HANG Newsletter - Royal Institute of Navigation

Royal Institute of Navigation 

History of Air Navigation Group Newsletter 

Number 19, May 2012 

Introduction 

Welcome to the new issue of the HANG newsletter. As I write it I find it to be 

a curious collection of ephemera but then that is hardly surprising. For almost 

two months I have filed away items of interest relating to history, aeronautics 

and navigation and come the day they have been dusted down, tidied up and 

become the newsletter. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

HANG affairs 

Previous meeting 

The last meeting was held at Tangmere on Wed 9 May. Nigel Gardner spoke 

about the early helicopters of the RAF whilst Jeff Lindsay spoke about flying 

the Merlin in Iraq. The two talks merged well together into an afternoon on 

rotary craft. There was also a focussed guided tour of the museum in the 

morning; focussed in as much as the guide was a knowledgeable enthusiast 

about the Hunter and the Lightning and he concentrated on the pair. 

It did occur to me going home at the end of the day that I had spoken to few 

members. It seems I can either organise or socialise. Since the latter is the 

more interesting I shall get some help for the next meeting and make sure to 

get around a bit. 

A pleasant surprise at the meeting was the arrival of the Handling Squadron 

from Boscombe Down. Our thanks to Fred Davis AFRIN who rounded up 16 

bodies and we were very pleased to see them. 

Future meetings 

I am pleased with the progress over meetings. In the last letter I spoke about 

the value to HANG of joint meetings. This idea has now progressed. 

The RIN year starts in June so for the next year HANG will have two meetings 

of its usual pattern and two joint meetings held with Area Branches. At the 

Joint meetings the organising of the venue and the provision of much of the 

audience will rest with the host Branch since they will best know their territory. 

The HANG input will be the selection of speakers. 

The first joint meeting will be will be with the East Midlands Branch. This will 

be an all-day event on Thu 30 Aug 2012 starting at RAF Waddington in 

Lincolnshire to visit the Waddington Heritage Museum. Then we will move to 

view XM607, the Falklands Vulcan and visit John “High Flight” Magee’s grave 

at Scopwick. In the afternoon we’ll visit the WW2 Sector Operations Room at 

RAF Digby. I particularly hope this will enable some HANG members to enjoy 

a HANG meeting which until now has always been held too far away from 

them. 

The next meeting will be on Wed 14 Nov 2012 at Shoreham Airport starting at 

1100hr and finishing around 1700hr. I hope that we will be able to have a tour 

Page 1 of 16


of the airport in the morning; Shoreham offered this last time but withdrew the 

invitation at the last moment on grounds of safety. The selection of speakers 

is almost complete. 

The second joint meeting will be with the Solent Branch of RIN. It will be held 

on Thu 14 Mar 2013 at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. We are negotiating 

with a speaker and I can give you details in the next newsletter. 

The fourth meeting will again be one of traditional HANG format on Wed 15 

May 2013 at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum. The meeting will run 

from 1100hr to 1700hr with a small event in the morning and two speakers in 

the afternoon. 

This programme will give HANG four meetings spread through the year and it 

will be interesting to see if members find this format suits them better. 

HANG and Navigation News 

Every two months a new copy of Navigation News is published. A portion of it 

is allocated to Special Interest Groups so HANG has an input. What do we do 

with this opportunity? An obvious use is to publicise the next HANG meeting. 

After that, what else is there to say? I like to add a few words on some 

aspect of the history of air navigation. 

I can either use something already published in the HANG newsletter or write 

something from scratch. I have decided to do the former. I apologise to those 

members who are not interested in reading something twice but that way 

there is continuity – anything that HANG has published will be found in one or 

other of the newsletters and, with one exception, I have copies available of all 

back numbers. 

Missing HANG newsletter 

I have one gap in my collection of back-numbers of HANG newsletters; in fact 

I am not even certain that I wrote it but there is an entry in my list. Does 

anybody have a copy of a HANG newsletter for December 2009 (or at least 

within one month of this date)? It might have the issue number 12 but I might 

have retrospectively numbered the newsletters at a later date. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

RAF Gee charts 

Walter Blanchard recently sent me some information about Gee. I thought I 

would first bring myself up to speed on Gee (for Grid) so I quote Wikipedia.. 

Gee was the code name given to a radio navigation system used by the Royal 

Air Force during World War II. It was the first hyperbolic navigation system to 

be used operationally. 

Gee was devised by Robert Dippy and developed at the Telecommunications 

Research Establishment (TRE) at Swanage. Gee was originally designed to 

improve aircraft navigation accuracy, and improve safety during night 

operations. In practice, it was also used as a bombing navigation system, 

thereby increasing the destructiveness of bomber raids. For large fixed 

targets, like the cities that were attacked at night, Gee offered enough 



accuracy to be used as an aiming reference without the need to use a 

bombsight or other external reference. 

Gee installation in a Lancaster bomber mock-up. Photo credit jproc.ca. 

Dippy later went to the United States where he worked on the development of 

the LORAN system, a system that was similar to Gee but using a longer 

wavelength. LORAN was used by the US Navy and Royal Navy during World 

War II, and after the war came into common civilian use worldwide for coastal 

navigation, until GPS made it obsolete. 

Gee was also known as AMES Type 7000, for "Air Ministry Experimental 

Station". AMES was a common universal naming system in the UK, similar to 

the "AN" series in the US. 

Walter said… 

Images 1 and 2. Photo credit Walter Blanchard. 

“I have in my possession a well-used folder of miniature GEE charts - see 

image 1 - salvaged from a rubbish bin at Shawbury in 1957. It contains a set 

of 41 small lattice charts covering the UK GEE chains. An example is at 

image 2. 



Images 3 and 4. Photo credit Walter Blanchard. 

There is a legend in the lower left of several charts (the actual numbers vary 

from chart to chart) which might date it - see image 3. Also, a page is 

included giving details of the GEE chains which has a list of the various lattice 

chart reference numbers - image 4. 

If I read the legend correctly there were no less than 50,000 printed in 

February 1945. They were obviously intended for hard use being printed on 

cloth-backed paper. The large single-sheet lattice charts are familiar but 

these books appear to have been less common. Because of their small size 

they might have been easier to use in small cockpits e.g. Mosquito, which 

might have been the reason for their issue. 

Can anyone confirm this or supply more information on why they were 

produced?” 

As a foot note it is interesting to realise that Gee was almost compromised 

before it began. 

On the night of 11 Aug 41 two Gee-equipped aircraft bombed using Gee 

coordinates only and delivered "uncanny accuracy". However, on the next 

night on a raid over Hanover a Gee-equipped Vickers Wellington was lost. 

The Gee set did not contain self-destruct systems and it was possible that it 

had fallen into German hands. Operational testing was immediately 

suspended. 

RV Jones, the chief operational scientist in MI6, responded by starting a 

disinformation campaign to hide the existence of the system. First, the use of 

the codename 'Gee' in communications traffic was dropped, and false 

communications were sent referring to a fictitious system called 'Jay'; it was 

hoped the similarity would cause confusion. Extra antennae were added to 

the Gee transmitters to radiate false, unsynchronized signals. A double agent 

in the Double Cross system reported to German Intelligence a fictional story 

of hearing a couple of RAF personnel talking carelessly in a hotel about Jay, 

and one dismissing it as it was "just a copy" of the German Knickebein 

system. Jones felt this would flatter the Germans, who might consider the 

information more reliable as a result. Finally, false Knickebein signals were 

transmitted over Germany. 



Jones initially calculated it would be only three months before the Germans 

would be able to jam the system. As it turns out, it was not until five months 

into the campaign that jamming was encountered and longer before it became 

a serious concern. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

Readers’ letters 

Newsletter circulation 

When I circulated the last newsletter I said that I favoured sending the 

newsletter to each member so that he received it on his computer as an 

attachment to be down loaded or deleted. I thought that the idea of posting it 

on the main web site and alerting people to that fact did not actually work well. 

I have the greatest difficulty using the web site presumably because I don’t 

use it enough. The fact remains that I received various notifications of the 

central posting of newsletters but have rarely had the time, or enthusiasm, to 

actually come out of my email programme and go the website at that moment. 

Dick Clements has recently written to me to express his disapproval. He finds 

an attached newsletter to cause his inbox to overflow, to constitute 

unnecessary traffic and to not be best practice… 

“Whilst I know there are some arguments for distributing the Newsletter 

directly to each member of the HANG group, there are also counter 

arguments. In my case the attachment causes my inbox to overflow and 

restrict my receipt of other things. There is also the volume of (arguably 

unnecessary) traffic generated by such mailings. The posting of newsletters 

and similar items on an accessible central repository, together with a simple 

notification email to those likely to wish to collect it from the repository is 

accepted best practice in a wide variety or organisations. For my part, I would 

vote for the "collect the newsletter from the RIN site" solution. 

Hope it's helpful to have views from the members of the group.” 

This newsletter will probably still be circulated the old way – not because I 

have ignored Dick’s wishes but because I am short on time trying to finish by 

the end of the month. I shall look into publishing the following newsletter as a 

link embedded in an email. I want the member to be able to move from 

reading his email to reading his newsletter by a single stroke. Until now he 

must click the ‘download’ caption. If attachments are replaced by links then 

he still only has to make one click – but now onto the link. Either can be done 

without exiting from the email programme. The newsletter will no longer be a 

threat to the overflowing of the inbox. Two more months should give me time 

to find out how to do it. 

Pinpoint the Bomber 

In the last newsletter I referred to two publications in WW2 by Francis 

Chichester. This resulted in an email from Reg Brindley… 

Out of interest I have a book printed in 1942 called Pinpoint the Bomber - The 

Great Air Game Book written by Francis Chichester. It's basically an air 



navigation game mounted inside a book, and is designed to teach people air 

navigation through a fictitious raid into Germany during WW2. 

I have the same book and count myself lucky. I saw a copy at a book fair – it 

was somewhat battered, priced around £35 and seemed not enough for the 

money. By the time second-thoughts kicked in it had gone. It was 2 to 3 

years before I found another copy for sale and that time I did buy it. In its own 

way it is a navigation simulator. There are aerial photographs of features en 

route – since these are not the expected landmarks the reader is expected to 

work out where they are from the chart and what correction must be made. I 

will give the book closer attention soon and give a better description then. 

PS: Like London buses…I saw another copy at a book fair only last week. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

Air Pilotage 

1935 and 1941 issues of AP1234. Photo credit pkh-l. 

AP1234 will be familiar to many as the RAF manual on air navigation. Most of 

the copies that are to be found now are of the second edition that was written 

by Dickie Richardson with help from Francis Chichester in 1941 and re-issued 

for the public in 1944. 

Although the RAF air navigation manual was always designated AP1234 

there were considerable differences as the book evolved. The 1941 second 

edition was a hardback book about 7x10 inches entitled “Air Navigation”. The 

pre-war issue of 1935 was a smaller book, about 6x9 inches, entitled “Manual 

of Air Navigation”; it was loose leaf and bound with string between cardboard 

covers. However AP1234 came into existence in 1927, again string bound 

between hard covers, and titled “Manual of Air Pilotage”. 

I was interested in the nomenclature. Why did “Air Pilotage” become “Air 

Navigation”? The answer was to be found in the Flight issue of 14 Feb 35 

p.173 in the section “Royal Air Force - Service Notes and News and Air 

Ministry announcements”. One announcement was as follows… 

“It has been decided that the use of the term “air pilotage” is to be 

discontinued. In all correspondence and reports relating to the subject the 

term “air navigation” is to be used. The following changes of title will be 

made. (i) Air Pilotage School to be Air Navigation School. (ii) The 13 weeks of 



Air Pilotage Course to be Short Navigation Course. (iii) The N course at RAF 

Calshot to be Specialist Navigation Course. (iv) Manual of Air Pilotage 

(AP1234) to be Manual of Air Navigation Vol I. (v) Manual of Air Navigation 

(AP1456) to be Manual of Air Navigation Vol II. Air pilotage officers will be 

known as ‘navigation officers’ and will be denoted by the symbol (sn) in the 

List of Units in the Air Force List when filling vacancies which officers so 

qualified are allowed. Specialist N officers will continue to be identified by the 

symbol N in the graduate list and by the symbol (n) when filling vacancies for 

which officers so qualified are allowed. 

AP1234 (1927) Manual of Air Pilotage. Photo credit pkhl. 

I noticed elsewhere that AP1234 1927 “Manual of Air Pilotage” had been 

described as a re-issue of AP44 (1920). So, where can I find AP44 1920 

“Notes on Air Pilotage” ? 

_____________________________________________________________ 

Enquiries 

Hannibal’s Navigation 

Since the Institute is the principle authority on navigation in the UK it is not 

just unsurprising but it is a pleasure to read of the exchange recently between 

RIN and Dr Lothar Stenger. He wrote … 

First of all I hope, that you can excuse my faulty knowledge of the English 

language - thank you. 

The following questions were sent to the German Institute of Navigation 

(DGON) in Bonn/Germany some days ago, but the answer was not very 

complete. Mr Gronemann/DGON gave me your address and the idea, to ask 

you the same questions: 

I am interested to know, for example, how Hannibal found his way through the 

alps to attack the Roman, without any maps or somewhat else, we use today. 

The similar question is for me, how Alexander the Great succeeded coming to 

India and back again. I think, here were not only problems with the geographic 

situation, but further the differfent languages. 



Hannibal crossing the Alps. Photo credit SAAP. 

I do not hesitat to say you, whose brain has such questions: I am chemist, but 

still pensioner; my favorite interest is the evolution of mankind in all its 

amazing spheres. I ask you for your help concerning my lacks in knowledge. 

In the discussions that followed nobody seemed to produce a more 

convincing answer than Terry Hayward who said… “I’m a simple soul but I 

have always thought that they ‘persuaded’ a local to show them the way” 

Our Director sent this suggestion to Dr Stenger so we leave the last word with 

Dr Stenger… 

Thank you very much for your answer and the work you have had to find it. 

Your answer is helpful for me to understand a litle bit more about the 

development of the civilisation. It seems, that trading has been a very 

important thing in "making" the streets through the continents and that this 

way of communication has grown in the development of our species in 

hundreds and thousands of years. 

Nevertheless, it is amazing for me, how they found their aim - to and fro. But I 

think, nobody knows, how many people died on doing such trips. Still I cannot 

understand the motivation of a person living peacefully in a community of 

perhaps a 100 people about 300.000 years ago, to leave this community, not 

knowing what is behind the next forrest, mountain or large river. 

Perhaps this is one of a lot of riddles, we cannot solve with our knowledge of 

today. Whatever, thank you very much for solving the problems with my 

English knowledge. I would be glad to read again an e-mail from you. 

Best wishes, especially for some nice Easter days. 

I know that what follows pre-dates aeronautics but I did find it interesting – 

please skip it if you feel HANG has a strict remit. 

The following was posted by Patrick Hunt who wrote “Hannibal in the Alps: 

Stanford Alpine Archaeology Project 1994-2006” 

One of the Stanford Alpine Archaeology Project's most interesting on-going 

research foci is Hannibal in the Alps. Hannibal’s famous passage through the 

Alps in 218 BCE remains one of the most intrepid marches in history. Along 

with at least 25,000 surviving soldiers, hundreds if not thousands of pack 

animals and scores of elephants (although apparently only 37 survived the 



crossing), this surprising military manoeuvre was both bold and desperate and 

has inspired countless readers of ancient history in the intervening millennia. 

Because it was undertaken in late fall – which is early winter in these high 

Alps – the Pleiades constellation could be easily viewed at a certain recorded 

point in the night sky, a journey that would have been daunting even in the 

summer became all the more dramatic. As Polybius wrote: 

"After a journey of nine days, Hannibal gained the summit pass. He camped 

there and stayed for two days to rest the survivors of his army and wait for 

stragglers...As it was now almost the time for the setting of the Pleiades, snow 

had already settled on the summit...He noticed that his men were in a state of 

low morale for all that they had suffered and tried to cheer them up. He 

depended on the actual view of Italy, which lies so close under these 

mountains that when they are seen together, the Alps stand to Italy in the 

same way a citadel does to a city...He restored their spirits by showing them 

the plain of the Po..." 

Unfortunately, the specific name of the pass Hannibal used was never 

mentioned in any sources or presumably by the informant who may never 

have known its Celtic name anyway. Some of the Celts aided Hannibal and 

his Punic and mercenary army with guides and provisions; others were hostile 

and some may have tried to lead him into an Alpine trap, from which he 

escaped by clever resources and brave fortitude at some expense of men, 

animals and supplies to the surprise of both Celts and Romans. 

The Stanford Alpine Archaeology Project has attempted to track Hannibal 

since 1994, using near contemporary sources like Polybius (c150 BC) who 

claimed his informant’s account was directly compiled from one of Hannibal’s 

veterans who would have been very young during the march. Livy used 

Polybius and other possible sources nearly two centuries later. 

Livy adds some accurate comments about the improbability of some of the 

often-suggested northern Hannibal routes such as the Grand-St-Bernard pass 

then known as Poeninus. This route would have added far too many days to 

Hannibal's journey being so far northward and requiring Hannibal to travel all 

the way around Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). 

Our Stanford team has hiked over at least 15 Alpine passes, many on multiple 

occasions, and compared their present landmark features to the topographic 

details given in Polybius and Livy. Allowing for a modicum of some erosional 

and geomorphological change, it is still possible to find a few favourable 

candidates among the western Alpine passes (now between France and Italy) 

and at the same time eliminate many more passes as unsuitable based on the 

ancient historians’ narratives. 

Naturally, this also rests on several assumptions: that the informants of 

Polybius and others were accurate observers and honest in their recollections 

and that Hannibal himself was fairly well-informed (when not misinformed by 

Celts) and honest with his soldiers when he is reported to have made 

geographical statements. The most recent phase of the Stanford Alpine 

Archaeology Project's Hannibal route research is published in a new book 

Alpine Archaeology (2007). 



Drift Sight 

Tail drift sight: AP1275 illustration, Pete’s sight. Photo credits AWM and pfriedr. 

I recently received an email enquiry from Pete Friedrichs who said… 

I recently came into possession of a Mk IV Drift Sight. I have met with little 

success in trying to research its origin and use. There is very little mention of 

the instrument on the Internet. From what I have gathered, it may have been 

used on Bristol Beaufort aircraft, or other possible applications. I was led to 

believe that there were three or four pages worth of discussion on the Mk IV in 

the Air Minstry's AP1234 Vol 1 Navigation manual, but my attempts to secure 

a copy via ebay were thwarted by another bidder. 

I stumbled upon a copy of your group's newsletter, and wondered if you or 

someone in your group might know something about the Mk IV. I wonder if 

one of your members might have a copy of AP1234, and could verify or 

possibly even scan the pages pertinent to the Mk IV. 

Subsequently Pete sent me some more information. 

Below is the sum-total of all I know about my particular drift sight. The case is 

a wooden box marked with AM Reference No 6B/110, Tail Drift Sight Mark IV, 

General Electric Co Ltd, No 858/39. The black aluminium dial plate (on the 

instrument) has markings Tail Drift Sight Mark IV, Ref No 6B/110, H Hughes & 

Son, No 153/40. The barrel of the instrument has more markings starting with 

the crown then AM, Ref No 6B/110, No 3427/36. It appears to me that box, 

dial plate, and the sight itself did not begin life as a matched set, and in fact, 

were produced in different years. 

The box, as received by me, was filled with Arizona dirt, and the lid was 

broken off… The strap was also rotten, which I replaced. I kept the original 

carrying strap, which was fitted with buckles. It appears that someone in the 

past tried to "demilitarize" the sight by spraying it with yellow paint. Luckily, 

this paint responded well to the application of lacquer thinner, and I was able 

to clean the optics to the point where the sight should be fully functional. 

Note that the dial plate can be fitted with two scales. A square one attaches to 

the dial plate with links, and can swivel as the drift sight is rotated. This is the 

scale you see in images where the sight is fully assembled. An alternate semicircular 

scale does not move but is affixed rigidly to the dial plate. This fixed 

scale can be seen stored against the wall of the box in its wooden holster. 



This link, from the Australian Aviation Museum, seems to reflect my 

instrument: 

http://www.aamb.com.au/DRIFT.HTM 

Unfortunately, when I contacted them, they indicated that they had received 

their Mk IV as a donation and had no further information on the device. 

For the record, I am an electrical engineer by profession, and a person who 

finds great beauty in the design and fabrication of precision machinery. I am 

also a student of history, and one who thinks that treasures like my drift sight 

are to be appreciated, preserved and ultimately passed on. I'd like to properly 

identify my drift sight, what aircraft it came from, and what Ministry 

publications might make mention of its proper use. Ideally, I hope to be able to 

pick up some of this documentation on eBay. Frankly, I'd be happy to have a 

few scanned pages if all else fails. The end game is to add some pages to 

my web site to make this information public. 

On a related note, here are a couple of web pages that I have already 

constructed to provide information on some retired military radios I've 

acquired, one from WW2, the other from the Iraq war: 

http://www.hpfriedrichs.com/rr-bc-348.htm 

http://www.hpfriedrichs.com/rr-tr-vp-13.htm. 

Firstly – I checked on these links. Both of them are examples of thorough and 

almost forensic research to bring an old radio artefact back into use. Good 

reading and I recommend them. 

I wrote back to Pete telling him that this instrument is a Tail Drift Sight Mk4, 

ref 6B/110 and was used in the 1930’s. To quote AP1234 (1935) Manual of 

Air Navigation… “The tail drift sight is used for taking readings on an object 

over which the aircraft has passed. The object is followed astern through the 

optical system of the sight, the drift angle being read from a scale. In the Tail 

Drift Sight Mk4 it is not necessary for the aircraft to pass directly over the 

object as a correction for the initial displacement of the object is automatically 

applied when the sight is used. Details of the construction and use of the tail 

drift sight MkIV will be found in AP1275 section 9 chapter I” 

AP1234 (1935) describes finding the drift by using, in order, the Course 

Setting Bombsight, the Drift Indicator Bearing Plate or the Tail Drift Sight. 

However by the time of the issue of the AP1234 (1941) Air Navigation drift is 

said to be measured by the Drift Recorder Mk II (an entirely different 

instrument), the Course Setting Bombsight or by Back Bearings. The Tail 

Drift Sight had dropped from favour. When you combine this with the 

markings of Pete’s Tail Drift Sight which indicate dates of 1939, 1940 and 

1936 it seems that the Tail Drift Sight was a significant player in the 

measurement of drift over the years 1935-1940. 

Pete wonders what aircraft may have used the Tail Drift Sight. My guess 

would be any RAF aircraft with a navigator that was operational in the years 

1935-1940. Pete referred to the Bristol Beaufort and that just comes within 

this bracket. Bristol Beauforts first saw service with Coastal Command and 

then the Fleet Air Arm from 1940, until they were withdrawn from operational 

service in the European theatre in 1942. RAF Beauforts operated as torpedo 



bombers, conventional bombers and mine-layers and were then used as 

training aircraft until being declared obsolete in 1945. So, it is possible that 

Pete’s Tail Drift Sight found service in a Beaufort. 

The measurement of drift has evolved. The further back we go the slower the 

aircraft so the greater the impact of wind. Wimperis, in his 1920 ‘Air 

Navigation’ says that the drift indicator choice lies between the aero bearing 

plate for vertical observation, the wind gauge bearing plate for tail observation 

and the course setting sight for forward observation. One day I may have the 

chance to comment on how the 1930s produced some magnificently 

complicated ways of tackling this problem. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

Navigator’s office 

Bristol Beaufort. Photo credit AWM. 

When digging around for information on the Tail Drift Sight I found a web site 

that had been compiled by an Australian aero-modeller Phil Mead. He had 

visited the Australian War Museum and the collection included a Bristol 

Beaufort A9-557. 

The Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) was a twin-engine torpedo 

bomber developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier 

Blenheim light bomber. Beauforts first saw service with Coastal Command 

and then the Fleet Air Arm from 1940 until they were withdrawn from 

operational service in the European theatre in 1942. Beauforts operated as 

torpedo bombers, conventional bombers and mine-layers and were then used 

as training aircraft until being declared obsolete in 1945. 

Beauforts also saw considerable action in the Mediterranean; Beaufort 

squadrons based in Egypt and on Malta helped put an end to Axis shipping 

supplying Rommel in North Africa. Beauforts were most widely used until the 

end of the Second World War by the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific 

theatre. All but six of the RAAF's Beauforts were manufactured under licence 

in Australia. Although designed as a torpedo-bomber, the Beaufort more 

often flew as a level-bomber. The Beaufort flew more hours in training than on 

operational missions and more were lost through accidents and mechanical 

failures than were lost to enemy fire. However, the Beaufort did spawn the 

Beaufighter which was a long-range fighter variant. 



Phil had taken about 20 photographs of the exterior and another 20 of the 

interior as aide to modelling. Several photo were of the navigation position as 

I show below. 

Beaufort: looking forward from cockpit, navigator’s table. Photo credit Phil Mead. 

Surely this must be one of the best views offered to a navigator. He is in the 

nose sitting sideways but with an unobstructed forward view. Did the 

navigator of, for example, a Canberra or Sea Vixen or Vulcan ever wish he 

could see a little more of the outside world? 

I found these photos when hoping to show that the Beaufort used the Tail Drift 

Sight. With a pang of disappointment I note that this Beaufort had the later 

Drift Recorder mounted beyond the navigator’s table where Pete might have 

hoped to find a Tail Drift Sight. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

Small silver compass 

Compass alongside £1 coin. Photo credit pkhl. 

This small silver compass came to my attention recently. It is small as can be 

seen from the £1 coin alongside. 

It came to me with the story that it was worn round the neck by an RAF pilot 

who served in WW2. It was thought that the pilot’s wife had it specially made. 

It is in fact a well hall-marked piece of silver. It is Victorian silver, marked 

London 1879, so the wife could not have had it made for her husband. I wrote 



to the previous owner and learnt a little more. He said that it was given to 

1029375 AC/2 Birkby. In 1941 Birkby lost his leg and returned to the 

Rhondda Ward. This cast doubt on the reference to an RAF pilot – could an 

RAF pilot be an AC/2? I thought the lowest pilot rank was Sergeant. 

Memorabilia. Photo credit pkhl. 

I searched for anything related to 1029375 Birkby and got lucky. Somebody 

had sold a collection of Birkby items. First came a wallet, with the inscription 

‘Presented to AC/2 H Birkby RAF, by the Rhondda Ward Welcome Home 

Fund, 1941. From the wallet came a badge “To My Dear Sweetheart” and 

there was a lapel badge “Official Collector, Trallwyn Welcome Home and 

Comfort Fund”. Finally there came what was described as “a very old leather 

cap which came from the same family. It looks very much like a WW1 Pilot’s 

hat”. 

Now my theory has changed. I suggest the compass was given to an earlier 

Birkby, a WW1 pilot, by his wife as a keepsake. Victorian silver was probably 

then only viewed as second-hand silver. After WW1 I think that the leather 

cap and compass became family heirlooms. At the outbreak of WW2 the 

compass was given to AC/2 Birkby with the same motive. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

Seen out and about 

V1 compass: in pieces and in situ. Photo credit superfeedback99. 

It is remarkable what a range of navigational curiosities are floating around on 

the market. I mention prices in each case to emphasise that the item was 

available – not just stored behind glass in a museum. 



The first one is the compass from a V1. I feel this must be relatively rare 

because not only did it fly in the company of a ton of explosive but it was the 

first part of the V1 to arrive. The first photograph shows what was offered for 

sale, at £195, and the second photograph taken from a service manual shows 

a compass in place in the V1 nose cone. It is one third of the V1 navigation 

system on the assumption that the V1 relied upon compass, altimeter and 

clock. 

Addison Luard calculator. Photo credit 1stjuly. 

This is the Addison Luard course and wind calculator of about 1935. The type 

B is for 3 vector calculations and type D for 4 vectors though I am not sure 

which model is on display here. I have seen it described as expensive and 

cumbersome but to me it is a work of art. Look at the mechanism – 

computation would be a pleasure but this one was expensive and sold for 

£119. 

P3 and P10 compass. Photo credit aspentree123. 

The final item is a P3 compass. The P series of compasses culminated in the 

P10 shown on the right; the P10 together with the P11 and P12 were the 

standard RAF compasses at the end of WW2. This family started with the P1 

of 1924 and the whole series looked very similar except for the P3 shown 

here looking like a hand held compass. It was the only P series compass with 

a vertical card and viewed from the side. This attempt to break the mould 

cannot have been successful because the design reverted to the familiar grid 

compass viewed from above as in the P10. This P3 was a small bit of 

unrecognised history at £67. 



Conclusion 

In the last newsletter I wrote about the evolution of the Dalton flight computer. 

I said that Dalton graduated from The Naval Aviation School at Pensacola, 

Florida in 1951. I later went on to say that the Navy recalled Dalton to active 

service in 1941. As Terry Hayward kindly pointed out on April 1 st … “One very 

small point, I suspect that Dalton graduated in 1931”. Finger slipped, sorry 

about that. 

That brings this newsletter to a close. 

Keith Hope-Lang 

30 May 2012 

HANG Chairman 

pkhluk@yahoo.co.uk

HANG Newsletter - Royal Institute of Navigation

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