A £6m memorial to the 55,573 airmen of Bomber Command who died during World War II has been unveiled by the Queen.
She arrived for the dedication ceremony in London's Green Park, along with royals including Prince Charles.
Some 6,000 veterans and families of the deceased watched a Lancaster Bomber drop thousands of poppies in a flypast.
Britain's policy of large-scale area bombing near the end of World War II has been criticised by some, stalling progress on a memorial for decades.
Veterans from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other countries who served alongside the British crew are also attending the ceremony.
The memorial, designed by Liam O'Connor and built in Portland stone, features a bronze 9ft-high sculpture of seven aircrew.
Sculptor Philip Jackson said his work was intended to be reflective and so portrayed the men after they had returned from a mission.
"I chose the moment when they get off the aircraft and they've dumped all their heavy kit onto the ground, and they're looking back and looking for their comrades."
At the scene
Thousands of Bomber Command veterans and their families are gathered in a "salute area" of Green Park ahead of the unveiling.
The memorial is a short walk away, and the dedication by the Queen in front of about 900 people will be relayed on a big screen.
The event was organised by the RAF Benevolent Fund which will look after maintenance of the memorial and is now seeking to raise £1.5m to help cover costs.
The Dambusters theme was played as TV's Carol Vorderman came on stage to host a programme of entertainment for the veterans.
They have been promised a visit from the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall and will later get a chance to visit the memorial themselves.
Amanda Brierley, 42, from Lancashire, has come to honour the memory of her grandfather Arthur Davies, a former rear gunner who died 15 years ago.
"I'm here because he would have been here," she says. "He did think a memorial was missing."
The memorial also has a roof made of aluminium reclaimed from a Handley Page Halifax III bomber shot down over Belgium in May 1944.
An inscription says it "also commemorates those of all nations who lost their lives in the bombing of 1939-1945".
Pilot Alan Biffen, 87, said: "I am so glad that at long last Bomber Command is being remembered not only for what it achieved but also for the lives of the young men who never came back.
"Many of them were boys. I myself added a year to my age at 16 so that I could join the air force."
Almost half of the 125,000 men of Bomber Command died dodging night fighters and anti-aircraft fire in raids over occupied Europe.
The ceremony is the culmination of a five-year campaign, spearheaded by the late Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb.
The Bomber Command Memorial Appeal secured funding from public donations and private donors John Caudwell, Lord Ashcroft and Richard Desmond.
Raids criticisedThere were no campaign medals for Bomber Command after the war and no mention of them in then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill's victory speech.
The unit was criticised by some for raids on Dresden in the closing months of the war.
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The memorial features a 9ft-high sculpture of seven Bomber Command aircrew
The fire-storms caused by the RAF and US Army Air Force killed about 25,000 civilians in the destruction of the city centre.
Speaking at Green Park ahead of the dedication ceremony, Bomber Command veteran Cecil Hayley agreed the memorial was about reconciliation as well as remembrance.
"I sometimes look back in horror to think what I was required to do. But, it was what we were trying to do ... it was part of the task of finishing the war and I console myself that this is what we had to do."
Bomber Command Association chairman Malcolm White said it was clear that the memorial's message included a sense of reconciliation.
"That's why it's writ large on the wall, 'We remember those of all countries who died in 39-45,'" he said.
History of Bomber Command
- Formed in 1936
- Mission to attack Germany's airbases, troops, shipping and industrial complexes connected to the war effort
- Crews from UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and all corners of Commonwealth plus occupied nations like Poland and France and allied countries such as the US
- Average age of bombers about 22
- Switched to inaccurate night bombing to reduce casualties
- First "thousand-bomber raid" in May 1942 - against Cologne, three months after "Bomber" Harris made commander in chief
- Famous Dambusters raid of May 1943 struck at dams surrounding Ruhr Valley
He said he had been in touch with the mayor of Dresden and spoken to media in the German city as part of the project.
"Let's put it in the modern context; let's not forget the sacrifice of those who this memorial remembers," he added.
Councillor Alastair Moss defended Westminster Council's decision to grant planning permission to the memorial.
"Since our decision, this memorial has been the subject of controversy by a vocal minority who have unfortunately distracted from its significance," he said.
"We believe Westminster Council was absolutely right to grant consent for a monument which reflects what the majority of today's public want to say about bravery, sacrifice and suffering."
The event included a flypast by five GR4 Tornado bomber aircraft and the RAF's last flying Lancaster Bomber, which dropped the poppies over the park in remembrance for the aircrew lost.
The RAF Benevolent Fund will take over guardianship of the memorial.
A special programme about today's ceremony, Bomber Command: A Tribute, is being shown at 17:00 BST on BBC Two on Thursday.
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