550 Squadron Photos

Aircraft

BQ-B_BombingUp new22/07/2012
BQ-B Bombing up
Ron (Taff) Hawesford bombing up BQ-B for her 100th Operation, North Killingholme 1944
BombingUp new28/07/2012
Bombing up '44/45
Shows the kind of conditions the ground-crews had to work in to fit, repair and bomb-up the aircraft
BombingUp new04/01/2014
A "cookie" in the bomb bay surrounded by incendiary clusters
On the ground beneath the bomb-bay are, possibly, further bomb canisters in some sort of release-clip? Perhaps someone is able to confirm?
Thanks to David Elderfield for this photo from his father's collection from his time on 550 Sqdn, and therefore believed to have been taken at North Killingholme
See typical bomb-load layouts at: http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_bomb_loads.htm
550 Squadron DV305 DV305 / BQ-O crash landed at Woodridge 31 Jan 1944 after being attacked by a night fighter
The two air-gunners killed by the night-fighter fire, 1 PoW (baled out, Camp L3, PoW No.3399), remainder survived.
Pilot F/O Morrison received a DSO for his actions.
550 Squadron DV305 new03/11/2012
DV305 / BQ-O crash landed at Woodridge (alternate view)
Picture courtesy of Colin Patemen

550 Squadron DV305 new03/12/2012
"Q" Queenie (LL837) bogged down off the perimeter track before take off at 19.30 hours on 7th July 1944 for raid on Caen
Annotation on the rear of the photo:
F/O Leslie Wareham, bogged down for a short time. S/Ldr McAleavey, new "A" Flight Commander, came along (car on the right?), leant on the wheel and the aircraft was soon free and airbourne in 5 mins
High resolution version of the photo available here (but note it is a 22.5 Mbyte download)
Taxiing Lancs 550Sqdn new12/10/2013
550 Sqdn Lancasters taxiing
Believed taken either in Italy or at North Killinghome (taken by F/O Ron Clark from his aircraft)
Picture courtesy of Laith Clark (grandson of F/O Clark)
J-Jig new14/07/2014
Sunrise Return: J-Jig, Bad Penny II returning to North Killingholme 1944. Painted by the late Maurice Labourne
Picture courtesy of Jack Harris
J-Jig new01/04/2015
"Jenny's Pent House"
Annotated on the rear, "T" and "Bluey Graham A/C"
S/Ldr Graham AFC DFC was a RAAF officer so this may well be his aircraft given the logo. He did a number of ops in ND296 (D) and also LM455 (T). Perhaps, then, this is LM455.
LM455 FTR 28/29 Jul 1944, Stuttgurt. Crew all KIA (F/O Roche crew, and not the S/Ldr Graham crew).
Graham was "B" Flight Commander, but may had stood in a Acting Commanding Officer on occasion (which may explain the annotation).
Picture courtesy of Jack Harris
Click image new11/06/2020
NG243 / BQ-M2
The annotation on the rear of the photo reads: "BQ M2 NG243 We did 25 ops in this aeroplane"
The photo is from the collection of Jack Allen the Flight Engineer in the F/O K F Sidwell crew, the "we" in the annotation.
See also the F/O E S Allen crew page
From the collections of Jack Allen and Helen Kentish
Click image new15/06/2020
F/O Neilson crew in front of, probably, EE193 (since they did two ops in this aircraft)
See: F/O D F Neilson crew page.
BQ-V new22/06/2023
PA995 / BQ-V "The Vulture Strikes"
See also the F/O G E Blackler crew page. The Blackler crew carried out the majority of the ops in their tour in this aircraft.
From the book "Lancaster at War, Book 1", Ian Reid
Click image F/Lt J C Lord and crew (ED562/BQ-G "We dood it" in the background)
ED562 / BQ-G "We dood it", featuring a picture of cartoon character well known at the time "Captain Really Foull".
See also the F/Lt J C Lord crew page.
BQ-G new14/11/2023
F/Lt E H Luder RAAF and crew (ED562/BQ-G "We dood it" in the background)
ED562 / BQ-G "We dood it", featuring a picture of cartoon character well known at the time "Captain Really Foull".
See also the F/Lt E H Luder crew page.