Navigation
As the war progressed and the newer more complex four engine heavy bombers were introduced the need for dedicated specialist crew positions became ever more apparent. Previously an “Observer” assisted the pilot with a range of duties including navigation but with the early switch to night time bombing by Bomber Command navigation became even more challenging and so eventually the dedicated role of navigator was established.
At the outbreak of the war the majority of navigation was done by Dead Reckoning sometimes backed up by rudimentary Radio Direction Finding (RDF). There was also astronavigation which was not that accurate and also took time for the “sights” to be taken and the ensuing calculations to be done.
Like most men joining the RAF in 1941, Jim ended up at Lords Cricket Ground where the RAF Aircrew Receiving Centre was based. He enjoyed staying close by in one of the many luxury flats – stripped out for the airmen but still very palatial. It was at Lords that Jim was found to have pneumonia which delayed his progression until he recovered.
Once recovered, Jim then went through the standard selection over a few weeks with medicals and testing to identify what roles each would be most suited to.
Jim's Training Journey
Jim wanted to be a pilot and he passed the necessary tests to train as a pilot. Posting to an Initial Training Wing in UK followed and it was here that (eventually) a first flight experience was provided, which in Jim’s case was in a Tiger Moth biplane. After basic training in the UK the majority of trainee airmen would have then experienced the Empire Air Training Scheme. This provided training outside of the UK in a number of Commonwealth countries. There was also training carried out in the USA (specifically for pilots and navigators).
In Jim’s case like many, many others he went to Canada under the auspices of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) for his specialised flight training. On reaching Canada Jim was informed that there was a surplus of trainee pilots but a deficit of trainee navigators. To be a navigator required a good level of mathematical ability which not all had and as Jim had the necessary education and skills he was then persuaded to train as a navigator.
All Bomber Command crew were, by the time of Jim’s training, extremely well trained with pilots taking from 18 months to two years to be fully trained. Jim started his operations at Mildenhall airfield with 233 flight hours together with a considerable amount of ground schooling.
Read more about training, the basics of air navigation and details of the Navigation Aids available in Bomber Command.
