Flight plan
 

Hello,
During WW2, for a twin engined Medium Bomber, what would be a "normal" flight route from Warton to Tooms in Northern Ireland ?

Distance approx 150 miles give or take a couple.

Would the path be over the Isle of Mann or avoid or miss it ?

Or would there generally be a stopover on Mann ?

Many thanks
Alex

Re: Flight plan
 

Unless the weather was bad, the a/c malfunctioned or lacked fuel no one in their right mind would stop over on a very straightforward flight, particularly if the option was the IoM. Yes I have been there.

On local flights (in UK) tended to set course on a rhumb line which was a constant course, rather than mess about with a section of a great circle. Such a line seems to naturally take you close/over the island

On a day with good visibility IoM would make a good navigation pinpoint, but would not necessarily have to overfly


If weather forced low flight would tend to avoid due to the hills

Essentially - it depends

Martin

Re: Flight plan
 

Thank you Martin,

Your reply is most welcome and backs up my thoughts, except I had not considered the night factor, possibly a glancing blow would/could have intrupted a flight and the a/c could have gone into sea fast due to possible damage ???

Alex