550 Squadron Photos

P/O R Vaughan and Crew

P/O Vaughan and crew were posted to 550 Squadron from No. 11 Base w.e.f 16/06/44

• P/O R Vaughan (P)
• Sgt R W Metcalfe (F/Eng)
• P/O L C Davies (Nav)
• F/Sgt D Porter (A/B)
• Sgt T Elliott (W/Op)
• Sgt W J Watson (MU/AG)
• Sgt L D Purser (R/AG)
  

The pictures below show the crew (and ground crew, 1st photo) and various other ...

	Left To Right: TBC Picture courtesy of Joe Porter (nephew of Denis Porter (B/A))
	Back row, 4th from right(?): Denis Porter Picture courtesy of Joe Porter
	Bomber Aimers (several 550 Names, Porter, Rowe, Pindar) Denis Porter, back row Picture courtesy of Joe Porter
	Football Team Denis Porter, front row (?) Picture courtesy of Joe Porter
	ABI Course (Air Bomber Instructors??) Back row, right: Denis Porter Picture courtesy of Joe Porter

The Vaughan crew some operations in W5005 ("N" - Nan) and at least one of these with a mid-under gunner (a turret installed in an attempt to counter night-fighters attacking from below the aircraft). The following additional crew-men thus flew in this position on some operations:

• F/Lt D M Clark (Senior Gunnery Officer)

W/O Denis Porter Log Book

Flight log books and bombing records of W/O Denis Porter (Bomb Aimer) who flew with P/O Vaughan while with 550 Sqd 1943-45.

In common with many of the log books these logs mention abortive take-offs and emergency landings and live ops and other "exciting" incidents that occured on operations, and indeed on the training flights. For example LM229, 4 July 1994 "crashed on take-off" - and luckily the bomb load did not explode.

W/O Denis Porter, from Glasgow, survived the war to become a teacher and deputy Headmaster (St Mungos Academy) in Glasgow and died aged 81 on 10 June 2004.

[Thanks to Joe Porter and Ronald McEachen for information and material provided.]

Pages from W/O Denis Porter flight log Picture courtesy of Ronald McEachen

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