''Pathfinders'' (1972–1973) is an ITV drama set in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, telling the story of the fictitious

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

192 Pathfinder squadron. The Pathfinders were specialised RAF squadrons that marked targets for the RAF's heavy bombers. The series used

radio control Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely control a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a smal ...

led

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stir ...

models for the flying scenes. The technical adviser for the series was

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Hamish Mahaddie Group Captain Thomas Gilbert "Hamish" Mahaddie, (19 March 1911 – 16 January 1997) was a Scotsman who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF). As a youth he was selected for an apprentice program and was trained as an RAF ground crew "metal rigger" ...

. The music was by

Malcolm Lockyer Malcolm Neville Lockyer (5 October 1923 – 28 June 1976) was a British film composer and conductor. Biography Lockyer was born in Greenwich, London, England. In his early years he developed an interest in dance and from here gathered an interest ...

Cast list

* ''Wing Commander MacPhearson'' – Robert Urquhart (13 episodes) * ''Doc Saxon'' –

Jack Watling Jack Stanley Watling (13 January 1923 – 22 May 2001) was an English actor. Life and career The son of a travelling scrap metal dealer, Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child; and made his stage debut in ''Where ...

(12 episodes) * ''The Padre'' – Julian Orchard (4 episodes) * ''Squadron Leader Shanks'' –

Jack May Jack Wynne May (23 April 1922 – 19 September 1997) was an English actor. Early life and education May was born in 1922 in Henley-on-Thames, and was educated at Forest School in Walthamstow. After war service with the Royal Indian Navy in ...

(3 episodes) * ''Flight Lieutenant Doug Phillips'' –

Christopher Cazenove Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove (17 December 1943 – 7 April 2010) was an English film, television and stage actor. Early life and career He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, on 17 December 1943, the son of Brigadier Arnold de Leri ...

(2 episodes)

Episodes

In 2006 Simply Media released the series on DVD in the UK. Although sold as "The Complete Series" the release is actually missing Episode 8 "Our Daffodils Are Better Than Your Daffodils" without any explanation. The episode was also missing from the 2002 four-tape UK VHS release from DD Video. This episode was released in the US on VHS under the title "Assignment Top Secret".

External links

*
CTVA archive ''Pathfinders''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pathfinders Tv Series 1970s British drama television series ITV television dramas Aviation television series 1972 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings Television series based on actual events Television shows produced by Thames Television English-language television shows World War II television drama series