Transfer to New Website
This website is no longer being updated. All information about the Archive and all the latest posts can be found on our new website, Please follow the link: https://rafpathfinders.com
Archive News
Latest Information
What’s in a Name?
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 by being elevated to Group…
Season’s Greetings
To all our supporters and to everyone who has kindly donated information, documents, photographs and artefacts related to the Pathfinders this year, we wish you a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Our Christmas features are on our new website: Christmas…
Lancaster Gunners “Hotting-up”
The Feature for October 2022, published on our new website, is LANCASTER GUNNERS “HOTTING UP” It shows details from a fabulous charcoal drawing of Lancaster gunners preparing for a raid on Berlin in December 1943, which was published in The Illustrated…
Remembering Our Queen, 1926-2022
Please see our post Remembering Our Queen, on our new website.
80th Anniversary of the PFF
The 80th Anniversary of the formation of the Path Finder Force is fast approaching, and to celebrate we are running a series of features about the Force, its leadership and its history. These will be published on our new website.…
Brock Robertson & Other New Pages
Updates continue on our new site and you may like to catch up on some of the new pages which have been created, including more on Brock Robertson and his crew, the crash site of the Kenneth Brown crew in…
The Loss of the Robertson Crew
On our new website, we have just added some interesting and unusually detailed German eyewitness reports of the loss of the Robertson crew after the Nuremburg raid of 27/28 August 1943. Lancaster JA958K crashed at Bubenreuth, near Erlangen, around 16…
Hal Mettam, RAAF Bomber Pilot
Today we are adding to the Library on our new website an article by Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Visiting Professor of War Studies at King’s College London. It concerns Hall Mettam, a member of the RAAF, whom Tim met in Beirut in…
Remembrance: Black Thursday
On Thursday and Friday this week we remember the 50 Pathfinder aircrew who were killed in crashes in England on Thursday and Friday 78 years ago. The crews had just returned safely from that night’s operation to Berlin when a…
Updates to New Website
There have been a number of additions to the new website, including a section for articles written by relatives or by members of the public. Below you can find links to the two new articles which have been posted today,…
Remembrance Sunday
The total wartime losses for the Path Finder Force were given by their commander, Donald Bennett, as being 3,618 men.[1] It was a large figure for a small Force which only came into existence in the fourth year of the…
Migration to the New Website
This post provides a permanent link to our new website, which has been under development for a few months now. Although there is a great deal more to do, it is shaping up well. The catalogue system has already proved…
Pathfinder Aircrew
This book has been 14 years in the making; it contains many personal stories, letters and photographs from the Archive, and has been written by our Chairperson, Jennie Mack Gray. For full details, including table of contents, page and photo…
Ken Newman – RIP
It is with great sadness that we must pass on the news that Ken died from COVID on 31 January. Tragically, he was diagnosed with the virus on his 100th birthday on 13 January. Our thoughts are with his family…
Ken Newman Celebration, 100 yrs
Photographs of Ken’s landmark birthday yesterday. From Danny Newman, Ken’s proud grandson.
Ken Newman’s 100th Birthday
It seems that there may have been a mix-up about the exact date of Ken’s birthday. One source (family) said 21 January, another 13 January. We are checking but in the meantime please send your goodwill messages in as soon…
Wartime Opposition to Bombing
During the war, public opinion in Britain and the Dominions was firmly on the side of Bomber Command. However, there was also some determined criticism of Bomber Command’s campaigns, not least by George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, who argued the…
100th Birthday for a Gunner, 97 Sqd
Ken Newman (second from right) who flew with the Steven crew but who missed their fatal flight on 14 January 1944 due to a bad skin complaint, will be 100 years old on 21 January. If anyone would like to send a…
RAF Bombers Drop More than Bombs …
The last post of 2020, which looks at a little known subject related to yesterday’s theme of Propaganda and Public Information: what RAF bombers dropped in addition to bombs. On the new website there are two new pages about this…
Der Feind, The Fiend
On our new site we have published a post on a public information poster from Berlin 1940, which was a forewarning of the later demonisation of the RAF bomber crews as terrorflieger, ‘the terror fliers’. This was used as justification for…
The annual lighting of candles on the 167 graves at the War Cemetery at Den Burg, Texel, took place yesterday evening, Christmas Eve.This is a very simple but extremely moving and quietly spectacular ceremony, and for the last three years…
Christmas Greetings
From all the team at the RAF Pathfinders Archive: Happy Christmas to everyone who has supported us over the years, and may next year, 2021, see life restored to something like normality after the immense problems and sorrows caused by…
The Three Pathfinder VCs
The three Victoria Crosses awarded to Pathfinders were all gazetted in 1945, some time after the deaths of the recipients. The three men who performed extraordinary feats of heroism and self-sacrifice were Ian Willoughby Bazalgette, Robert Anthony Maurice Palmer, and…
Victoria Cross: 23 December 1944
On 16 December 1944, German Panzers spearheaded a surprise attack in the Ardennes that smashed through thinly held Allied lines, catching the Allied commanders completely off-guard. The Allied fight-back included this extraordinary feat of heroism which won Bob Palmer one…
Black Thursday Remembered
Our new website is commemorating Black Thursday, 16/17 December 1943, with a number of new pages about the events of that night and the crews who were involved. The first two posted below are is an overview of the night…
Dominion Aircrew
There are three new pages on our new website, all to do with Dominion crew. This photograph of a rescued Wellington crew comes from Allan Templeton’s logbook, from the time he was with Air Sea Rescue. Allan was a Newfoundlander.…
Remembrance Sunday
We are remembering all the Pathfinder losses tomorrow and on Remembrance Day, but one particular grave has been chosen to symbolise all, that of Bob Stewart, a twenty-one year old navigator. See the page on our new website Pathfinder War…
Searby & The End of a Kiwi Gunner’s Tour
John Searby (left, with Bennett in 1944, IWM: CH 20628) was one of the best known and most revered of the Pathfinder squadron and station commanders. According to the dates in Bennett’s book Pathfinder, he was: CO of 83 Squadron from 9 May…
Harris, Bennett and Flying Boats
One of the pages on our new website, The Pathfinders and the World They Knew: https://rafpathfinders.com/harris-bennett-flying-boats/
New Website for the Archive
At the RAF Pathfinders Archive, we have begun a review of this entire website: raf-pathfinders.com It has been added to and expanded for many years, and is now very much in need of an overhaul. To facilitate the clean-up, a new…
Donald Margach and Guy Gibson
We always welcome corrections or additions to the information on these pages. Sometimes it is the smallest details which really count. Amongst other points, Clive Smith, who specialises in 106 Squadron on which Donald Margach served with Guy Gibson, has…
PFF HQ and Hamish Mahaddie
From: Jennie Mack Gray – It has been quite a while since this website was updated, due mainly to me taking a sabbatical to finish my book on the Pathfinders (this was delayed, like so much else, by COVID-19).The book…
Johnny Nicholls’ Article in ‘Aviation Heritage’
Can anyone help us locate a copy of the article in ‘Aviation Heritage’ written by Johnny Nicholls? (Nicholls Crew page) We have a photocopy of part of the article but are missing pages 151 and 152 in particular. Here is…
Heroic Endeavour – article by Sean Feast
Sean has written an article for the Archive’s website about the costly operation against Cologne on 23 December 1944 in which Bob Palmer won the VC, one of only three VCs won by the Path Finder Force. It was a…
Sean Feast & Meet The Team
We are delighted to welcome Sean Feast as a Trustee of the Archive. Sean is a keen supporter of the military with a passion for aviation. Amongst his many books is The Pathfinder Companion, which was published in association with…
Charles Owen Diary Entry, D-Day
Charles Owen‘s diary records of this day: 6 June 1944 Target: St Pierre du Mont – Coastal battery A/C Lancaster ND961 N-NAN Time: 3.50 We thought the briefing sounded a little odd for this trip, and sure enough when we…
One for the Ground Crew – 109 Squadron, Mosquitoes
The ground crew on Bomber Command squadrons were the unsung heroes, working hard in all weathers. It is good to see in this remarkable photograph of ‘A’ Flight of the Pathfinders’ 109 Squadron that the ground crew are standing alongside…
Read More One for the Ground Crew – 109 Squadron, Mosquitoes
The Pathfinders’ World
Just a quick note, prompted by a comment on our Guy Gibson post yesterday, to say that over the coming months we will be substantially increasing information on the background to the Path Finder Force’s war. This is because the…
Guy Gibson, the Dams Raid, and the Pathfinders
Today is the anniversary of the Dams Raid, the most famous Bomber Command raid of the war. Guy Gibson received the Victoria Cross for his leadership and the account in the London Gazette is still thrilling today, 77 years later.…
VE Day, 1945 – Victory at the Pathfinders
VICTORY MESSAGE To: The Path Finder Force From: Air Vice-Marshal D C T Bennett, CB, CBE, DSO. Great Britain and the Commonwealth have made a contribution to the civilised world so magnificent that history alone will be able to appreciate…
Victory in Europe: Avoiding Damage to Public Property
All the Pathfinder squadrons and units recorded in their ORBs on 8 May 1945 that Victory in Europe had been achieved. Above is our favourite entry. The full page of the ORB, which is that of the NTU (National Training…
Read More Victory in Europe: Avoiding Damage to Public Property
End of War Celebratory Squadron Photographs
At the end of the war, many Pathfinder squadrons had photographs taken of their aircrew, occasionally including some of the ground crew as well. There are a number of these celebratory photographs on this site under different subject headings, but…
Horace Bennett’s Photos of Germany, May 1945
Once aircrew could fly safely over Germany in daylight, many were absolutely amazed by the devastation which had been wrought by Allied bombing. Crews sometimes took photographs of the apocalyptic scenes. Horace Bennett, a gunner on 635 Squadron, had a…
The RAF’s Sir Arthur Tedder and the German Surrender
Probably at no time in its existence has the prestige of the RAF stood higher than at the end of the Second World War. The huge part that the RAF had played in the Allied victory was emphasised at that…
Read More The RAF’s Sir Arthur Tedder and the German Surrender
POWs brought back from Lubeck, near Kiel, 9 May 1945
What a difference six days made! Less than a week after the Pathfinder Mosquito attacks on Kiel, and on the airfields in the Kiel and Lubeck area, Pathfinder Lancasters were back using the airfield at Lubeck to collect and bring…
Read More POWs brought back from Lubeck, near Kiel, 9 May 1945
The Final Pathfinder Operation, Kiel and Nearby Airfields, 2/3 May 1945
The last Bomber Command attack of the war took place on the night of 2/3 May, when Pathfinder Mosquitoes, in two forces of 16 and 126 respectively, together with 37 Mosquitoes of 100 Group. bombed Kiel and nearby airfields. This…
Read More The Final Pathfinder Operation, Kiel and Nearby Airfields, 2/3 May 1945
The End of the War Approaches: Berchtesgaden Operation
The Pathfinders flew two operations on 25 April 1945, the last major bombing operations which it undertook. One of these was to Wangerooge, the other to Berchtesgaden, a command centre and favourite resort of Adolf Hitler. In all the time…
Read More The End of the War Approaches: Berchtesgaden Operation
The End of the War Approaches: Last Major Pathfinder Bombing Operations
As the end of the war approached, the number of bombing sorties dropped off precipitously. The last major strategic operation in which the Pathfinders took part was on 25 April against the German island of Wangerooge, the most easterly of…
Read More The End of the War Approaches: Last Major Pathfinder Bombing Operations
The End of the War Approaches: Operation Exodus
As the end of the war approached, Bomber Command Lancasters began flying to Brussels and other Continental airfields to collect the liberated prisoners of war. Pathfinder squadrons’ ORBs contain many entries for what was known as Operation Exodus. One of…
The End of the War Approaches: Operation Manna
By 29 April 1945 the end of the war was in sight. Lancaster bombers were diverted from their accustomed bombing operations to humanitarian missions. One of these was Operation Manna, which began today 75 years ago. See our new page:…
Vernon Smith’s DFM, 7 Squadron
Vernon Smith of the McCollah crew was awarded the DFM in May 1945. Vernon was a gunner, part of a highly regarded Marker crew, most of whom also received decorations at that time. The paperwork for the medal recommendation is very…
Special Leave, Travel Restrictions, and Egg Rationing
The last of our topical posts for the time being on the type of restrictions and shortages which people put up with during the war. The three items all appeared in the same edition of the Manchester Evening News on…
Read More Special Leave, Travel Restrictions, and Egg Rationing
Within Bounds – or Not …
We have solved the mystery of the Bullimore ration coupon on the last post and where it came from (an anonymous donor). Looking through the Bullimore folder, we came across this other document about RAF restrictions on movement in 1943.…
Ration Cards for Aircrew
In the current Covid-19 situation, there have been various mutterings about rationing becoming necessary, so now seems a good time to take a quick look at rationing in the Second World War … It is perhaps a little-known fact that…
War Artist John Berry and the Pathfinders
Amongst the tens of thousands of items in the care of the Imperial War Museum is an exceptional art collection ranging from the First World War to contemporary conflicts. Many of the Second World War items were commissioned by the…
Eric Skinner after Capture by the Germans
We have recently received a haunting image of Eric Skinner of the Burns crew who was captured by the Germans on 31 August 1943. All but one of the crew had baled out of the aircraft when, according to the…
RAF Upwood, 1952, ‘Appointment in London’
Last visit to RAF Upwood for the moment. The film ‘Appointment in London’ was filmed at the station in 1952, only seven years after the war, and it is probably the closest one can get to seeing the station as…
Catastrophic Explosion at RAF Upwood
What is thought to be the worst accident involving ground crew on a Pathfinder station took place on 9 September 1944 when bombs detonated during a routine job. Seven men were killed, and of these three vanished without trace. See:…
RAF Warboys and Upwood, the Pathfinder Trail
The village of Warboys has a fine parish church called St Mary Magdalene. In it there is a beautiful memorial window to the Pathfinders, commemorating the various PFF squadrons or training units which were based at Warboys and nearby Upwood.…
Two South Americans in 97 Squadron, PFF
Further to the previous post on the loss of the Emerson crew, there is also a new page containing biographical details of the two South Americans on the crew. All the crew were killed on 21 February 1944 after their…
The Loss of the Emerson Crew
In two days time it will be the 76th anniversary of the loss of the Emerson crew. The crew suffered a horrific accident on 21 February 1944. Their aircraft, which had been severely damaged over the target, broke up in…
Donald Bennett – Central Page & IWM Sound Recordings
The various items on this website about Donald Bennett, the highly gifted leader of the Pathfinders, have now been gathered on one central page: Donald Bennett, The Pathfinders’ AOC. At the bottom of this page is a link to the…
Read More Donald Bennett – Central Page & IWM Sound Recordings
Pathfinders in Civvie Street
Our second IWM item this morning, also sent by IWM volunteer Richard Maddox, concerns Pathfinder aircrew and ground crew, and the provisions made for them once the war in Europe had been won and the RAF was beginning the process…
Viscount Stansgate – The Oldest Flyer in Bomber Command?
Two items from the IWM this morning, both from Richard Maddox who is a volunteer at the museum. The first concerns Bomber Command generally. It is a link to Richard’s post on the IWM Volunteer website about the man who…
Read More Viscount Stansgate – The Oldest Flyer in Bomber Command?
Valentine’s Day Card
A Facebook post by David Layne today reminded me of this page: Valentine Card It has been on our website a long time, having first been posted in 2009 and then updated in 2011. It relates to Robert Crowe, a…
Bennett Memorial near Birthplace, Australia
In December we posted information about Bennett’s Mae West, preserved after he was shot down in Norway and now owned by the Australian War Memorial (AWM) at Canberra. The Bennett Memorial at the small regional Toowoomba Airport in Queensland, close…
Baling Out over England, 20 December 1943
Many aircrew were lost in crashes in England because of their determination to land a severely damaged aircraft. We will shortly be publishing important additions to the Emerson crew page, the crew all being lost in February 1944 when their…
Commemorating the War Dead
We receive a number of emails from people who are starting research about a relative who was in the RAF, possibly in the Pathfinders, but who have no information about dates or squadrons. By far the easiest place to start,…
Farewell to 2019
The last day of what has been a very good year for the RAF Pathfinders Archive. We have had over 17,000 visitors to the site and 65,000 individual views. These views have been from all round the world, including the…
Bennett & the Tirpitz – Bennett’s Mae West
The information about the Channel Dash in April 1942 has reminded some readers of the attacks on the Tirpitz in 1942, in which aircrew who would one day become Pathfinders also took part. We have posted before about Donald Bennett’s…
John Allen, Gunner, & The Channel Dash
Many Pathfinder aircrew had experienced very dramatic times in their tours before they became members of the PFF. One of the most dramatic we have come across is the story of John Henry Allen’s crew, 83 Squadron, who on 12…
Remembrance on Christmas Eve: Great Paxton, Cambridgeshire
The Kenyon crew all died on Christmas Eve 1944, just after take off from Graveley. As previously announced on this website, a local group are planning a permanent memorial near the site of the crash. Yesterday a simple but moving…
Read More Remembrance on Christmas Eve: Great Paxton, Cambridgeshire
Remembrance on Christmas Eve: Texel, Netherlands
This very simple, but extremely moving and quietly spectacular, ceremony took place at the Texel War Cemetery yesterday evening. Leslie Laver’s grave is on the far-left of the plot. The tribute from Leslie Laver’s mother, Jenny, reads: Although you’ve gone,…
Gus Walker, Wally Layne & Xmas
Before Wally Layne of the Fletcher crew became a Pathfinder, he served on 50 Squadron. His CO was the legendary Gus Walker, who would lose part of his arm in a bomb explosion whilst trying to ensure that nobody would…
Christmas at Graveley, 75 Years Ago
Bill Phillips was stationed with 35 Squadron at Graveley, and amongst the wealth of material which is now preserved by his daughter is this menu from Christmas 1944. We will be featuring more on Bill next year, but in the…
76th Anniversary of Black Thursday
The worst night in British aviation history for aircraft crashes occurred on this day, 76 years ago. On return from a bombing raid on Berlin, the RAF lost a large number of aircraft and men due to the thick fog…
Fund-Raising For the Deverill Collection
Ernest Deverill’s distinguished RAF career ended with a terrible crash at RAF Graveley in the early hours of 17 December 1943. All except one of the crew were killed. Parts of his aircraft, which caught fire, can be seen here…
Frank Lloyd, 582 Squadron
After a catastrophic accident in which a full load of bombs was dropped on his aircraft, Frank Lloyd somehow managed to save the Lancaster and get all the crew safely home. The only crew member who did not get back…
Black Thursday Bear on BBC Website
The tattered (but now somewhat rejuvenated thanks to the BBC programme “The Repair Shop”) teddy bear known as Bobby Bear has now achieved national fame. It is a great pleasure to see this as he belonged to Joe Mack of…
Frostbite and Flying Boots
When putting the photograph of Donald Margach with a Lancaster crew on the website (see Donald Margach and Guy Gibson) my eye was drawn to the fact that the gunners were wearing their flying boots. As four of the crew…
Donald Margach and Guy Gibson
Donald Sinclair Margach was a bomb aimer who, in 1943, served on 106 Squadron when it was commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Donald did not go with Gibson when he formed 617 Squadron, which in May 1943 carried out…
Update on Mosquito Graves in Italy
For anyone following – on our sister site – the story of the Mosquito crew lost in Italy in April 1945, there is now also a page on Peter Chapman, a soldier, who was killed by the Italian fascists four…
Mosquito Crew, Lost in Italy
We have been contacted by Lorenzo Saggioro, who is looking for information for two Mosquito aircrew buried in Padua in Italy. It turned out after initial investigation that these were members of 256 Squadron, Fighter Command, and so well off…
“DUCIMUS” – 405 Squadron
Still on the subject of Latin mottos (yesterday’s being VIGILATE ET VIRTUTE, “Vigilance and Power”), what could be better than the motto of 405 Squadron: DUCIMUS – “We lead” – how appropriate for a Pathfinder squadron. Apart from its tragic…
VIGILANTIA ET VIRTUTE
Vernon Smith was born in 1924 in Canterbury, Kent, the son of George and Flo, and the sixth of eleven boys. He became a rear gunner on Flash McCollah’s crew in 7 Squadron. The crew from L-R in the photograph…
Aviation Fuel Burns, Science Museum Exhibition
There is a very interesting new exhibition at the Science Museum on treating the wounded in wartime. This covers far more than the Second World War but there is a section on treating the terrible burns that some aircrew suffered.…
Kenyon Crash Site Memorial
The last two Christmases we have published a post in memory of the Kenyon crew who died on Christmas Eve just after take-off from RAF Graveley – see: Kenyon Crew, Christmas Eve 1944. A local group are now fund-raising for a…
Pathfinder Memorial, National Memorial Arboretum
We recently have had a few enquiries about why this memorial is not yet in place at the NMA. John Clifford advised us a few weeks back: The main issue is moving 5 ton of marble from Peterborough to the…
Bobby Bear – Ready for Another 75 Years
In May we published a post about Bobby Bear, the childhood toy of Joe Mack who survived a horrendous crash on Black Thursday, 16/17 December 1943. This post has since been updated with more information about wound stripes: Wound Stripes and…
The Inscriptions on the Tombstones
On Remembrance Sunday, we remember not only those who died but the relatives and friends who suffered a lifetime of grief at their loss. As the cemeteries were completed and the Imperial War Graves Commission prepared to erect the permanent…
A Family’s Pride: George Granger’s DFM
Surviving congratulatory telegrams about a medal award, sent by one’s old Commanding Officer, seem to be somewhat rare. George Granger’s family must have been enormously proud of the high honour which George had received when he was awarded the DFM because…
Deverill Collection: Fund-Raising
Two years ago, the RAF Pathfinders Archive bought the Deverill Collection to ensure that it would not go into private hands and possibly end up being sold off in separate parts. Since the Archive acquired the Deverill Collection, it has…
Robert Butler wins a Goldfish
The Caterpillar Club, for aircrew whose lives had been saved by a silken Irvin parachute, is well-known. Less so is the Goldfish Club, for aircrew whose lives had been saved by an emergency dinghy. Few of the aircrew who ditched in…
The Air War
Although this whole site is intrinsically about the Air War, as part of the reorganisation of the website we have collected a number of topics on one page for easy reference. These include such subjects as Animals in the Air…
Mosquito Training at Warboys
Still on the subject of Mosquito crews, Alistair Wood’s logbook contains details of the training course he undertook at Warboys under the auspices of 1655 MTU, (Mosquito Training Unit). It was here that he teamed up with Flying Officer Hicklin,…
Alistair Wood’s Story – Part Two
We have published the second part of Alistair’s story tonight, which picks up from when he completed his first tour with Main Force and concludes with his Pathfinder tour on Mosquitoes, then VE Day, and the Cook’s Tour which he…
Alistair Wood’s Story – Part One
Like many Pathfinder aircrew, Alistair Wood had flown on operations with Main Force before he joined the Pathfinders. His crew, piloted by Wilfred Elder, a New Zealander, had some particularly dramatic and dangerous times on their first tour. See the…
105 Squadron Mosquito Navigator, Alistair Wood
Alistair McKenzie Wood was a Pathfinder navigator who had first completed a somewhat dramatic tour on Halifaxes with 76 Squadron of Main Force before retraining for Pathfinder duties in a Mosquito. See the first of several pages linked to our…
Training on the Squadron
All Pathfinder squadrons carried out a constant programme of on-the-job training. The squadrons varied greatly in how much detail they gave in the ORBs about the programmes, which included exercises such as Fighter Affiliation and Y Bombing Runs. See this…
Pathfinder Training & Training Accidents
As part of the reorganisation of the website, we have grouped all the pages about Pathfinder training in one place, so that topics can be scanned through quickly. All future posts about Pathfinder training or training accidents will be added…
Dixie Dean, CO of PFF NTU
Wing Commander Dixie Dean, the commanding officer of the Pathfinders Navigation Training Unit, was so well thought of that in February 1944 he received a letter of the highest praise from Air Commodore Donald Bennett, AOC of the Path Finder…
NTU Lancaster Fatal Crash in Wales
This extraordinarily beautiful landscape in mid-Wales was the scene of a terrible tragedy on 10 April 1944. A Lancaster from the Pathfinder Navigation Training Unit at Warboys broke up in the air some 200 miles west of Warboys and crashed,…
NTU Mosquito Struck by Lightning
A training unit Mosquito was struck by lightning on 31 December 1944. The crew baled out safely but the aircraft was lost. The restored undercarriage and other parts can now be seen in a dramatic display at RAF Wyton –…
Two Canadians & a Mosquito of 109 Squadron
The beautiful image on this post is of the grave of Ray Hutchings Logan, a Mosquito navigator, who lost his life on 28 May 1943 when the Mosquito he was flying in was hit by a German nightfighter and exploded…
Fatal Mosquito Crash at Wyton, 4 November 1944
Although Pathfinder Mosquito crews did not have the same attrition rate as those flying in Lancasters and Halifaxes, their work was still highly dangerous. The light-weight Mosquito aircraft was liable to break up in an accident, as happened on 4…
35 Squadron Crew at Wedding
It seldom happens that a photograph with unknown aircrew in it gets even partially identified, but amazingly this has happened with the photograph we featured almost exactly one year ago of an unknown Pathfinder crew at a wedding. The man…
Barr Crew, 7 Squadron
In January this year we featured a magazine cover with a lovely picture of a bulldog posing as ‘Pilot Officer Prune’ and his unknown human friend, a pilot. We later discovered that the pilot was Flight Lieutenant Leslie Barr. A…
Post-War Happiness
We would like to share this wonderful cover for the RAF journal Air Mail, which was published in October 1948. It makes an antidote to the tragic stories often told on this website.
Condolence Letter from Pathfinder Gunner, 7 Squadron
Working on the post yesterday on the condolence letter to Jespersen’s father reminded me of another condolence letter, this time written on the Pathfinder station at Oakington in December 1943. It concerned a friend, Bob Butler, who was stationed with…
Read More Condolence Letter from Pathfinder Gunner, 7 Squadron
Jespersen Condolence Letter
From an unknown official to Jespersen’s father: The Air Force refers to your visit some time back and it is with sorrow that we have to confirm that your son, Lt. Finn Varde Jespersen, was shot down during the night of…
Jack Blair, Ward and Sauvage Crews
Jack Blair was a highly dedicated officer who flew more than his fair share of ops. In 1943, he was a member of John Sauvage‘s crew on 97 Squadron; in 1944, having moved to 156 Squadron, he was flying with…
Model Lancaster, O-Orange
This fabulous radio-controlled model Lancaster may make you smile, standing so proudly in front of the tomato plants, though she is sure to be a very different beast when she flies. There is a tragic background story to this icon…
RAF PATHFINDERS ARCHIVE 