| Description |
1 online resource (192 pages) : illustrations |
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Summary |
The formation of the Pathfinder Force in August 1942 produced a steady but certain change in the fortunes of Bomber Command. During the early years of the war, aerial photographs showed that less than one third of the aircraft were successfully placing their bombs with accuracy. There was a basic lack of navigational skills, as well as what came to be known in the RAF as the will to 'Press On'. These shortcomings were addressed, and the special force of elite aircrew, the Pathfinder squadrons, whose purpose was to locate targets and mark them, proved indispensible to the success of the RAF?s overall bombing campaign. Led by the inspirational and imaginative Don Bennett, Pathfinders were equipped with the best available aircraft, which included the famous Lancaster bomber and later, increasingly, the Mosquito. To join a Pathfinder squadron (all crewmen were volunteers) was a rare privilege but with it went a huge leap in the likelihood of being shot down. Pathfinder aircraft led the way for their following bomber force in hazardous raid after raid. They were highly vulnerable to the wall of flak thrown up by German city defenders, as well as to attacks by night-fighters; and it took a full 25 minutes to run the gauntlet of the Berlin defences from end to end at full stretch. By the end of the war, some 56,000 crewmen of Bomber Command had lost their lives. Martyn Chorlton has written a gripping account of the RAF?s Pathfinder squadrons, recalling the often reckless heroism of the young aircrew and the challenges they faced in the smoke-filled skies over occupied Europe. His book also contains a moving foreword by Michael Wadsworth, chaplain to the Pathfinders Association. |
| Contents |
""Cover""; ""Title""; ""Copyright""; ""Contents""; ""Foreword""; ""Introduction""; ""Leading the way""; ""The Butt and Cherwell reports""; ""The Pathfinder Concept""; ""Group Captain S.O. Bufton (1908�1993)""; ""Early Beginnings and Formation""; ""1 Operations 1942""; ""August � A tentative start""; ""September � Illuminating, marking/route-marking and backing up""; ""October � Italian targets""; ""November � Boozer""; ""December � OBOE trials & Wanganui into service""; ""2 Operations 1943""; ""January � 8 Group is born, new TIs, ground-markers & H2S Operational"" |
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""February � Blind-Bombing success and FIDO (Fog Investigation Dispersal Operation)""""March � The Battle of the Ruhr begins""; ""April � More squadrons, more arfields""; ""May � Mounting Losses""; ""June � More Mosquitoes!""; ""July � The Battle of the Ruhr ends and the Battle of Hamburg begins""; ""August � Peenem�nde and the long road to Berlin begins""; ""September � Varying targets""; ""October � High price for a new target""; ""November � Battle of Berlin begins""; ""December � Nightmare over Berlin""; ""3 Operations 1944""; ""January � Berlin takes its toll"" |
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""February � Battle of Berlin comes to an end""""March � Tactical Targets increase""; ""April � 8 Group lose, 5 Group gain!""; ""May � D-Day build-Up""; ""June � Overlord and the Flying-bomb""; ""July � �Heavy Oboe� attack method""; ""August � 8 Group�s first Victoria Cross""; ""September � Operation Market Garden""; ""October � The Second Battle of the Ruhr begins""; ""November � LNSF attacks grow in strength""; ""December � 8 Group�s only Oboe VC""; ""4 Operations 1945""; ""January � the Mosquito takes charge"" |
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""February � Bomber Command�s last VC of the war""""March � The Allies push into Germany""; ""April/May � �Eagle�s Nest�, Exodus, Manna and Victory!""; ""8 Group�s Swan Song""; ""Appendix I""; ""8 (Pathfinder Force) Group Statistics August 1942 to May 1945""; ""Appendix II""; ""Aircraft types""; ""Appendix III""; ""The Pathfinder crews� eight duties""; ""Appendix IV""; ""8 Group Squadrons August 1942 to August 1945""; ""Appendix V""; ""Early Radar and navigational aids""; ""Appendix VI""; ""Pathfinder jargon buster""; ""Appendix VII""; ""Abbreviations""; ""Index"" |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Great Britain. Royal Air Force. Bomber Command.
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Great Britain. Royal Air Force. Bomber Command |
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, British.
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HISTORY -- Military -- World War II. |
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Military operations, Aerial -- British |
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World War (1939-1945) https://id.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39Qhp4vBbhpRH9XvjbDFXtxhb |
| Chronological Term |
1939-1945 |
| Other Form: |
Print version: Chorlton, Martyn. RAF Pathfinders : Bomber Command's Elite Squadron. Berkshire : Countryside Books, ©2014 9781846742019 |
| ISBN |
9781846748356 (electronic bk.) |
|
1846748356 (electronic bk.) |
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9781846748349 (electronic bk.) |
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1846748348 (electronic bk.) |
|
1846742013 |
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9781846742019 |
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