大象传媒

Although Warboys in Huntingdonshire was mainly for navigation and bombing, the majority of aircrews who passed through there were going to Pathfinder Squadrons. At Warboys I went on several exercises where I had to do practice bombing. At first I did not do too well, but eventually achieved good results. On a pathfinder squadron, the engineer would often do the visual bomb aiming if required, whilst the bomb aimer helped the navigator with the operation of the H25 Blind Bombing Set. At a lecture, one day, I sat near to W/Cdr Johnson who had been Chief Flying Instructor at No2 Flying Training School, RAF Brize Norton in 1940/41. He later commanded 97 Squadron and was later Group Captain DSO. DFC. AFC. During my time at Warboys, I was constantly worrying about the wedding and sometimes thinking that, now I was going back on operations I should not go through with it, but it went ahead as all arrangements had been made.
On the 27th October 1944, along with a navigator Flt/Sgt Laurie Crofts (who I recollect was later commissioned) I was posted to No 7 Pathfinder Squadron, Oakington. Oakington was 2 miles off the A604, 6 miles from Cambridge. It鈥檚 building had started in 1939, and it was unfinished when opened in July 1940. The buildings were all mostly brick. It had paved runways.

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