing for the Grateful Dead from 1990 until their end in 1995. ... Missing Man Formation (1998) is the name of a band put together by former Grateful Dead keyboard player Vince Welnick, featuring Vince, Steve Kilmock, Prairie Prince, Bobby Vega and others, and is also the title of their first (and only to date) album. ... A salute is a gesture or other action used to display respect. ... The Red Arrows and Concorde conclude a special flypast over Buckingham Palace on 4 June, 2002 celebrating the Queens Golden Jubilee. ... The Red Arrows and Concorde conclude a special flypast over Buckingham Palace on 4 June, 2002 celebrating the Queens Golden Jubilee. ... The Red Arrows and Concorde conclude a special flypast over Buckingham Palace on 4 June, 2002 celebrating the Queens Golden Jubilee. ...

Description

Several variants of the formation are seen. The formation most commonly used in the United States is based on the "finger-four" four-aircraft combat formation. The aircraft fly in a V-shape, with the flight leader at the point and his wingman following his left (the right as seen from below). The second-element leader follows on the flight leader's right, and his wingman follows on his right. Thus, as seen from below, the V's left leg is longer than its right. This formation flies over the ceremony low enough to be clearly seen, and when directly over the site, the second-element leader executes an abrupt pull-up into the steepest climb his aircraft can sustain, while the rest of the formation continues in level flight until all aircraft are out of sight.

In other variations, the flight approaches from the south, preferably near sundown, and one of the aircraft will suddenly split off to the west, flying into the sunset. When a large number of aircraft are used, they simply fly in an unchanging formation, but with a position in that formation conspicuously empty.

History

Pilots assigned to Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) perform a Missing Man Flyover formation, above USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), during a wreath laying ceremony held on the flight deck in memory of Capt. Franklin Hooks II, assigned to the “Silver Eagles” of Marine Fighter-Attack squadron One One Five (VMFA-115).

The first funeral flyover of aircraft occurred during World War I, when British fighter pilots honored the funeral of German ace Manfred von Richthofen ("the Red Baron"). Flyovers of airfields became standard practice in the Royal Air Force, to show the ground crews how many survivors had returned from a mission. In 1936, King George V of the United Kingdom received the first recorded flyover for a non-RAF funeral. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1500x2100, 535 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Missing man formation Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1500x2100, 535 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Missing man formation Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... USS (CVN-75) is the eighth Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy, named after the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. ... Official force name Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 Other names Silver Eagles Motto NA Branch United States Marine Corps Chain of Command Marine Aircraft Group 31 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Headquarters Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Description Combat ready expeditionary aviation forces. ... The Red Arrows and Concorde conclude a special flypast over Buckingham Palace on 4 June, 2002 celebrating the Queens Golden Jubilee. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... Red Baron redirects here. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 - 20 January 1936) was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor, as a result of his creating it from the British branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. ...

The United States adopted the tradition in 1938 during the funeral for Major General Oscar Westover with over 50 aircraft and one blank file. By the end of World War II, the missing man formation had evolved to include the pull-up. In April 1954, United States Air Force General Hoyt Vandenberg was buried at Arlington National Cemetery without the traditional horse-drawn artillery caisson. Instead, Vandenberg was honored by a flyover of jet aircraft with one plane missing from the formation. Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Oscar Westover (July 23, 1883 - September 21, 1938) was a major general and chief of the United States Army Air Corps when he died. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aircraft of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing and coalition counterparts stationed together at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in southwest Asia, fly over the desert. ... General Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg was the second chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. The general was born at Milwaukee, Wis. ... [[ Historical Information Arlington National Cemetery Section 27 Facts Pvt. ... The Red Arrows and Concorde conclude a special flypast over Buckingham Palace on 4 June, 2002 celebrating the Queens Golden Jubilee. ...

Also in 1954, Captain Joseph McConnell was killed while testing a modified F-86 Sabre at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Warner Brothers immediately produced The McConnell Story, a movie starring Alan Ladd and June Allyson. Early in the movie, the couple watch three flights of four planes pass overhead, with one plane pulling up out of the last formation. 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joseph C. McConnell in his F-86 following his last mission in Korea Joseph Christopher Mac McConnell, Jr. ... The North American F-86 Sabre was a subsonic combat aircraft developed for the US Air Force. ... Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Warner Bros. ... Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – November 7, 1964) was an American film actor. ... June Allyson June Allyson (born October 7, 1917) is an American actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

Allyson, playing Mrs. McConnell, asks, "Why is that plane leaving the formation?"

Ladd, as Captain McConnell, replies, "It's a flyby for Lieutenant Gordon. See that open slot? That's the position he used to fly. It's called 'the missing man formation.' "

Another missing man formation is flown at the end of the movie, but Mrs. McConnell is alone when she sees it.

See also

Flypast The Red Arrows and Concorde conclude a special flypast over Buckingham Palace on 4 June, 2002 celebrating the Queens Golden Jubilee. ...

External links

• High Honour: The Missing Man Formation