550 Squadron and RAF North Killingholme Association

Squadron Operations: Summary Information

Overview

There follows below a list of the all of the operations flown by 550 Squadron and the aircraft involved on each. The information used to build this page was taken in the first instance from the lists provided on the original Squadron Association web-site, but has been augmented by new information gathered since that time (squadron operations logs, individual aircrew log books, and other sources).

This information is not yet complete: it has been build from the a number of sources (documentary and people) and compilation of complete lists is an ongoing task that is expected to take quite some time to complete. So please don't shout just yet if you spot an omission - work continues to build a more complete, and accurate, list.
Do however shout if you spot an error! Please email any corrections or information to the contact details in the link at the bottom of the page.

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: Leipzig (19 Feb 1944 - 20 Feb 1944)

Operation Summary
Target	Out	Back	Aborted (Y / N)	Comments
Leipzig	19 Feb 1944	20 Feb 1944	N	Sixteen aircraft with crews were offered for operations and briefed to attack targets in LEIPZIG. Two aircraft did not take-off due to technical failures, two aircraft returned early with engine trouble. One aircraft failed to return - no news since take-off. Eleven aircraft successfully bombed the target nine of whom returned safely and landed at BASE - NORTH KILLINGHOLME. One aircraft landed at RAF Station MANSTON and the second at RAF Station COLTISHALL. One enemy fighter (ME109) was shot down by the gunners in LM392 F/L J. S. G. CRAWFORD, PILOT.

Station Summary
OPERATIONS 16 aircraft of 550 Squadron were detailed to participate in a large-scale attack on LEIPZIG. 14 took off and 1 was missing. Several sorties to other airfields from this operation, one of which, Lancaster 550/J (Captain F/Lt Crawford) touched down at MANSTON after a more than eventful trip, which is recounted in the Station Narrative Report attached as appensidx "B". The Base Commander of 13 Base, Air Commodore IVELAW-CHAPMAN OBE, DFC, AFC, attended briefing. ORGANISATION It has been considered advisable that bomb aimers should attend main briefing in preference to the simultaneous navigators briefing for operations as hitherto. This change has been brought into force forthwith. Difficulties in catering for increased oxygen charge pressure (see 14 Feb.) mitigated by obtaining extra transport cylinders. Pending installation of illuminated letters "NK" for airfield identification, 3 gooseneck flares formaing a triangle at port downwind end of runway is use have been introduced.

Station Summary

OPERATIONS
16 aircraft of 550 Squadron were detailed to participate in a large-scale attack on LEIPZIG. 14 took off and 1 was missing. Several sorties to other airfields from this operation, one of which, Lancaster 550/J (Captain F/Lt Crawford) touched down at MANSTON after a more than eventful trip, which is recounted in the Station Narrative Report attached as appensidx "B".
The Base Commander of 13 Base, Air Commodore IVELAW-CHAPMAN OBE, DFC, AFC, attended briefing.
ORGANISATION
It has been considered advisable that bomb aimers should attend main briefing in preference to the simultaneous navigators briefing for operations as hitherto. This change has been brought into force forthwith.
Difficulties in catering for increased oxygen charge pressure (see 14 Feb.) mitigated by obtaining extra transport cylinders.
Pending installation of illuminated letters "NK" for airfield identification, 3 gooseneck flares formaing a triangle at port downwind end of runway is use have been introduced.

Aircraft Deployed			Servicemen Deployed
Aircraft Service Number	Returned or FTR	Comments	Crew Details
LM461	FTR	MISSING, NO NEWS AFTER TAKE OFF	F/Sgt J P Harrison (P) W/O J I Miller (P) Sgt R E White (F/Eng) Sgt D V H Evans (Nav) Sgt P H Hurst (A/B) Sgt G E Brown (W/Op) Sgt T K M Williams (MU/AG) Sgt F C Thomas (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 (Leipzig, 19 Feb 1944)

These details were last updated: 21 November 2024

Note

this list is still being built and will take some time to complete
what is currently displayed is believed accurate but much more is still to be added

This note describes the options currently available to produce a smaller, more manageable list and also describes planned future enhancements to the reporting facility.

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