Personnel Index - Detail

Name
PITMAN
First Names
Fred
Rank
Sgt
Service
RAF
Crew Position
Navigator Plotter

 

Flew with 49Sqn in Kenya.
 

Photograph courtesy of Anthony Rickard

Eastleigh, Nairobi in November 1953.

From L to R
F/L Cyril Rickard (Pilot)
F/O Freddy Fausch (Nav/Radar Plotter)
Sgt Alan 'Bronco' North (Flight Engineer)
Sgt Jock Todd (Rear Gunner)
Sgt Fred Pitman (Navigator Plotter)
Sgt Steve Stephens (Air Signaller)

Crew details via Sgt Steve Stephens:
Flight Sergeant Fred Pitman (navigator plotter) kept a manual chart plot using whatever navigation aids he could getjncluding astro shots, to establish where the aeroplane was and to determine a heading to get us to where we wanted to be. It was very much a pencil and parallel rule job with much mental calculation involved, and became more complicated the further away from the UK we were. Fred could also operate the radars.