Pathfinder (RAF)

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For other meanings see Pathfinder.

The Pathfinder squadrons of the Royal Air Force were elite squadrons of RAF Bomber Command during World War II.

During World War II the RAF Bomber Command practiced mainly night bombing. This reduced losses, but made identifying and then hitting a target accurately very difficult. To reduce this problem Pathfinder squadrons were created. The Pathfinders were to locate and mark the target with flares which the following main bomber force could then home in on.

The creation of the Pathfinder force was a source of one of the bitterest arguments of the Second World War. Initially the brainchild of Group Captain S O Bufton (a staff officer for whom Bomber Command's chief Arthur "Bomber" Harris had special contempt), Harris thought an elite would breed rivalry and jealousy, and have an adverse effect on morale. Sir Henry Tizard, advisor and one of the chief scientists supporting the war effort, said, however, "I do not think the formation of a first XV at rugby makes little boys play any less enthusiastically."

Harris, however was forced to accept the idea. In order to minimise any adverse effects, Harris decided that every Group would have its own pathfinder, but again a bitter argument ensued, and eventually Harris lost and a separate group was formed: 8 Group, commanded by Donald Bennett, a talented and pioneering young aviator born in Australia. At 33, Bennett was the youngest officer promoted to Air Vice Marshal (in 1943). His awards include Commander of the British Empire, CBE, and Distinguished Service Order, DSO. However, Bennett was not the first choice - Harris opposed the primary choice of the Air Ministry, Basil Embry, the dashing young leader of 2 Group.

The Force was initially formed in August 1942 by creaming the best Squadrons from the existing Bomber Command Groups to make up the 'Pathfinder Force' (PFF), a tactic that understandably did not go down too well with the Group Commanders. Pathfinder Force (PFF) initially had no better tools than the rest of Bomber Command, flying its fair share of Stirlings, Halifaxes, Lancasters and Wellingtons. When new aircraft, such as the De Havilland Mosquito became available, PFF got the first ones, and then made good use of them by equipping them with Oboe, a highly accurate radio navigation and bombing aid.

The PFF crews thereafter found their way in the Force via varied routes; crews or individuals could volunteer at any time while serving with Main Force squadrons, while aircrew who showed promise in their training could also find themselves seconded into the force. Some crews in mid-tour could also be transferred into PFF when numbers were needed to be made up to establishment where required.

Recruits were given a two week course in marking techniques at Warboys before posting to a Squadron. Bennett adressed each intake personally and the crews came to have an intense sense of loyalty, pride and professionalism in their membership of 8 Group.

The PFF crews were also granted a step up in rank, and increase in pay, but had to do a 45 trip tour rather than the usual 30 trips, for as long as they were serving in PFF. In the end, Harris was proved wrong about PFF's effect on morale - the silver PFF badge allowed to be worn on their uniforms was genuinely a sought-after achievement.

There certainly was some rivalry, but this was mainly between 8 Group and 5 Group, and was driven by the personal rivalry between Bennett and the leader of 5 Group, Sir Ralph Cochrane. Cochrane was an advocate of precision low level marking, and lobbied heavily to be allowed to prove himself, and that 5 Group could attempt targets and techniques that 8 Group would not.

Cochrane's specialists 617 Squadron proved his point when they attacked the Ruhr dams (Operation Chastise) requiring bombing from a height of 60 feet (20 m), and later, at high altitude using the new Stabilised Automatic Bomb Sight, achieved an incredible and very necessary accuracy of only 94 yards (86 m) at the V Weapon launch site at Abbeville ([16/17 December 1943]). 5 Group invented various techniques, such as the '5 Group corkscrew' to evade enemy fighters, and the '5 Group quick landing system'.

The PFF flew a total of 50,490 individual sorties against some 3,440 targets. The cost in human lives was grievous. At least 3,727 members were killed on operations.

Pathfinder (RAF)

See also