Flight Lieutenant Harry Hughes, navigator on missions to bomb heavily defended industrial targets in Germany – obituary

Flight Lieutenant Harry Hughes, who has died aged 100, flew 76 operations as a navigator in Bomber Command, including 50 with the Pathfinder Force.

When Hughes joined 102 Squadron at Pocklington in Yorkshire at the beginning of March 1943, the RAF’s strategic bombing campaign was gathering momentum and the Battle of the Ruhr was about to commence. Instead of flying on a mining operation, the traditional first operation for a new crew, Hughes and his colleagues joined 442 other bombers to attack the Krupp factory at Essen.

Over the next seven months, Hughes and his colleagues took their Halifax bomber to 25 other heavily defended targets. In addition to attacks against targets in the Ruhr, Hughes visited Nuremberg, Munich and the Skoda armaments factory in Pilsen, a sortie of 10 hours.

On a raid to Mülheim, Hughes’s Halifax returned on two engines. Over Stettin on April 20, his Halifax was hit by anti-aircraft fire and the controls were damaged, but the aircraft was recovered safely to Pocklington.

On July 24, Bomber Command sent 791 bombers to Hamburg, including Hughes and his crew. Using “window” for the first time (metal foil strips to confuse the enemy radar system), the raid caused extensive damage. Over the next 10 days, Hughes flew on two more attacks that devastated the city. On one he watched the firestorm develop and recalled how he felt sorry “for the people down there, and I said a little prayer for them”.

What became known as the Battle of Berlin opened on August 23. This was to be the first of many sorties Hughes would make to the “Big City”. After successfully bombing the target, one of the four engines of the Halifax failed and the long flight to base was made on three engines.

On September 22, Hughes bombed Hanover, the final operation of his tour. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that he had been awarded the DFM, and he was commissioned.

William Henry “Harry” Hughes was born in Dorset on August 10 1922 and educated at Sherborne Grammar School. Too young to enlist, he joined the Home Guard before attempting to join the Royal Navy. Unimpressed with the examinations he took, he was passing an RAF recruiting office on his way home and enlisted as aircrew.

He trained as a navigator in Canada and then at Pensacola in Florida under the US/UK bi-lateral “Towers” scheme. After returning to England in September 1942 he trained on bombers before joining 102 Squadron.

After completing his tour of operations, Hughes became a navigation instructor at a bomber training unit. In July 1944 he volunteered to join the Bomber Command’s Pathfinder Force and he began converting to the twin-engine Mosquito. In August he joined 692 Squadron at Graveley in Cambridgeshire.

No 692 was part of the Light Night Striking Force (LNSF). The main task of the Mosquitos was to accompany the main bomber force and drop “window” before the attack to confuse the enemy air defence radars. They then headed for a different target on a “siren tour”, when they ranged far and wide over the Reich to drop a 500lb bomb on each of three or four targets.

When they appeared over a town, the sirens were sounded, hence the appellation. Although the bomb did little damage, man-hours were lost in factories, the townspeople lost sleep and the ground defences were kept on the alert. Among other tasks were “spoof raids”: when the main force was attacking a major target, the fast high-flying Mosquitos would head for other major cities to draw away the enemy night-fighter force.

On New Year’s Day 1945, Hughes flew on a tunnel-busting operation against vital German lines of supply to the Ardennes offensive. The attacks were made at 250 feet or less and in such a way the 4,000lb bombs, with a short-delay fuze, were thrown into the mouths of the tunnels, where they exploded. Two days later, he flew on a “bridge bashing” sortie in the area before the squadron returned to its more familiar operations.

During his tour of operations, Hughes attacked Berlin no less than 10 times, the last occasion on February 5. On the 14th, he flew a “siren tour” raid to Frankfurt, his 50th operation with the LNSF.

He was awarded the DFC, the recommendation stating: “Since the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal this officer has completed many further operational sorties against strongly defended enemy targets. At all times he has shown himself to be a skilful and accurate navigator. His courage, determination and devotion to duty have always been noteworthy.”

After the war, Hughes flew Mosquitoes to Burma, where he later joined 52 Squadron at Calcutta flying Dakotas on re-supply routes in support of the campaign in Burma. Among the passengers he carried were the Supreme Commander, Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, and the future Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

In 1947, Hughes was recalled to the RAF Volunteer Reserve and did not relinquish his commission until 1963. He was awarded the Air Efficiency Award with Clasp.

After being released from the RAF, Hughes trained as a shipbroker and became the managing director of the Ocean MacGregor group, running the London office. He sold a large number of ships, which involved worldwide travel.

In 1983 he retired to St Ives in Cornwall, where he became an active member of the National Coast Watch Institution and a busy fundraiser for the organisation’s radar network. He was a strong supporter of the Pathfinder Association and the 102 Squadron Association, attending many reunions.

Harry married Cynthia in 1953. She died in 1998 and he is survived by their four sons.

Harry Hughes, born August 10 1922, died July 25 2023