
NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Howard G
Date: 2025 Jan 18, 20:37 -0800
Hi Julian
Welcome – you will find a lot of ex Military Air Force Navigators + civilian air navigators grace this forum. I am one – as a RNZAF Navigator I was a nav on Dakotas, Devons, Bristol Freighters, did a few sorties in a strike master low level but was mainly a nav/Tacco on P3B Orion long range maritime aircraft.
Air Navigation varies significantly depending on what aircraft you are on and the role – significantly. I am just writing this reply quickly and will try and collect the titles of all the Air Navigation books I have on my bookshelf.
But just to start:
As Gary mentioned – Sir Frances Chichester – The Lonely Sea and Sky – haven’t finished this ( up to when he tore his aircraft in half hitting a cable somewhere in the tasman/pacific ( but this really isn’t per se air navigation in the truest sense (he flew a few feet above the Tasman Sea waves reading the wind off the sea and shooting the sun and navigated by this and DR) – bit hairy but it got him there.
Amelia Earhart by Long, Marie K – The Mystery Solved (this topic creates big input on this forum – an unsolved mystery)
Vulcan Boys by Tony Blackman
Back Bearings – A navigators Tale (WW II Lancasters)
Royal Air Force Manual Air Navigation Vol 1 – Theory and Practice of Air Navigation (AP 1234A – 2nd Edition – The RAF bible on Air Navigation for military navigators
Gestapo Hunter (Released Nov 24) The Remarkable Wartime Career of Mosquito Navigator and leader Ted Sismore) - ½ way through reading
The Complete Air Navigator 1936 by D.C.T Bennet (Pathfinder leader WWII)
Bert Hinkler by Grantlee Kienza
On Celestial Wings – US Army Air Force Navigators in WW II – by Edgar Whitcomb ( different style of navigation to RAF training) – fast, interesting read
Just a few of my collection – celestial navigation – quite a few books –
Well out of practice now but totally interested.
No old charts kept as all had to be handed in after each flight.
A lot of celestial air navigation proforma etc.
Air navigation, as I said – is different for different roles.
WW II bomber crew seldom if ever did celestial – too dangerous – they used DR supplemented by visual ( which was not often or various navigation aids developed to help)
Fighters – DR visual map reading
Fighters off aircraft carriers – WWII – visual, DR, mental calculation
Transport, P3 Orion patrols – Radar, celestial, LORAN,GPS etc
Etc etc – I could write for hours but need to sign off.
There a lot of members with air time that can add to the above.
Regards Howard G.