In August 1941 the Butt Report concluded that 2/3rds of the bombs dropped by the RAF were falling outside a 5 mile radius of the intended target and some bombs were being dropped up to 75 miles from the desired aim point. While “Bomber” Harris, CinC Bomber Command was initially against the formation of a specialist force to accurately mark aim points for bombing, he reluctantly acceded to the Air Ministry's solution to the problem confronting the Command's crews.
On the 5th of July 1942, after much debate, Nos 7, 35, 83, 109 and 156 Squadrons were brought together to form No 8 group, the “Pathfinder” Force. Crews and equipments were pooled from elements of Nos 1, 3, 4 and 5 Groups and by the 12th of August Group Captain Bennett had his embryonic force.
Pathfinder Halifax, Pathfinder Museum
The principle purpose of the “Pathfinders” was to exercise superior navigation techniques and to harness the strategic advantage of new electronic aids as they entered service in order to accurately mark by use of pyrotechnics the desired aim point to be bombed by the main force. To mark the nature of this force, Air Marshal Harris endorsed the wearing by qualified “Pathfinder” crews of the RAF Eagle badge below the medal ribbon, the “pathfinder” badge was born.
The force conducted its first operation on the pitch black night of the 18th of August 1942 when 8 to 10/10ths of cloud obscured the target of Flensburg. The raid was essentially a failure, but the concept of “pathfinding” was at least proven.
As the force matured in terms of operational techniques, so it developed a system of ground and sky markers using coloured markers. The normal “pathfinder” load was one 4000lb high explosive bomb and a large quantity of 4lb incendiary bombs designed to start identifiable fires close to the aim point. Such loads were dropped visually or blind with the aid of electronic aids to navigation such as “oboe”. The basic technique was in fact copied from the tactics used by the Germans when bombing London.
In late 1942 Mosquito light bombers were introduced to the target marking role especially for the above cloud sky marking task. Then in January 1943 the first H2S radar sets became available to aid blind bombing navigation. In September 1943 a range of coloured markers was introduced and as with previous technical and operational initiatives so came improvements in main force bombing accuracy. The “Pathfinder” force was now marking aim points with an accuracy of a mile and some 50% of the main force would bomb within 3 miles of the target.
Mosquito Pathfinder, Pathfinder Museum
The introduction of a “Master” bomber who orbited over the target throughout the raid, calling for the regular refreshing of markers and where necessary the adjustment of the aim point, served to further increase bombing accuracies.
Given increasing bomb loads and aircraft numbers, Bomber Command and the 8th Air Force were finally beginning to significantly attrite Germany's war industry and diminish its ability to continue the conflict. In short, the “Pathfinder” force was achieving the purpose for which it was established, namely achieving a greater concentration of bombs on industrial targets. However, and regrettably for all, this was not to such a degree of accuracy as to preclude collateral damage to the residential areas that generally surrounded such targets.
Colour Night Image Of Markings
At its peak the No 8 Group touched 19 squadrons and their crews who regularly volunteered for the force following their initial bombing tour of duty. While the force formed with a complete mix of aircraft, by the end of the war it had standardized on the Mosquito and the Lancaster. So successful was the “Pathfinder” approach that the USAAF followed the British model and established at Alconbury, close to the Huntingdon home of the RAF “Pathfinder Group”, its own similar force.
Target Marking Methods and Patterns
