Again, at Shobdon, I was talking to a lady whose relative had been a radio operator during the war, and this brought to mind a great book I have read recently: “Night Fighter Navigator: Beaufighters and Mosquitos in World War II” by Dennis Gosling DFC. I was particularly interested in his account because in many ways it mirrors that of my father, who also flew Beaufighters and Mosquitos as a night-fighter. His long-standing navigator was Flt Sgt Ralph Gibbons, and Dennis Gosling’s book gave me a rare glimpse of the story from the navigator’s point of view. My father’s experience of the RAF was almost universally positive and friendly; Dennis Gosling’s was not like this at the beginning of his wartime career but later he realised he had been unfortunate and his later squadrons were much more welcoming, with the social integration of rank and class more like that of my father’s remembrance. I found it a good page-turner, even though it’s not a traditional ‘action-packed’ account of war, and would recommend it for an interesting and touching read.
Night Fighter Navigator by Dennis Gosling DFC
Filed under Aviation, Aviation history, Second World War, Uncategorized
Where They Served 
Great read for those interested in the history of air defence. I flew in turn F4s and F3s in the ’70s to ’90s and the story doesn’t change at all; the work of pilot and navigator to bring the weapon platform into a firing position, the travails along the way, the way of coping with adversity and losses and the wonderment at some of the unique sights and situations an aerial workplace affords the priveiedged few.
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Thanks for your comment. Interesting that even after 80 years the principles and much of the experience are the same. My Dad would have been interested in that comment! And thank you for your service, too. I’ve looked up F4s and F3s and see that indeed it’s the same teaming of pilot and radar operator, or radar intercept officer; such a close team partnership. I wonder if you stayed with your RIO for a long time and are you still in touch? Dad was godfather to the daughter of his last RO in Mosquitos and I’m still in touch with her.
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