Night Fighter Navigator

Editor’s notes

Glossary

The abbreviations, ranks and service slang used in the memoir, in plain English.

These notes were added in 2026 and are not part of E G White’s text. They summarise information from the Wikipedia articles linked at the end of each note.

A/FAirfield
Log-book shorthand for an airfield or aerodrome.
ACRCAir Crew Reception Centre
The RAF’s reception depot for newly enlisted aircrew recruits; No. 1 ACRC was based at Lord’s cricket ground in London.
AIAirborne Interception (radar)
Radar carried in a night fighter to find other aircraft in the dark; the Mark IV was the first operational air-to-air radar, later succeeded by centimetric sets such as the Mark VIII and Mark X. Wikipedia
AONSAir Observers Navigation School
A school teaching dead-reckoning navigation to trainee observers; No. 6 AONS was at Staverton, near Cheltenham. Wikipedia
ASHAI Mark XV radar
The American AN/APS-4, originally called ASH, a lightweight 3 cm radar for both air interception and surface search, carried by 141 Squadron’s Mosquitos. Wikipedia
ASIAir Speed Indicator
The cockpit instrument showing the aircraft’s speed through the air. Wikipedia
AVMAir Vice-Marshal
A senior RAF rank, above air commodore and below air marshal. Wikipedia
Bandit
R/T code for an aircraft identified as hostile.
Beat-up
Deliberately flying very low and fast over a place, as a display or in mock attack.
BrevetAircrew flying badge
The badge worn on the left breast by qualified aircrew: the pilot’s double wing, or a single wing with a letter at its root, such as O (observer), RO (radio observer) or N (navigator). Wikipedia
C in CCommander-in-Chief
The officer commanding a whole Command, such as Fighter Command or Bomber Command. Wikipedia
COCommanding Officer
The officer in command of a unit, such as a squadron. Wikipedia
Colours of the day
The combination of coloured flares, fired from a Very pistol, that identified an aircraft as friendly to ships and gunners on a given day. Wikipedia
CRTCathode Ray Tube
The small glass display screen on which the radar operator watched the ‘blips’ of other aircraft. Wikipedia
DCO / DNCODuty Carried Out / Duty Not Carried Out
Log-book abbreviations recording whether an operational sortie was completed.
Dispersal
The area of an airfield where aircraft were parked spread out, with the crew room and flight offices nearby.
DRDead Reckoning
Navigating by calculating position from a known starting point, course, speed and time elapsed. Wikipedia
F/LFlight Lieutenant
A junior commissioned RAF rank, above flying officer. Wikipedia
F/OFlying Officer
A junior commissioned RAF rank, above pilot officer. Wikipedia
F/SgtFlight Sergeant
A senior non-commissioned RAF rank, above sergeant. Wikipedia
Flare path
A line of lights or paraffin flares laid out to mark the runway for night take-offs and landings.
GCAGround Controlled Approach
A landing in which a controller on the ground, watching radar, talks the pilot down to the runway in bad weather. Wikipedia
GCIGround Controlled Interception
A radar station whose controller guided a night fighter by radio until it was close enough to find the target with its own AI radar. Wikipedia
GEE
A radio navigation system that gave a position fix by measuring the time difference between signals from ground stations, accurate to a few hundred metres at ranges up to about 350 miles. Wikipedia
GroupNos. 9, 12 and 100 Groups
A Group was the RAF formation between a Command and its stations and squadrons; Nos. 9 and 12 Groups were Fighter Command’s groups covering north-west and central England, and No. 100 (Bomber Support) Group was Bomber Command’s electronic-warfare and night-fighter group, formed in November 1943. Wikipedia
IFFIdentification Friend or Foe
A transponder that answered a radar’s interrogation with a signal identifying the aircraft as friendly. Wikipedia
Instep
Fighter Command’s name for the long-range fighter patrols flown from Cornwall over the Bay of Biscay in 1943 to protect Coastal Command aircraft from German long-range fighters.
Intruder
A sortie by a fighter or light bomber deep into enemy airspace to attack airfields and aircraft, particularly night fighters taking off and landing. Wikipedia
ITWInitial Training Wing
The ground school where aircrew recruits did their basic service training and classroom work before flying training; No. 6 ITW was at Aberystwyth.
LAC / LACWLeading Aircraftman / Leading Aircraftwoman
A junior RAF rank, one step above aircraftman or aircraftwoman. Wikipedia
LDVLocal Defence Volunteers
The volunteer home-defence force formed in 1940 and renamed the Home Guard in July of that year. Wikipedia
Mae West
Aircrew slang for the inflatable life jacket, named after the film star. Wikipedia
Mag dropMagneto drop
The fall in engine revolutions when one of an engine’s two ignition magnetos is switched off during the run-up before take-off; too large a drop meant an engine was not running properly. Wikipedia
MOMedical Officer
The station doctor.
Mother
A homing beacon at a night-fighter airfield that appeared on the AI set as a blip flashing an identifying Morse letter, so that a crew could find its way home.
NAAFINavy, Army and Air Force Institutes
The organisation created in 1920 to run canteens, clubs and shops for the armed forces. Wikipedia
NFTNight Flying Test
A short flight, usually in the afternoon, to check that an aircraft and its equipment were serviceable before it was used that night.
OTUOperational Training Unit
The unit where trained pilots and navigators were crewed up and taught to fly operational aircraft before joining a squadron. Wikipedia
P/OPilot Officer
The most junior commissioned RAF rank. Wikipedia
R/TRadio Telephony
Voice radio between aircraft and the ground; homing bearings could be obtained from it.
RAFVRRoyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The reserve established in 1936 through which most wartime aircrew were enlisted. Wikipedia
Ranger
A low-level fighter sortie over occupied Europe looking for targets of opportunity such as trains, flown by day under cloud cover or at night.
RCAFRoyal Canadian Air Force
Canada’s air force, several of whose squadrons served in Britain under RAF operational control. Wikipedia
RORadio Observer
The 1941–42 title for the aircrew member who operated a night fighter’s AI radar, replaced by Navigator (Radio) in mid-1942.
S/LSquadron Leader
A commissioned RAF rank, above flight lieutenant; a squadron leader often commanded a flight or a squadron. Wikipedia
Scramble
The order to get airborne as fast as possible to intercept an approaching enemy. Wikipedia
SFTSService Flying Training School
A school giving pilots their advanced flying training before an OTU.
SgtSergeant
The non-commissioned rank to which aircrew were promoted on qualifying.
Tannoy
The public-address loudspeaker system, from the name of the British manufacturer that supplied the armed forces. Wikipedia
TitBoost override
Slang for the control that let the pilot push the engine’s supercharger boost beyond its normal limit for a short burst of extra power. Wikipedia
Toc HTalbot House
A Christian fellowship founded from the Talbot House soldiers’ club at Poperinghe in 1915, which ran hostels between the wars. Wikipedia
Turbinlite
A powerful searchlight fitted in the nose of a Havoc so that it could light up a bomber for an accompanying Hurricane to attack; withdrawn in early 1943. Wikipedia
W/CWing Commander
A senior commissioned RAF rank, above squadron leader; wing commanders commanded squadrons. Wikipedia
W/OWarrant Officer
The most senior non-commissioned rank. Wikipedia
WAAFWomen’s Auxiliary Air Force
The women’s branch of the RAF during the Second World War, established in 1939. Wikipedia
Window
Bundles of thin aluminium strips dropped by bombers to fill enemy radar screens with false echoes; now called chaff. Wikipedia
Wings for Victory
National Savings campaigns held in British towns during the war, in which a community raised money to sponsor RAF aircraft. Wikipedia