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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0025.PDF
JANUARY 4TH, 1945 FLIGHT appeared in .the November nth, 1943, issue of Flight.) Having formed the P.F. Force, all the gen on bombing was collected and sifted, leaving a foundation of bombing data on which a reliable fabric for operations could be built. The very latest " Boffin " devices were incorporated, and the various firework manufacturers undertook to pro- duce the sort of target-markers required. Preparations being completed, the pathfinders found and marked the German city of Mainz in August, 1942, with the result that the bombing force which followed registered as strikes on the target a nigher percentage than ever before. Improvements in the pathfinding technique and in the application of the scientific aids allowed the main bombing force to attack Cologne on the night of February 2nd, 1943. with an even greater percentage of bombs dropped registered as target strikes.' On the 12th night of the following month, March, a raid was laid on for Krupps at Essen. Up till then we had periodically bombed Essen and Krupps with virtually negligible effect and had lost a very large number of aircraft in the process. But on this raid Krupps was to suffer such a blasting that its activity as a productive arsenal for the enemy was crippled for months. No less than S3 per cent, of the bombs lifted registered as direct hits. Modern Raid Values To-day, with their operational system at a very highlevel; with amazing scientific aids that are continually being improved ; with all the new embryo Pathfinders bene-fitting by the mass of experience accumulated, the work done by the main force Groups of Bomber Command hasreached a peak of efficiency undreamed of in those struggling years between 1939 and 1943., To-day a targetstrike of 60 per cent, of the bombs lifted is considered a poor raid; an average raid registers 80 per cent., and onlyraids with on-target strikes of 90 per cent, and over are considered "good" raids. A truly wonderful achievement. As may be imagined, the individual technique used bythe Pathfinders in marking the targets are many and various. In fact, there are enough operational alternativesto cover any and every type of raid, anfl, as a consequence, nearly all the bombing attacks made on Germany to-dayare planned for mixed types of marking. By this means, any set of conditions obtaining when a raid is laid on canbe coped with by P.F.F. as part of their normal procedure. At the beginning of this article it was mentioned that the men of Bomber Command often have odd ideas about the force that marks their targets for them. . For one thing, Jit is a general misconception that P.F.F. losses are high, whereas in point of fact they are extraordinarily low. Pathfinder crews wear a small replica of a bird whichthey castigate as a rather peculiar breed of hawk; actually it is almost identical to the questing Eagle/Albatross of the R.A.F. insignia. It is worn on the flap of the leftbreast pocket, below the occupational brevet and decora- tions. The P.F.F. badge is given to qualified crews only,and to qualify a minimum of six successful marking trips is required, plus each crew member passing an exam, set byothers in his operational category. The honour of wearing that coveted badge is a great inducement for Bomber Com-mand crews to graduate into the Path Finder Force. The rivalry is very keen, and as the P.F.F. are emphaticallyinsistent upon having only the very best crews, the standard maintained is extraordinarily high. Normally, the P.F.F.badge is a temporary award, and when a man leaves the force his badge is returnable, but if he has done really wellwhilst a Pathfinder he is usually allowed to keep his badge as a permanent award. Operational Standard Crews who are selected for P.F.F. attend the P.F.F.Training Unit, where they have to work very hard to absorb all the gen given them. The complete staff at theP.F.F. T.U. have all individually completed about 60 operational sorties. Their experiences, and the mistakesthat have been made in the past, provide a huge fund of the most expert knowledge for impartation to the embryoPathfinders. As new experience is gathered, and it is accumulating all the time, it is sifted, assessed, and rejectedor incorporated. In addition, there is the constant im- provement of the scientific devices contributed by the"Boffins," and their evolution of new aids |p help the Pathfinders find their target with unvarying precision. Reliability and Efficiency are the P.F.F. watchwords,and with these go two other cardinal precepts: accuracy and timing. The more one thinks about these the moreclearly one understands their value. To-day bombing raids are planned to the very remotest detail. Timing accuracyis set to a standard of 10 seconds, i.e., each aircraft aims to be on target at its zero planned time, and a latitude of10 seconds is acceptable, not in the sense that its good enough, but in the sense that there are physical limitationsbeyond which it is almost impossible to go. For example, an aircraft may be flying at 300 m.p.h. to a target 700miles away, taking a roundabout route, combating various winds of changing direction and speed, but so accuratelynavigated and flown that it is in its target-marking posi- tion within 10 seconds of its planned time. Such accuracyappears impossible; but it can be done—it is done. The veteran Pathfinders who have done it themselves and solvedall the multifarious difficulties which faced them in setting so wonderful a standard are ready and willing to give allthe aid in their power to the men who aspire to marking the targets of the future. The Path Finder Force truly sets the highest standardof operational flying in the world. FRENCH MISSION VISITS FIGHTER COMMAND THE French Air Minister, Monsieur Tillon, during his recentvisit to England, stood on the balcony of the operations room at Fighter Command headquarters where, in 1940, AirChief Marshal Dowding and his staff directed the R.A.F. Fighter squadrons which fought the Battle of Britain. M. Tillon, accompanied by General Piollet (Chef du CabinetMilitaire), M. Jugenu (Chef du Cabinet Civil) and Colonel Hartemann (head of Allied Liaison), was welcomed to FighterCommand by the Commander-in-Chief, Air Marshal Sir Roderic Hill. Their visit, said Sir Roderic, symbolised the close sym-pathy which united Britain and France and the other Allies. "At this moment," Sir Roderic went on, "the understand-ing between France and Great Britain is, as Montaigne said, the finest of all harmonies where words and deeds go together.Let us go forward with steady determination—-even in victory —never relaxing our vigilance until our enemies are defeated."M. Tillon inspected a guard of honour of the R.A.F. Regi- ment and was presented to senior staff officers of the Command.In the operations room the system of plotting enemy raiders and our own aircraft—a system maintained since the outbreakof war—was explained to M. Tillon and the members of his mission. They were given details of the widely varied worknow being carried out by Fighter Command—escorting heavy bombers in attacks on Germany, patrols over the battle area,and day and night interception over and around Britain. Fighter Command's task in the battle against the flying bomband operations against V.2 sites were also outlined to the mission, whose members were entertained at lunch by SirRoderic Hill. POST-WAR R.C.A.F.T HE extent, character and composition of the post-warR.C.A.F. will not be definitely decided for at least a year, Hon. C. G. Power, Air Minister, announced when disclosingthat the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan will ter- minate on March 31st, 1945. - And this will depend largely on conditions of the peace andCanada's position in post-war world security. The announce- ment did not indicate what part Canada would play. " No definite choice of stations to be allotted for post-war usecan be made until the size of the post-war R.C.A.F. is decided upon," said Mr. Power."And again I repeat the post-war permanent R.C.A.F. will not be definitely formed until after the war and personnel nowreleased and particularly those with overseas experience will not be precluded from making applications to join the post-war permanent R.C.A.F." Before the war the R.C.A.F. strength was 3,048, and underthe British Commonwealth plan grew to 215,173 at its peak.
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