Squadron Operations: Summary Information

Overview

Listed below is the information available for operations to this target flown by 550 Squadron.

Operation Summary: The column headers should be fairly self-explanatory. The term "aborted" as used here covers a number of possibilities:

• the operation was cancelled before crews were briefed
• the crews have been briefed as to the target, and in some cases the planes may even have been bombed up and the crews on-board at their stations awaiting take-off, before the op has been stood-down
• finally a number of cases where the op was already under way and the planes en-route but for whatever reason the operation was aborted (e.g. the master bomber orders the attack cancelled due to weather conditions at target adversely affecting targeting).

Aircraft Deployed: When a link to a particular aircraft is given, this indicates aircraft known to have taken part in this raid (in the records currently available to the web-site author). A record of whether the aircraft returned or failed to return (FTR) is also logged.

Servicemen Deployed: Names of the crew in the operation.

Station Summary: This section is the information from the RAF North Killingholme Station Record Book for the operational date (if available).

Definitions of the abbreviations used are available: here.

Manageable Lists

The amount of data in the database is growing and this is resulting in the "all operations/targets" list getting rapidly bigger and thus slower to generate. There are options to display shorter, more quickly generated, reports if you want to home in on something specific. For example, there are options to generate reports on operations to a single target, or by single aircraft (to all targets) or by single aircraft to a single target. There is, on the database-reports summary page, a short user guide (PDF format) on how to do this.

Operation/Target: Maintenon (30 Apr 1944 - 01 May 1944)

Operation Summary
Target	Out	Back	Aborted (Y / N)	Comments
Maintenon	30 Apr 1944	01 May 1944	N	Eighteen aircraft with crews were offered for operations, but only twelve were required. The crews were briefed to attack MAINTENON. The twelve aircraft were again airbourne in the short space of fourteen minutes. All the aircraft bombed the primary target successfully, ten photographs being plotted, two of which were on the aiming point. The weather was good and the target was clearly identified , Terrific explosions were seen by the crew when nearing the target and further explosions seen on on the return journey and whilst over the English coast. All the aircraft returned safely to Base without damage or incident. Ground and air crew alike were very enthusiastic to think that the Squadron may be top of the Group "League" for these successful results.

Aircraft Deployed			Servicemen Deployed
Aircraft Service Number	Returned or FTR	Comments	Crew Details
LL826	Returned	Primary 4,800 ft at 23.54 hrs. [Station CO G/Cpt McIntyre co-pilot]	G/C R V McIntyre (P) F/L R E G Waite (P) Sgt T J Murphy (F/Eng) F/Sgt W H Westley (Nav) F/Sgt K M MacAuley (A/B) Sgt H M Urquhart (W/Op) Sgt J T Bayliss (MU/AG) Sgt V O Gillingham (R/AG)

Summary Statistics

Based on the data in the lists displayed above, and keeping in mind that data is still being updated and thus not yet complete, the following statistics are generated:

Aircraft Deployment Statistics

Aircraft deployments	1
MAX Aircraft deployed in single operation	1 (Maintenon, 30 Apr 1944)

These details were last updated: 21 November 2024

Note

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