The Pathfinders: The Elite RAF Force that Turned the Ti… (2024)

A smartly written book about a special branch within bomber command. It effortlessly weaves personal accounts with facts and statistics. I cried multiple times over the impressive and devastating stories told within this book. May these boys have blue skies ❤️

An uneven, yet intriguing and informative history.

“Uneven” because of its scattershot approach. Is this book about individual British Empire airmen and their families? Is it about the British bombing commanders and their strategy disputes and personal vendettas, is it about the advantages of the equipment, the technology and techniques that were developed by both the British and the Germans in their sky battles, or is it about the German civilian victims on the ground? All these topics are thrown into this volume higgledy-piggledy. But despite the patchwork, the book does manage to hold together, albeit like a flak-battered Lancaster bomber struggling back to base on two engines.

“Intriguing” is shorthand for the feelings of interest, excitement, frustration, anger, and sadness I experienced successively as I progressed through the book. I did not previously know what a nasty piece of work “Bomber” Harris was, and how, in his obsessive desire to ‘show the Germans’, he got hundreds of British bomber crews and thousands of German civilians needlessly killed. It was unfortunate that the intelligence at the time could not know that bombing cities did not have the effect of breaking morale, and all those explosives would have been better used on war logistics centers or production. The disputes and dysfunction among the British top brass and their mistakes about strategy were frustrating. And the personal stories of crew men told in intimate detail in the weeks and days leading up to a final flight operation over Germany usually ended with gut-wrenching abruptness.

“Informative” is for the information on targeting technology that I did not previously know. And it was also interesting to know that, ironically, the British bombing campaign against Germany ended up making essentially the same mistake that it is said the Luftwaffe made during the Battle of Britain. In 1940, the Germans turned from bombing RAF airfields and radar emplacements to bombing British cities just when the RAF was nearly at collapse. In 1943, the British bombing campaign had concentrated on the industrial Ruhr Valley and had reduced steel production by 20% and if they had continued, could have seriously damaged the German war production effort. But the Brits stopped and turned instead to bombing German cities, which had little effect on German morale, and no effect on their war effort.

Overall, a good book.

I listened to the Audiobook version of this, read by Richard Burnip.

Overall, I thought this was a really interesting look into the often-forgotten Pathfinder force of Bomber Command. I gave this book 3/5 for the whistle-stop history of the Pathfinders force being created, which was very interesting.

However, I found the chapters sometimes bogged down with lots of detail into the individuals’ personal lives which was interesting (don’t get me wrong!) but made the story a lot harder to follow and sometimes slowed the pace down. I found myself wanting to sometimes “get back to the action” when reading about the romances of a particular individual.

Particularly, this book has given me a newfound love for the DH98 Mosquito. After all, as it was summed up toward the end - it carried a similar bombing armament as the B17 Flying Fortress, yet was given the name of an irritating yet mostly harmless bug!

An easy, compelling read that focuses almost entirely on the human aspect of the Pathfinders, including the stories of some people who may not have appeared in print before. Descriptions of the development and use of technology that helped make the Pathfinders is quite light on and the book would have been all the better for it if it touched on the science a bit more. However, it was written for a broader audience and has excelled in that, hopefully introducing a new audience to the courage and sacrifices of the Pathfinder crews. Despite the slight technical deficiencies, this is one of the more 'unputdownable' books of this genre in recent years. The 'musical' cover is wonderful too!

I felt it was a bit light on technology & flying techniques.

A good modern history of the RAF Pathfinders in WW2. While occasionally drifting into hyperbole (especially on the cover notes) the actual book is very balanced in the telling of the main characters and Bennet’s battles with Harris and the effectiveness of Bomber Command. It is a worthy testament to the crews involved, the ground crews and WAAF support and the emotional toll even on the survivors. Little perspective from the German side which is a shame as much information is available on this area now as well.

Recommended for anyone interested in Bomber Command.

This book is better for having focused on the men and women, both in the air and on the ground, who were part of the Pathfinders story. It would be easy to get caught up in the technological wizardry that made the RAF's Pathfinders so important. But Iredale never forgets that real people flew and often died in these planes -- and that real people died on the ground in both the UK and Germany as a result of the WWII air war. The ultimate triumph of the Pathfinders came at a horrible price, but one that most would agree had to be paid. A compelling story, although perhaps a bit too long.

I felt this book shared a similar trait with the authors other book, The Kamikaze Hunters: It lacks that certain something. Some books I just know I’ll never read again and this is one of them. Not a bad story, one fairly well told, just not the best you’ll read.

Excellent reading. I have read a lot about bomber command and the various groups and squadrons and the pathfinders are always mentioned so it was great to finally read about the Pathfinders. Well written with enough detail that you are not felt wanting. Defitely enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Very interesting book, didn't have much of a clue about this part of WW2

A rather long book (although about 30% on my Kindle was acknowledgements and references so not quite as long as originally thought)

very much about the human costs, the bombers and the bombed
has a fair amount of the stats

It was overall a good read, just found it slow going at times, but very informative book

So moving and very insightful. Makes you appreciate the scale of sacrifice they made for us all to prosper.

An excellent account of the organisation and tactics of the pathfinders. I had no idea about the methods and focus of allied bombing during the second World War.

One of the best accounts of the RAF Bomber Command during WW2 I have read, not for the details of history, covered by many others, but for the stories told of the individuals involved.

A truly moving and thought provoking book.