Search Pilots by Squadron (unit) #

After last week's platform upgrade, I thought it was time to do a feature upgrade. I've added unit # search to the pilot search form, which you see at the top of the page when you click "pilots" in our top navigation.

You can for example, just enter a unit # (e.g. 607) and you will see all those pilots who have that unit number in our database. Note, it's just a number check, it won't differentiate unit type (e.g. OTU vs SQN, or airforce) at this time. It's an improvement, and, you can also fill in other fields to narrow the search, such as country of birth, or last name. If you already have a name you can of course just leave unit # blank. The fields are optional.

Speaking of squadron 607, County of Durham, one of our users Robert Curnock has not only added his father, he's gone and added all the other 607 pilots, and, most of their log book entries. Because he's already added over 80 pilots from 607, and linked to the Spitfire serials they flew on ops, you can click through to see the Spitfire (where other users are finding/adding those Spitfire images as they come across them) to get details on that particular Spitfire, but also; see a list of other pilots on our site that flew it.

I guess you can say this is a deep dive project -- we are fortunate to be getting these details from the sons/daughters/relatives/friends of these pilots with their own personal anecdotes and family photos. There is no shortage of information online about any particular squadron, so the followup possibilities are there. We also have a BETA mapping tool, which we've done for some squadrons (see earlier blog post on that) where we show the squadron movements over a map.

We google map the airfield as it looks today, which is I will admit, something I've spent hours doing, looking for traces of WW2 airfields over the satellite images. I can say that I completed a virtual tour of Italy inadvertenly that way. A nice diversion and you will be surprised in some cases, what is still there, versus completely left with no trace. As always, thanks to our contributors for helping to connect the dots as it were.

Kurt