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: Stuttgart (24 Jul 1944 - 24 Jul 1944)
| Operation Summary |
| Target |
Out |
Back |
Aborted
(Y / N) |
Comments |
| Stuttgart |
24 Jul 1944 |
24 Jul 1944 |
N |
Fifteen aircraft were laid on to bomb STUTTGART, that take off being as usual without incident. All claimed to have bombed the target successfully although the city was covered by thin cloud the markers could be seen and several fires illuminated the cloud. Several vivid explosions brightened the proceedings. Flak at the target was repoted as being moderate. Several Night Fighters were seen but did not attack, two peeled off when the gunners of "F" (F/O Cann) and "T" (F/O Roche) opened fire. |
Operation/Target: Stuttgart (28 Jul 1944 - 28 Jul 1944)
| Operation Summary |
| Target |
Out |
Back |
Aborted
(Y / N) |
Comments |
| Stuttgart |
28 Jul 1944 |
28 Jul 1944 |
N |
Eighteen aircraft and crews were offered but only seventeen were accepted for operations. The crews were briefed to attack STUTTGART once again and all successfully took off without incident. All the aircraft claim to have bombed the target area and contrary to the previous raids experienced fairly heavy opposition from the ground defences, Two of our aircraft "O" P/O Jones and "T" F/O Roche failed to return from this mission, two other aircraft failed to reach Base and landed at Woodbridge and Bombrook. In the crew of "O" as Navigator was F/O Dinney who has for several weeks been acting as the Squadron Navigation Leader. |
Operation/Target: Stuttgart (19 Oct 1944 - 20 Oct 1944)
| Operation Summary |
| Target |
Out |
Back |
Aborted
(Y / N) |
Comments |
| Stuttgart |
19 Oct 1944 |
20 Oct 1944 |
N |
Twenty six aircraft with crews were offered and twenty five were accepted, plus one aircraft to act as stand-by in the Base. The crews were briefed and took off at 16.50hrs at attack STUTTGART. Twenty took off at this time and the remaining five at 21.30hrs to attack Stuttgart, in two waves. One aircraft was cancelled at the last moment and one aircraft returned early with engine trouble, so in all only 24 aircraft proceeded to the target, one of which, it is regretted, failed to return. F/L Thomas and crew, who had only been with the Squadron a short time and were on their first operational sortie. Moderately cloudy conditions were encountered en route, but over the target 9/10 thick cloud was present and sky marking had to be resorted to. Six crews found momentary gaps to bomb ground markers. Very few results could be seen, only a vague incendiary and fire glow being visible under the cloud. Flak was reported as slight to moderate with some ineffective searchlights. "A" (F/O Young) received some unpleasant attention and was well peppered by flak receiving damage in the tail plane, fuselage, flaps punctured, hydraulics and bomb container. "K" (F/O Daniels) also found Karlsruhe defences awake and received damage to the port wing, fuselage and a punctured tyre. Both aircraft landed safely at Base without casualty. All photographs show cloud and damage cannot be assessed. In additions to operational flying a training programme consisting of Air to Air firing, Air to Sea firing, practice bombing, Fighter affiliation and "Y" Night cross country exercises were carried out.
[Ed: some of the up and down times (and bomb delivery times at primary target) are wildly different (PB514, JB345, EE139, ME301) from the remainder of the aircraft. In the case of ME301 bomb delivery is only 30mins after take-off and 3 hours earlier than any other aircraft.] |
| Aircraft Deployed |
Servicemen Deployed |
Aircraft Service Number |
Returned
or FTR |
Comments |
Crew Details |
ND972
|
Returned |
Primary 15,000 feet at 20.33 1/2 hours
[Ed: the ORB lists the standard Adams crew flying this op; but Sgt Costigan log book records him as flying as MU/AG on this op.] |
|
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 |
3 |
MAX Aircraft deployed
in single operation |
1
(Stuttgart, 24 Jul 1944) |
These details were last updated: 22 April 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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