No. 8 Group — Pathfinder Force
Bomber Command
No. 8 Group was the Pathfinder Force of RAF Bomber Command, formed in 1942 under Air Vice-Marshal Donald Bennett to find and mark targets for the main force. Its specially selected crews flew ahead of the bomber stream, illuminating aiming points with coloured target indicators using the H2S radar and the Oboe blind-bombing aid. The group’s de Havilland Mosquitoes and Avro Lancasters, and the marking discipline it developed, transformed the accuracy of Bomber Command’s night offensive.
Squadrons (13)
| Squadron | Name | Home station |
|---|---|---|
| No. 7 Squadron | — | RAF Oakington |
| No. 35 Squadron | Madras Presidency | RAF Graveley |
| No. 83 Squadron | — | RAF Wyton |
| No. 97 Squadron | Straits Settlements | RAF Bourn |
| No. 105 Squadron | — | RAF Bourn |
| No. 109 Squadron | — | RAF Wyton |
| No. 128 Squadron | — | RAF Wyton |
| No. 139 Squadron | Jamaica | RAF Marham |
| No. 156 Squadron | — | RAF Warboys |
| No. 162 Squadron | RCAF | RAF Bourn |
| No. 163 Squadron | — | RAF Wyton |
| No. 635 Squadron | — | RAF Downham Market |
| No. 692 Squadron | Fellowship of the Bellows | RAF Graveley |