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RAF PATHFINDERS ARCHIVE

RAF PATHFINDERS ARCHIVE

The Pathfinders & the World they Knew

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  • LATEST POSTS
  • ABOUT THE ARCHIVE
    • ABOUT THE ARCHIVE
    • Why the Archive Began
    • Collecting Material for the Archive
    • Donating Digital Material – What you need to know.
    • Charity & Contact Details
    • Copyright & Permissions
    • RESEARCH ENQUIRIES
    • Migrating from Old Website
    • Partners: Pathfinder Collection, RAF Wyton
    • Partners: Queensland Air Museum
  • About the Pathfinders
    • The PFF – A Quick Overview
    • PFF – Unique Conditions of Service
    • The Pathfinder Eagle
    • PATHFINDER AIRCREW: Courage, Love and Loss in Bomber Command’s Elite Force
    • Meteorology and the Pathfinders
    • Publicity and the Pathfinders
    • What’s in a Name? 8 Group or PFF?
    • Development of The Pathfinders
      • The Pathfinders – Controversial Beginnings
      • Harris and the Pathfinders
      • Harris Chooses Bennett as PFF AOC
      • PFF Losses in First Month, 1942
      • Early Months of the Path Finder Force
  • Squadrons, Bases & Ground crew
    • PFF Squadron Names and Codes
    • PFF Bases
    • PFF Mosquito Ground Crew
    • Pathfinder Squadrons in 5 Group
  • Leadership
    • Don Bennett, Air Officer Commanding
      • Harris, Bennett & Flying Boats
      • Bennett and the Tirpitz
      • Bennett, PR and 5 Group
      • Donald Bennett, IWM Sound Recordings (1986)
    • Hamish Mahaddie, IWM sound recordings (1972 & 1989)
    • Anderson’s Logbook: First PFF Sortie
    • Robert Murray Buchan, Navigation Staff Officer
  • FEATURE ARTICLES
    • A War Artist and the Pathfinders
    • Carrier Pigeons in the Bomber War
    • Christmas 1944 in a POW Camp
    • New Year’s Eve, Stalag IVb, 1944-45.
    • Lancaster Gunners “Hotting Up”
    • Leslie Barr and P/O Prune
  • The Night of the Fog, 16/17 December 1943 (Black Thursday)
    • The Night of the Fog, 16/17 December 1943 (Black Thursday)
    • Why the Archive Began
    • Pathfinder Losses on 16/17 December 1943
    • 97 Squadron Aircrew Flying on 16/17 December 1943
      • De Wesselow Crew
      • Kirkwood Crew
    • 16/17 December 1943: FIDO & Landing Aids
  • Library
    • Library
    • “A CHANCE ENCOUNTER” by Dr Olav Heinemann, Duisburg-Essen University
    • “AN AUSTRALIAN PATHFINDER OVER GERMANY”, by Professor Tim Willasey-Wilsey, King’s College, London
    • GEOFF BAKER, RAAF Pilot with 97 Squadron, by Stan Hurd
    • MARK GLEED, Navigator with 139 Squadron, by Len Gleed
    • The Loss of the Robertson Crew – German Reports
    • THE DANISH SHOULDER FLASH, by Mikkel Plannthin
  • Archived Articles
    • Frostbite and Flying Boots
    • Pathfinders in Civvie Street
    • The Dangers of the Weather – Icing
  • Support Us
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  • Author: RAF Pathfinders Archive

    RAF Pathfinders Archive
  • PFF Mosquito Ground Crew

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on March 11, 2023March 11, 2023

    The ground crew who worked on Pathfinder aircraft were the unsung heroes of the bombing war, working hard through all weathers. Mosquito ground crew had a particularly close relationship with their aircrew, as can be …

    109 Sqd (M), 1409 Met Flight (M), Ground Crew + WAAFs
  • Meteorology and the Pathfinders

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on February 11, 2023

    The Path Finder Force was a small but vital facet of Bomber Command. Created in August 1942 to improve bombing accuracy, it led the other squadrons of Bomber Command, collectively known as Main Force, by …

    1409 Met Flight (M), PFF CHARACTER & HISTORY, The Bombing War
  • What’s In a Name? 8 Group or PFF?

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on January 13, 2023January 13, 2023

    80 years ago today, on 13 January 1943, in recognition of the outstanding results that the Path Finder Force had achieved in its first six months, it was given parity with other Bomber Command Groups …

    Donald Bennett, AOC, History of the PFF, PFF CHARACTER & HISTORY
  • New Year’s Eve, Stalag IVb, 1944/45

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on December 31, 2022December 31, 2022

    Following on from our recent feature on Christmas 1944 in a POW Camp, here is the Archive’s farewell to 2022 and welcome to 2023, with another item from Albert East’s time in Stalag IVb: New …

    97 Squadron, Prisoners of War
  • Remembrance on Texel, Xmas Eve

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on December 25, 2022December 25, 2022

    Jan Nieuwenhuis sent the following message late yesterday: “Today late this afternoon, we again placed candle lights in front of all the war graves at the Texel War Cemetery…” With grateful thanks to Jan Nieuwenhuis …

    97 Squadron, Occupied Countries, RAF Losses & Memorials
  • Season’s Greetings

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on December 23, 2022December 23, 2022

    See our new Feature Page: Christmas 1944 in a POW Camp To all our supporters and to everyone who has kindly donated information, documents, photographs and artefacts related to the Pathfinders this year, we wish …

    97 Squadron, Prisoners of War
  • Remembrance: Black Thursday

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on December 16, 2022December 16, 2022

    This detail from a photograph shows part of the funeral procession for 405 Squadron members, mostly Canadians, who were buried on 22 December 1943 at Cambridge City Cemetery. At the rear are Bill Bessent (nearest …

    156 Squadron, 405 Squadron, 83 Squadron, 97 Squadron, Significant Events: Black Thursday
  • Navigational Equipment: Captain Field’s Improved Parallel

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on December 12, 2022December 12, 2022

    Dudley Archer was an outstanding navigator who flew two tours with the Pathfinders (see his impressive decorations in The Pathfinder Eagle). He was on the 582 Squadron crew of Ted Swales on the operation in …

    582 Squadron, Equipment
  • The Pathfinder Badge, post-war

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on December 12, 2022January 6, 2023

    When checking through the pages of our old website, in search of images of Pathfinders wearing their PFF badges post-war, I found one of Charles Owen, an outstanding pilot and captain with 97 Squadron in …

    97 Squadron, PFF post-war
  • CARRIER PIGEONS IN THE BOMBER WAR

    Posted by RAF Pathfinders Archive on November 19, 2022

    Up until at least the end of 1943, carrier pigeons were carried on all operational bomber aircraft (and also on Coastal Command long-range sorties) as a back-up system in addition to a wireless SOS when an aircraft …

    Equipment
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