"Alex Potter" wrote in message
...
I seem to recall reading somewhere in, I think, "Carrier Observer", that
the observer was the aircraft commander and the pilot "merely" the driver.

I don't have the volume to hand at the moment. Was this the case?

--
Alex

That would depend on the specific makeup of the crew. In both the
RAF and FAA the senior officer would command the aircraft
and while he was usually the pilot he could have some other role
particularly when the pilot was an NCO. I recall reading of one crew
in 100 Squadron with a sergeant pilot and a navigator who was a
flying officer and as such was nominally in command. In practice
he had the good sense to let the man behind the joystick take
the decisions.

Keith