Pathfinders is a new history of Bomber Command's corps d'elite and the
men who led the greatest striking force ever known. The story explores
the genesis of Pathfinder Force (PFF), from its initial inception and
less-than-spectacular start to its development as a precision instrument
that gave the razor edge to the RAF bomber offensive. It looks at its
difficult birth - Sir Arthur Harris was vehemently opposed to its
creation - and the key personalities and squabbles, in particular the
increasingly bitter rivalry between the mercurial PFF commander,
Australian Donald Bennett, and his rival in 5 Group, Sir Ralph Cochrane,
and what Bennett saw as Harris' ultimate betrayal. The book explores how
crews became Pathfinders, some with bounding enthusiasm, others more
reluctantly or by chance, and how the quality and availability of crews
varied throughout the war. Drawing on more than 20 years of research and
interviews with the heroes of PFF, it considers their training and the
methods and techniques deployed on operations including the Master
Bomber system, and it examines their successes and failures, the
tragedies and triumphs, and Pathfinder Force's vital contribution to
victory in Europe.