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:

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: Aulnoye (10 Apr 1944 - 11 Apr 1944)

Operation Summary
Target Out Back Aborted
(Y / N)
Comments
Aulnoye 10 Apr 1944 11 Apr 1944 N Fifteen aircraft and crew were offered for operations and were briefed to attack the marshalling yards at AULNOYE. The weather was clear over the channel and France, and at the target some thin cloud or ground haze did not prevent the PFF markers being clearly seen. The attack was well concentrated and many HE explosions were seen., Retuning to the French coast active searchlights and flak were encountered, while night fighter were also active in the area. LL747 "P" (Captain F/O J.O. Richard) had an inconclusive combat with an ME109, and strikes were seen, although no claim was made. No damage ot casualties were received by aircraft "P". All our aircraft returned safely to Base, except LL836 "E" (Captain F/Lt R.W. Picton) about which no news has been received since take off.
Aircraft Deployed Servicemen Deployed
Aircraft Service Number Returned
or FTR
Comments Crew Details
LL836 FTR Missing

[Ed: The ORB lists only six crew flying (the W/Op Sgt K P C Williams DFM not being listed. However this is an error/omission in the ORB, as the crew were lost on this op and all seven are buried in Achiet-Le-Petit Communal Cemetery (France).]
F/L W H Waycott (A/G)
F/O J J Logan (Nav)
F/L R W Picton (P)
Sgt K P C Williams (W/Op)
Sgt T H Guest (F/Eng)
F/O J F Potter (A/B)
Sgt W Essar (MU/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
(Aulnoye, 10 Apr 1944)

These details were last updated: 29 March 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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