PINPOINT THE BOMBER
Francis Chichester
GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD, London, 1942
An original WW2 RAF Aircrew training manual, written by Francis Chichester, and published in 1942 by Allen & Unwin. The book features a series of board games designed to help WW2 navigators and aircrew improve their targeting skills. This is the 1st edition. These games were specifically designed to help Bomber Command navigators find their target. There are three games of varying degrees of difficulty: a game of chance; a game aimed at finding correct longitude and latitude; and a game to find the correct location on the map. The book comes complete with a large fold-out target map, and includes detailed instructions for each of the games.
Sir Francis Charles Chichester (1901 – 1972) was a British pioneering aviator and solo sailor. He was knighted by for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route, and the fastest circumnavigator, taking just nine months and one day to complete the voyage in 1966–67.
Unable to join the RAF at the outbreak of WW2 due to age and eyesight, he was not granted a commission until 14 March 1941 when he joined the RAFVR for the duration of hostilities. His civil occupation was listed as Air Navigation Specialist. His first posting was to the Air Ministry in the Navigation section of the Directorate of Air Member Training, where he served until August 1942. In July 1943 he was sent to the Empire Central Flying School where he instructed in navigation until released in September 1945. He wrote the navigation manual that allowed the pilots of single-handed fighter aircraft to navigate across Europe and back using kneeboard navigation similar to that which he had used in the Pacific.
Condition:
In good condition. The boards are in good condition, with some signs of wear and use and a few marks. The binding is good and secure. The text is in good condition. The large fold-out map, loosley inserted at the rear of the book is in very good condition.
Published: 1942
Green boards with black titling
With large folding map at the rear
Dimensions : 175mm x 330mm
Pages: 46 (plus fold-out map)
