Pathfinder (RAF)

No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group
Active15 August 1942 – 1945
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
SizeGroup
Part ofRAF Bomber Command
Group HeadquartersRAF Wyton
Motto(s)"We guide to strike"[1]
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Don Bennett
Insignia
Group badge heraldryA flaming arrow in front of an eight-pointed star

The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, at which a main bomber force could aim, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were normally the first to receive new blind-bombing aids such as Gee, Oboe and the H2S radar.

The early Pathfinder Force (PFF) squadrons were expanded to become a group, No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group, in January 1943. The initial Pathfinder Force was five squadrons, whilst No 8 Group ultimately grew to a strength of 19 squadrons.[2] Whereas the majority of Pathfinder squadrons and personnel were from the Royal Air Force, the group also included No 405 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force as well as many individual airmen from the air forces of other Commonwealth countries.

  1. ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 264. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. ^ "Bomber Command No.8 (Pathfinder Force) Group". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2012.