Listed below is the information available for this servicemen who served in 550 Squadron.
Serviceman Details: The column headers should be fairly self-explanatory. The final column (Web links) contains, where given, links to other items on this web-site or indeed to external sources where further information or photographs, etc can be found.
Aircraft: When a link to a particular aircraft is given, this only indicates aircraft it is known the crewman was associated with (such as when flight logs are available or the aircraft has failed to return from an operation). It does not exclude the fact that the crewman may well have flown on other aircraft too, that is either just not documented in the currently available records or simply not known to the author. The aircraft links will take you to the operations listed for that aircraft.
Note that the vast bulk of the information available about squadron servicemen presented below concerns air-crew; almost no information is available about the men, and women, of the technical and other ground crews who played their part in making the squadron an effective fighting unit. This is a shame, given the key role they played in keeping the aircraft in the air and the men flying them able to do their job. So if you have ground-crew information do please send it in so that it too can be included in the squadron record.
Definitions of the abbreviations used are available: here.
| Serviceman Details | Aircraft | Rank | Initials (First Name) |
Last Name | Decorations | Service | Service No. | Role | Flight | Other Information | Links | FTR? | Date | Service Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sgt | M T (Melvin Tomas "Tom") |
Ditson | RCAF | R.285781 | MU/AG | - | Posted to 550 Sqdn from No. 71 Base w.e.f. 8-1-45 Sgt Ditson was injured in the shoulder (double fracure of the right scapula) after the F/O Harris crew had had an eventful trip to Pforzheim (23 Feb 1945), collapsing the undercarriage on landing at Manston. This is described in the narrative included in the Station Operational Record Book as "Station Narrative No. 11 Harris crew, Pforzheim, 23/24 Feb 1945". Following this he did not fly with the Harris crew again, before they failed to return from the Dessau raid on 07/03/1945 A book published in 2020 includes photographs of Melvin Ditson in 1950. Died in October aged 50 |
/documents/public/Lancasters-Crews/FORDHarris/index.php /documents/public/Lancasters-Crews/FORGNye/index.php http://www.airmuseum.ca/mag/0503.html https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52832661-the-harris-crew https://www.theharriscrew.com |
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LM182 LM273 NF998 |
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The details were last updated: 21 November 2024