Pathfinder Force

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The Pathfinder Force ( PFF ) was a special formation within the Bomber Command of the British Royal Air Force that was used during World War II . She was responsible for target marking for the following bomber units. From 1943 it formed the independent No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group of Bomber Command. Similar associations were also used by the 8th Air Force .

history

The "Pathfinder Force" was based on a suggestion of the then Group Captain and Deputy Head of Bomber Operations in the Air Ministry , Sydney Bufton , which he submitted to the Chief of Bomber Command, Air Marshal Arthur Harris , in March 1942 . Harris was initially not convinced of the idea of ​​an independent target finder formation because he expected negative effects on the morale of the other crews from the establishment of an "elite force". In June, however, he received instructions from his superior and chief of the Air Staff , Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal , to initiate the creation of such a force.

The founder of the Pathfinder Force, Don Bennet

For this purpose, a squadron with particularly well-trained crews was to be selected from each of the then five bomber groups of the Bomber Command , and these were to be placed under a uniform command. Group Captain DCT Bennet , an Australian who served in the RAF, was selected to command the unit . Bennet was considered the best flight navigator in the service of the RAF and was an experienced pilot who had previously led the 10th Squadron. The Air Ministry's first choice had been Wing Commander Basil Embry , which Harris was able to prevent successfully.

The PFF was set up on August 14, 1942. The Pathfinder was first deployed in the air raid on Flensburg on August 18, 1942 . But the attack on Flensburg failed due to weather conditions and incorrect navigation.

Initially, the squadrons remained assigned to their groups and flew the same aircraft as these, but this was due to the increasing availability of the four-engine Avro Lancaster and the commissioning of the fast, twin-engine de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito as well as the deployment of No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group in January 1943. By then, the PFF had already developed effective methods and tools. Bennet founded a special navigation school and ensured that its crews were carefully selected. The members of the PFF were transported faster than other crews and were given permission to wear a special identification mark.

In the further course of the war, a special rivalry developed between the No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group under Bennet and the elite No. 5 Bomber Group under Ralph Cochrane . The latter was of the opinion that its crews were able to hit targets with greater accuracy by marking low-altitude flights. The problem with the accuracy of the scout-led bombing was the "creep-back" effect, which caused inexperienced bombers to drop their bombs too early, ie. H. after seeing the first target markings, notch out. The background to this was the endeavor to be able to leave the danger zone of the flak fire over the cities as quickly as possible.

Technical and tactical basics

The most important means of navigation at the time the PFF was set up was the GEE system , which was put into service in March 1942. It used a grid-like network of radio beams to support flight navigation and was supposed to replace the error-prone dead reckoning . However, this was already successfully disrupted by the Germans and thus lost its effectiveness. The oboe and H2S procedures were still in development and were only available from the beginning of 1943. Each scout plane had a "navigation team" made up of the pilot and two navigators, one of whom was responsible for the technical navigation aids.

Picture from the first air raid on 30./31. January 1943 using the H2S ground penetrating radar. The goal was Hamburg.

To mark the target, the PFF initially used simple red light bombs to illuminate the area and subsequently used incendiary bombs dropped by so-called “fire raisers” , which caused smaller fires and thus enabled the bomber crews to clearly identify the target. Different colored target marker bombs were later used. The marking often had to be done "blindly", for this different names emerged:

  • Newhaven - visual marker
  • Paramatta - blind ground marking (with limited visibility )
  • Wanganui - sky marking (with closed cloud cover)

In combination with the navigation methods, these designations were given additions, e.g. B. in the oboe method the intent musical .

With the visual marking, the target area was first illuminated by so-called "target illuminators" with parachute light bombs. This was followed by the “target markers” that set the floor markings. The heaviest marker bombs used weighed 4,000 lb. (approx. 1.8 t) and could be carried as far as Berlin by a “ Mosquito ”. In the main formation, more Pathfinders flew with them to renew the markings for the aircraft of the subsequent attack waves. The Mk XIV Stabilized Vector Sight was mainly used as the visual aiming device . The improved Mk II Stabilizing Automatic Bomb Sight (SABS) was developed for the No. 617 Squadron of No. 5 Group, better known by their nickname "Dam Busters", reserved.

If the target was within range (such as the Ruhr area ), blind markings were carried out with the help of the very precise oboe radio direction finding method or, otherwise, the H2S ground penetrating radar installed on board. If there was no earth view, only sky markers were set; this was the least accurate method. Parachute flares were also used to support the bomber associations with navigation on the approach, mainly at the previously announced turning points on the approach route, which often runs zigzag, and at the assembly point for the actual target approach.

Later in the war, the function of master bomber (referred to by the Germans as "master of ceremonies") was introduced. This circled over the target during the entire attack and radioed corrective instructions to the target markers and the bombers of the main unit. The successful night fighter pilot Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of the German Air Force succeeded in preventing an attack on his hometown Stuttgart by shooting down the master bomber from the attacking unit in good time.

Use statistics

The British Boy Scouts flew over 50,000 individual missions against 3,440 targets during the war. Their losses amounted to 3727 deaths.

See also

literature

  • Air Vice Marshal DCT Bennet: Pathfinder: A War Autobiography. Muller, 1958.
  • Sean Feast: Master Bombers: The Experiences of a Pathfinder Squadron at War, 1942-1945. Grub Street Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-906502-01-0 .
  • Gordon Musgrove: Pathfinder Force: A History of 8 Group. (New edition) Crécy Books, Somerset 1992, ISBN 0-947554-23-8 .
  • Robin Neillands: The War of the Bombers: Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939–1945. Quintessenz, Berlin 2002. ISBN 3-86124-547-7 .
  • Flt. Lt. Ted Stocker, Sean Feast: A Pathfinder's War: An Extraordinary Tale of Surviving Over 100 Bomber Operations Against All Odds. Grub Street Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-906502-52-2 .

Web links