Pathfinder army badge11/3/2023 Offsetting the advantages of night bombing was the understanding that identifying the targets and attacking them accurately would be much more difficult. In the era before the widespread use of radar and the techniques needed to guide fighters to their targets with radar, night bombing would render the bombers vulnerable only if they were picked up by searchlights, a relatively rare occurrence. Bombing raids either needed to have fighter escort, which was difficult given the limited range of the fighters or attacks had to be made at night when the opponent's fighters could not see them. The Luftwaffe lost only two fighters in return.Īlthough the causes for this disaster were debated, it became clear that bomber forces could not defend themselves. The British bomber force was met by German fighters that shot down 10 of the 22 bombers, with another two crashing in the sea and three more written-off on landing. On 18 December 1939, a raid by three squadrons of Vickers Wellington against ships in the Heligoland Bight was detected on an experimental Freya radar long before it reached the target area. In early missions over France and the Low Countries there was no clear outcome regarding the success of the bomber's guns: the Luftwaffe lacked widespread radar so their interception efforts were disorganised. History Background Imperial War Museum exhibit showcasing objects belonging to RAF pilot Billy Strachan, who served the pathfinders of the 156 SquadronĪt the start of the Second World War in September 1939, the doctrine of RAF Bomber Command was based on tight formations of heavily armed bombers attacking during daylight and fending off attacks by fighters with their guns. 405 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force as well as many individual airmen from the air forces of other Commonwealth countries. While the majority of Pathfinder squadrons and personnel were from the Royal Air Force, the group also included No. 8 Group ultimately grew to a strength of 19 squadrons. The initial Pathfinder Force was five squadrons, while No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group in January 1943. The early Pathfinder Force (PFF) squadrons was expanded to become a group, No. The Pathfinders were normally the first to receive new blind-bombing aids like Gee, Oboe and the H2S radar. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II.
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