Many strikes were made on certain enemy bases, timed to arrive at first light, but these could only be undertaken successfully when the weather was clear—because in some areas concerned, approximately two hours night flying was entailed.

'We found (reported Wing-Commander Eric Read) that you could always get a single Beaufighter through any weather at all, provided of course the pilot knew his instrument flying. Our problem was getting all the formation to the target intact. The flight leader would always fly fairly low in the rain, avoiding the clouds, and the rest of the formation would stay in close. Even in the heaviest rain with storm window open, visibility was 25 yards, but it was impossible to keep in formation through cumulus cloud with its reduced visibility and turbulence.'[29]

However, although weather such as rain, cloud and fog may be dangerous for a flyer, they can also be turned to his advantage. For instance, they may be used as cover for reconnaissance and low-level strafing attacks, and can help an aircraft to evade enemy fighter interception.

An American pilot told me how, when flying his Douglas DC3 over an enemy-held area, he sighted, and was sighted by, a Japanese fighter. When I asked him what he did in his unarmed transport plane, the Texan pilot drawled, 'Well, I knew there was some cloud cover and just hared off for it and hid. We didn't see each other again'.

Bureau of Meteorology