The Navigator - Joseph Rochford (Joe)

Joe Rochford was the second oldest person on the crew. He was 3 months older than Keith. As navigator, his job was to read maps and radar signals. The navigator sat at a table behind the pilot and the flight engineer.

 Joe - Navigator on the Lane End Lancaster

A navigator at work on a Lancaster Bomber

Radar next to the navigator's table

More Pictures of a Lancaster Bomber's interior


In December 1944 Joe was taken ill and ended up in hospital. This delayed the crew once again. They had just lost Frank, their first pilot, and were getting a bit fed up of waiting around for  new one.

Letter from Keith to his mom, 30 December 1944.
'Joe, ‘our navigator’, went into the hospital yesterday with a cold so I guess that will hold us up for a little longer. '