A RECORD crowd of 404,000 basked in wall-to-wall sunshine on Saturday as day three of Bournemouth Air Festival proved to be a scorcher all-round.

Organisers said it was a record for a single day at the event and there was hardly a cloud in the sky as the mighty Red Arrows gave the crowd a swansong to remember with their final display of this year’s show.

See all our pictures from day three of the Bournemouth Air Festival in a gallery here

It was just the start of a cracking daytime flying schedule, which saw the armed forces storm the beach once more before the Army Lynx took to the skies.

The jaw-dropping Blades aerobatic team made their first appearance at this year’s event, as did historic jets the Meteor and Vampire, which flew in tandem before showing off their own capabilities.

There was something for everyone on a day that covered all aspects of aviation, with Miss Demeanour again providing colour and noise, while the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight glistened into view in the sunshine.

Plenty of other history was on show, with the Jet Provost and the Swordfish demonstrating different eras – the latter paying tribute to the heroes of the Battle of the Atlantic 70 years ago – and American Flying Fortress Sally B remembering the brave young men who flew daytime bombing raids over Germany during WW2.

The Chinook helicopter rumbled over the seafront once more and Gerald Cooper showed just why he is a multiple aerobatic champion with gravity-defying moves.

The Tigers parachute team dropped in again, freefalling in flying suits, and continental flavour came from the French aerobatic trio of the Patrouille Reva.

Daytime flying ended with two RAF legends from decades apart – the Rolls Royce Spitfire followed by the ear-splitting and stomach-turning growl of the Typhoon.

It is sure to be a day that goes down as one of the best in air festival history.

Don't miss all our pictures and video from the Bournemouth Air Festival, plus information on getting here, the Night Air at the Piers concerts and this year's Air Festival photo competition, at bournemouthecho.co.uk/air