Originally Posted by
arem
All Navs were pilots so once all the 707's and I guess VC-10's were fully INS equipped we just transitioned to a 3 man operation - thankfully!
Given that the BOAC Hermes misnavigation accident in the Sahara was principally caused by a pilot standing in for the rostered navigator, and not understanding the kit sufficiently, I would have thought that much attention would have been given to formalising the Nav position after this.
I do recall that when Pan Am started the first US service to China, which routed via Tokyo, they did not feel their crews had sufficient navigation support across the new territory, and engaged freelance navigators on the sector onward from Japan, who were doubtless familiar with the territory and supplied their own charts etc. I believe their Lockheed Tristar 500 was the aircraft first used; did that have any astral navigation fitout ? Presumably not as the aircraft did not have a formal Nav station.