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: Walcheren (03 Oct 1944 - 03 Oct 1944)
| Operation Summary |
| Target |
Out |
Back |
Aborted
(Y / N) |
Comments |
| Walcheren |
03 Oct 1944 |
03 Oct 1944 |
N |
17 aircraft and crews detailed to attack and destroy a sea wall which prevent the sea innundating the low lying areas on the island of Walcheren. The weather was bad, 6/10 cloud over the route and 9/10 cloud over the target. The Master Bomber brought the attack down to 4000 ft to bomb and all aircraft were able to identify visual details of the coastline, many aircraft made several runs to ensure accurate bombing. As our portion of the attack developed the wall was breached and gave way in several places and the water crashing rhough, flooding far and wide across the fields and we hope drowned the enemy defences. Good photographs were obtained. In addition to operational flying, a training programme was carried out which included five "Y" cross country exercises. The final summing up of the operations can be made with the quotation from two communiques - (1) A report brought back by two specially reporting Mosquio aircraft shows that the flooding was extensive. (2) The aircraft carrying the 12000lbs "blockbusters" and scheduled to finished off the job at the end of the attack, all brought them back undropped - they were not needed as the job had already been completed. |
| Aircraft Deployed |
Servicemen Deployed |
Aircraft Service Number |
Returned
or FTR |
Comments |
Crew Details |
JB345
|
Returned |
Primary 4,000 feet at 14.35 1/2 hours |
F/L V B Ansell (P)
Sgt G P Sythes (F/Eng)
Sgt T D Rodgers (Nav)
Sgt L Trudgian (A/B)
F/Sgt H A Elderfield (W/Op)
P/O GJ Horsfall (MU/AG)
Sgt S J H Adams (R/AG)
|
NF998
|
Returned |
Primary 2,500 feet at 14.52 1/2 hours |
F/L N L Rose (P)
Sgt K L Willis (F/Eng)
F/O R C Foote (Nav)
F/O E G Caswell (A/B)
Sgt G W Page (W/Op)
F/O J S Tointon (MU/AG)
Sgt G S Spragg (R/AG)
|
LM182
|
Returned |
Primary 4,000 feet at 14.39 1/2 hours |
|
ED905
|
Returned |
Primary 4,000 feet at 14.35 hours |
F/L D A Shaw (P)
Sgt C A Bruce (F/Eng)
Sgt S Gartland (A/B)
A L Llanwarne (W/Op)
Sgt A Buckingham (MU/AG)
Sgt E J Griffiths (R/AG)
Sgt C W Cross (Nav)
|
NG135
|
Returned |
Primary 4,000 feet at 14.34 hours |
|
PD320
|
Returned |
Primary 4,000 feet at 14.39 hours |
F/O J J W Dawson (P)
Sgt E W C Edmunds (F/Eng)
F/Sgt F W Willmer (Nav)
Sgt J M Palmer (W/Op)
Sgt J Earnshaw (MU/AG)
F/Sgt W H Harkness (R/AG)
F/Sgt R H Whitticar (A/B)
|
PD321
|
Returned |
Primary 3,200 feet at 14.37 1/2 hours |
|
PB532
|
Returned |
Primary 3,000 feet at 14.38 hours |
F/O G E Blackler (P)
Sgt W R Ross (F/Eng)
F/Sgt H P Nichols (Nav)
F/Sgt J W Bold (A/B)
F/Sgt E Mozley (W/Op)
Sgt J Nicholson (MU/AG)
Sgt M McCutcheon (R/AG)
|
LM273
|
Returned |
Primary 4,000 feet at 14.43 hours |
F/O L B Cameron (P)
P/O J R Rigby (Nav)
Sgt D Eldridge (F/Eng)
Sgt G A Sutherland (A/B)
F/Sgt J W White (W/Op)
Sgt J F Piertney (MU/AG)
Sgt F P Popple (R/AG)
|
LL831
|
Returned |
Primary 3,800 feet at 14.45 1/2 hours |
F/O D W Summons (P)
Sgt C C Jerman (F/Eng)
F/L G S Nankivell (Nav)
F/O A Benger (A/B)
F/Sgt J W Arnold (W/Op)
W/O J J Boland (MU/AG)
Sgt J F O'Halloran (R/AG)
|
LL748
|
Returned |
Primary 3,000 feet at 14.38 hours |
F/Sgt T T Savas (A/B)
F/Sgt G B Smith (P)
Sgt V J Williams (F/Eng)
Sgt M L Tretheway (Nav)
F/O W K Mills (W/Op)
Sgt C J Cassan (MU/AG)
Sgt R G Colban (R/AG)
|
ND972
|
Returned |
Primary 3,500 feet at 14.34 hours |
P/O R J Moran (Nav)
F/O H Dodds (P)
P/O A R Brown (F/Eng)
F/O L O Browning (A/B)
Sgt A Laidlaw (MU/AG)
Sgt H Lewis (R/AG)
F/Sgt W Horlor (W/Op)
|
PA995
|
Returned |
Primary 5,000 feet at 14.40 hours |
F/O W F Cox (A/B)
F/O M L Dubois (P)
Sgt H Tulip (F/Eng)
F/O J C Young (Nav)
Sgt H Wood (W/Op)
Sgt R Eves (MU/AG)
Sgt L R R Haynes (R/AG)
|
NF931
|
Returned |
Primary 3,700 feet at 14.38 hours |
S/L A P Gainsford (P)
F/O S G Kitson (F/Eng)
F/Sgt W R Williams (Nav)
F/Sgt J H F Rowe (A/B)
W/O F E Barrett (W/Op)
F/O H G Cook (MU/AG)
F/Sgt G H Davidson (R/AG)
|
NG138
|
Returned |
Primary 5,300 ft at 14.39 hours |
F/L R P Stone (P)
F/Sgt C W Sawyers (Nav)
Sgt G E White (F/Eng)
F/Sgt E W Holliday (A/B)
Sgt D E Norgrove (W/Op)
Sgt L G B Wartnaby (MU/AG)
F/Sgt F Wright (R/AG)
|
LM228
|
Returned |
Primary 4,300 ft at 14.45 1/2 hours |
F/O I A Stevenson (P)
Sgt W T Woodhams (F/Eng)
F/Sgt D T Morrison (Nav)
F/Sgt W W Fitch (A/B)
F/Sgt E N Pearson (W/Op)
F/Sgt M O Olsen (MU/AG)
Sgt C Cowperthwaite (R/AG)
|
NG120
|
Returned |
Primary 3,600 ft at 14.37 hours - Landed at Carnaby |
F/O G H Markes (P)
Sgt K J Brotherhood (F/Eng)
F/Sgt F W L Mann (Nav)
Sgt V T Wilkes (A/B)
Sgt F N M Petch (W/Op)
Sgt L G Buckell (MU/AG)
Sgt D J Driscoll (R/AG)
|
Operation/Target: Walcheren (29 Oct 1944 - 29 Oct 1944)
| Operation Summary |
| Target |
Out |
Back |
Aborted
(Y / N) |
Comments |
| Walcheren |
29 Oct 1944 |
29 Oct 1944 |
N |
30 aircraft and crews were again offered for operations, but only eight were accepted for another daylight attack on the gun enplacements off the island of WALCHEREN at Domburg. No opposition was experienced and the target was successfully bombed, and all our aircraft returned without incident. This is considered to have been the Squadrons easiest operation since its inception. In addition to operations 13 1/2 hrs flying training was carried out. |
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 |
25 |
MAX Aircraft deployed
in single operation |
17
(Walcheren, 03 Oct 1944) |
These details were last updated: 24 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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