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: Bottrop (03 Feb 1945 - 03 Feb 1945)

Operation Summary
Target Out Back Aborted
(Y / N)
Comments
Bottrop 03 Feb 1945 03 Feb 1945 N The Squadron were called upon to supply 14 aircraft and crews for an attack on the Prosper Coking Plant at BOTTROP north of Essen. In contract to the previous night the weather was good but opinions waried as to whether the target was entirely cloud free but either haze or very thin cloud obscured exact ground detail. The markers were accurately placed and the bombing appear to be equally as good. There were several explosions and quite a number of fires. Ground opposition was reported as being from slight to moderate. Numerous searchlighs were active and believed to have been illuminating for fighters, where were reports as being numerous. F/O Nye and crew in "R" failed to return. It is believed that they has fallen a victim to a night fighter after crossing the battle front and were shot down in Holland. It is feared there were no survivors. F/O Cowper and "F" "pressed on" with his rear turret practically unserviceable throughout the trip. Owing to haze the photographs taken over the target were not particularly good, some of them have, however, been plotted and at least one aiming point secured.
Aircraft Deployed Servicemen Deployed
Aircraft Service Number Returned
or FTR
Comments Crew Details
NN715 Returned Primary at 16,000 ft at 19.34 1/2 hrs S/L W F Caldow (P)
F/L J Cassidy (Nav)
F/O S P George (F/Eng)
F/O D Gear (W/Op)
F/O J H Marston (R/AG)
F/O R Sloggett (A/B)
F/O S Squires (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
(Bottrop, 03 Feb 1945)

These details were last updated: 06 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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