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Sitting in a cramped, curtained-off compartment, navigators worked by the light of a simple lamp, the pilot relying on him to find the target before guiding the aircraft and its crew safely home. Amongst a small set of tools to plot his route was a set of dividers. These have flown to Berlin and back.

The navigator was perhaps the busiest man in the bomber. He had to be highly skilled and adaptable, maintaining a high-level of concentration for virtually the whole flight, plotting a course and making last-minute adjustments if the weather changed, or if the aircraft came under attack.

The navigator’s tools were not bombs or machine-guns, but charts, protractors, dividers, rulers and pencils.

Something special was presented to NZBCA recently – navigational dividers used by Navigator Flt. Lt. Bill Williams. He used these dividers to plot progress across enemy territory during two operational tours with Bomber Command.

Dividers were used to measure distances on a map. The points would be set to the correct distance for say 1 mile by using the scale on the bottom of the map; then by twisting the compass form point to point an accurate estimation of distance can be made.

These dividers are marked with a crown and A.M. (Air Ministry) 1942. Remarkable to think how many times they would have been used over enemy territory.

Thank you, David Christian, for entrusting these with NZBCA