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: Russelheim (25 Aug 1944 - 26 Aug 1944)

Operation Summary
Target Out Back Aborted
(Y / N)
Comments
Russelheim 25 Aug 1944 26 Aug 1944 N Sixteen aircraft and crews were offered and accepted for operations but were warned to stand by for a night attack. All the aircraft originally detailed took off to attack targets in RUSSELHEIM, the sixteenth being cancelled owing to the starboard outer engine being unserviceable on W5005 "N". No fewer than five new Captains were on this trip as second pilots. News was also received late in the day of the awards of the DFC to P/O Purvis for his part in the raid on 12 Aug 1944 and to F/O Dubois for his trip on the 10th Aug.
Aircraft Deployed Servicemen Deployed
Aircraft Service Number Returned
or FTR
Comments Crew Details
EE139 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.01hrs
EE193 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.12hrs W/O W H S Ansell (P)
F/Sgt G W Battersby (F/Eng)
F/O C R Cameron (Nav)
F/O I H R Hood (A/B)
Sgt A Anderson (W/Op)
Sgt E W Parker (MU/AG)
Sgt O Tabuteau (R/AG)
LL748 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.04hrs P/O P C Siddall (P)
F/O L W Hussey (P)
Sgt E Elliot (F/Eng)
F/O M DeGast (Nav)
F/O H S W Nelson (A/B)
Sgt A G Sale (MU/AG)
F/Sgt R L Holmgren (R/AG)
F/Sgt T Fairclough (W/Op)
PA991 Returned Abortive - Gee u/s. Brought all bombs back.
ED905 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.02hrs F/O R Purvis (P)
F/Sgt C Stoddard (Nav)
F/Sgt K R S Scholefield (A/B)
Sgt L W Guthrie (W/Op)
Sgt J Wright (MU/AG)
Sgt V S B Scoble (R/AG)
Sgt G L Grant (F/Eng)
LM228 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.03hrs F/L J C Lord (P)
Sgt K W C Down (F/Eng)
F/Sgt R Sebaski (Nav)
Sgt A A A Vass (A/B)
P/O J Elliott (W/Op)
Sgt A J Schomberg (MU/AG)
Sgt P J Sculley (R/AG)
F/O R A Tapsell (P)
LM182 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.04hrs F/O J J W Dawson (P)
Sgt E W C Edmunds (F/Eng)
F/Sgt F W Willmer (Nav)
F/Sgt K P Brady (A/B)
Sgt J M Palmer (W/Op)
Sgt J Earnshaw (MU/AG)
F/Sgt W H Harkness (R/AG)
LL811 Returned Primary 18,500 ft at 01.00hrs F/L R P Stone (P)
F/O L J T McCarthy (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)
Sgt L R R Haynes (R/AG)
PA995 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.02hrs F/O R G Fink (Nav)
F/L F S Steele (P)
F/O H Dodds (P)
Sgt P E Cooksey (W/Op)
Sgt A W E Walters (F/Eng)
Sgt B St. J Railton-Jones (A/B)
Sgt W G Roberts (MU/AG)
Sgt R Smith (R/AG)
LM273 Returned Primary 18,500 ft at 01.09hrs

[Ed. ORB says LM275 "O"]
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 F P Popple (MU/AG)
Sgt J F Piertney (R/AG)
ME776 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.04 1/2hrs 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)
PD221 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.00hrs 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)
F/O G S Devereau (P)
PD225 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.06 1/2hrs 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)
LL831 Returned Primary 18,000 ft at 01.04hrs F/O M A Buchanan (P)
Sgt E A Johnson (F/Eng)
F/O H B Snelgrove (Nav)
Sgt E Clarke (A/B)
P/O A E Sutton (W/Op)
Sgt L E Updike (MU/AG)
Sgt W G Beney (R/AG)
ND972 Returned Primary 16,000 ft at 01.08 1/2hrs F/O A Abrams (P)
Sgt K W Nettleton (F/Eng)
F/Sgt J W Brown (Nav)
F/Sgt R F Veness (A/B)
Sgt P L Brooker (W/Op)
Sgt A P Soper (MU/AG)
F/Sgt K R Salton (R/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 15
MAX Aircraft deployed
in single operation
15
(Russelheim, 25 Aug 1944)

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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