During the celebrations, a blue plaque was unveiled honouring Wing Cdr Freeborn.
Born in Leeds in 1919, he flew Spitfires in some of the fiercest fighting of the war, including Dunkirk, where he was forced down in France and evaded capture by German forces for three days before reaching safety.
On 11 August 1940, he was scrambled four times in just eight hours, shooting down three enemy aircraft in a single day.
For his courage and skill in combat, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice during the war.
Martin Hamilton, director of Leeds Civic Trust, said: “All our blue plaque unveilings are different, some are very small, but this I have to say is one of the largest ones we’ve done.
“A big audience, big crowd, which is great because we really want to celebrate the achievements of this man.”
The Trust said the plaque was the city’s 209th, making Leeds the largest blue plaque city outside London.
