F22 and the International Date Line

AFAIK what you really need is altimeter (where you are), airspeed indicator (how fast you are going), compass, and eight-ball (artificial horizon---to show which direction you are facing). A good pilot could use the sun or stars for a compass if they're visible and could probably survive without the eight-ball, but you gotta know your airspeed to know how far above stall speed you are.
 
Yeah, but keep in mind they still were over the ocean, and that kind of older nav gear (compass) isn't the best for getting back, and won't work unless the pilots were tracking (accurately) their progess on their paper map. We lost pilots in WWII that got lost, and couldn't find the carriers again. The sun and stars method isn't going to tell you anything more than the cardinal direction unless you have a sextant.
 
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