See our new page:… Vernon Smith of the McCollah crew was awarded the DFM in May 1945. Jul 1941 saw the Chiefs of Staff make one of their most important statements and became No 8 Gp Bomber Command.100 Group was the radio counter-measures Group specialising in offensive

It will be relocated to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, where it will remain permanently.Unfortunately, in the transfer from the old website, the biography of Gerry Cruwys written by his niece, Debbie Kennett, was mislaid. Crews sometimes took photographs of the apocalyptic scenes.

They are now at the Pathfinder Collection at RAF Wyton, and… There are some 500 aircrew on whom we hold information. Less so is the Goldfish Club, for aircrew whose lives had been saved by an emergency dinghy. One such is Frank McEgan, to whom the latest issue of TALES… Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were days like any other for Pathfinder and Main Force aircrew. However, 405 Squadron was also hit particularly hard. The man in… As part of our commemoration of Black Thursday, we are posting an article by Doug Curtis, who flew that night and was one of the lucky survivors. Saunders spent the… The RAF are currently completely revamping their whole website and, as part of this, the old Pathfinder Collection page is no longer accessible. His crew, piloted by Wilfred Elder, a New Zealander, had some particularly dramatic and dangerous times on their first tour. For example, OF-D stood for 97 Squadron aircraft D-Dog (D-Donald at a later date). We were privileged to have been sent a preview of the design some days beforehand, but these photographs show show the dramatic reality of the actual coffin, enhanced by the visual impact… John’s funeral took place yesterday, on 29 April 2019, and we have asked permission from the family to publish this very touching, and sometimes very funny, EULOGY of John, written by his son Paul. And here he is, a spaniel who belonged to the pilot Peter Clayton, DSO, DFC. aircraft. It is good to see in this remarkable photograph of ‘A’ Flight of the Pathfinders’ 109 Squadron that the ground crew are standing alongside… Unfortunately, due to the ever-increasing number of enquiries and our slender resources, not to mention the complications brought by COVID-19, we can no longer undertake research enquiries except for a selected few. It is the dog who is being called Pilot Officer Prune in the magazine… When the war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945, the aircrew had far too much spare time on their hands. Tommy was the only member of the… Please enter your email address to subscribe to this website and receive notifications of new posts by email.Victory in Europe: Avoiding Damage to Public PropertyThe RAF’s Sir Arthur Tedder and the German SurrenderPOWs brought back from Lubeck, near Kiel, 9 May 1945The Final Pathfinder Operation, Kiel and Nearby Airfields, 2/3 May 1945The End of the War Approaches: Berchtesgaden OperationThe End of the War Approaches: Last Major Pathfinder Bombing OperationsSpecial Leave, Travel Restrictions, and Egg RationingDonald Bennett – Central Page & IWM Sound RecordingsViscount Stansgate – The Oldest Flyer in Bomber Command?Remembrance on Christmas Eve: Great Paxton, CambridgeshireCondolence Letter from Pathfinder Gunner, 7 SquadronBlack Thursday Week: “Prompt and Courageous Action”Commemorative Publications, 75th Anniversary of Black ThursdayDeverill Collection & Gathering at RAF Wyton, 16 December 2018Harris v. Portal, the Formation of the Path Finder Force, 1942Tales from the Archive – Black Thursday AnniversaryAircrew Losses in the Netherlands and the North Sea – updated database Since the Archive acquired the Deverill Collection, it has… The Caterpillar Club, for aircrew whose lives had been saved by a silken Irvin parachute, is well-known. Frank… 1409 Met Flight’s primary duty was to ascertain the weather conditions over the targets before a bombing operation. Above is our favourite entry. In… News about three films on the Air War, the first with direct Pathfinder connections, the other two concerning other interesting aspects of the Allied bombing campaign. Although it is in French, it can be easier to… We at last have two images of Jeff Pelletier, one of the last three pilots flying on 16/17 December 1943, Black Thursday, for whom we did not have a photograph. This new page contains images, old and new, of the station. It makes an antidote to the tragic stories often told on this website.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. Most would have gone unnoticed except by those present, and we are not aware of any other medals… Numerically speaking, 97 Squadron was the Pathfinder squadron most seriously affected by the disaster of Black Thursday. Taken in 1943, it epitomises the glamour of RAF aircrew. We have posted before about Donald Bennett’s… Many Pathfinder aircrew had experienced very dramatic times in their tours before they became members of the PFF. Once again the anonymous aircraft… Further to our post this afternoon about TALES FROM THE ARCHIVE No.7, it seems a shame not to publish part of a page from the tattered old scrapbook in the Archive which is mentioned in No.7. Amongst his many books is The Pathfinder Companion, which was published in association with… 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… The ground crew on Bomber Command squadrons were the unsung heroes, working hard in all weathers. The beautiful church at Great Gransden, which was the local church for 405 Squadron at Gransden Lodge, contains a splendid window to the memory of the bomber boys, many of whom were Canadians. This was prompted… The Path Finder Monument has now been completed and was recently unveiled at RAF Wyton on Path Finder Sunday. As the cemeteries were completed and the Imperial War Graves Commission prepared to erect the permanent… Surviving congratulatory telegrams about a medal award, sent by one’s old Commanding Officer, seem to be somewhat rare.