No. 550 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Formed at

RAF Waltham Royal Air Force Grimsby or more simply RAF Grimsby is a former Royal Air Force station located near Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. The site was operational during the Second World War as part of RAF Bomber Command initially as a satellite stat ...

on 25 November 1943, 550 Squadron flew

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

bombers as part of

No. 1 Group RAF No. 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in RAF Air Command. Today, the group is referred to as the Air Combat Group, as it controls the RAF's combat fast-jet aircraft and has airfields in the UK, as well as RAF Sup ...

. In early 1944, the squadron was moved to

RAF North Killingholme Royal Air Force North Killingholme or more simply RAF North Killingholme is a former Royal Air Force station located immediately west of the village of North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire, England. The airfield was extensively used during ...

, Lincolnshire where it continued operations until May 1945, when it began dropping food over the Netherlands as a relief effort as part of

Operation Manna Operation Manna was the codeword for a World War II, Second World War operation by the British and Greek forces in Greece in mid-October 1944, following the gradual withdrawal of the Axis Occupation of Greece, German occupying forces from the c ...

. The squadron was disbanded on 31 October 1945. Today, a surviving Lancaster bomber continues to fly in the markings of BQ-B "Phantom of the Ruhr" EE139 from 550 squadron as part of the

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events c ...

History

Operation Banquet

Before standing up as an operational bomber unit 550 Squadron was allocated to the

Air Fighting Development Unit The Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) was an air technical intelligence part of the Royal Air Force which developed tactics and tested captured enemy aircraft. It was based at Royal Air Force Stations Northolt, Duxford and Wittering. The AF ...

under 'Operation Banquet' anti-invasion plans.

Formation at RAF Waltham

550 Squadron Lancaster and crew IWM CH 17852

No. 550 squadron was formed at

(near

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

on 25 November 1943 from 'C' Flight of 100 Squadron. Equipped with

s, they began operating in the same month, as part of

. The squadron's commanding officer, until 17 May 1944, was Wing Commander James Johnson Bennett. The squadron motto was "Per Ignem Vincimus", ( la, through fire we conquer). From RAF Waltham, 550 Squadron attacked seven times, and also took part in raids on Leipzig and Frankfurt.Official History
Retrieved 6 June 2019 On 26/27 November 1943, 8 of their Lancasters were dispatched to make bombing runs over

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

; 7 succeeded, and one failed to return.

RAF Killinghome

On 3 January 1944 the squadron was moved to

, Lincolnshire, where it continued operations. 550 flew their first mission from North Killingholme on 14 January 1944: eleven Lancasters participated in a raid on Brunswick. 550 grew in size to two flights and later to three. 550 Squadron became one of the most efficient squadrons in Bomber Command, on a number of occasions reaching the top of the

Group bombing league table. Losses were relatively low, as was the rate of aborted missions, a good indication of high morale. Oorlogsmonument RAF 550 Rhenen

From January 44 until 26 May 1945 the squadron adjutant was Christopher Walter Waitt, who had served with the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in WW1 and had been awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

. A notable member was wireless operator F/Sgt Brian Todd, who flew 14 sorties in early 1944 with A Flight Commander S/Ldr Peter Nicholas. He later became a famous comedian as

Bob Todd Brian Todd (15 December 1921 – 21 October 1992), known professionally as Bob Todd, was an English comedy actor, mostly known for appearing as a straight man in the sketch shows of Benny Hill and Spike Milligan. For many years, he lived in T ...

, playing the slapstick sidekick to Benny Hill. On 5 June 1944, 550 Squadron participated in the D-Day landings; their Lancaster LL811 J-Jig "Bad Penny II" was credited with dropping the first string of bombs at 11.34pm. On 25 April 1945, 550 Squadron flew their last combat mission of the war: 23 Lancasters participated in the

Bombing of Obersalzberg The bombing of Obersalzberg was an air raid carried out by the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command on 25 April 1945 during the last days of World War II in Europe. The operation targeted Obersalzberg, a complex of residences and bunkers in Bavaria ...

. During the course of the war, 550 Squadron completed 3,582 operational sorties with the Lancaster, losing 59 aircraft. The squadron dropped 16,195 tons of bombs. Three of 550 Squadron's Lancaster bombers succeeded in flying more than 100 combat missions, BQ-F "Press on Regardless" ED905, BQ-V 'The Vulture Strikes' PA995, and—the best-known—BQ-B "Phantom of the Ruhr" EE139, which flew 121 missions. 550 Squadron dropped food over the Netherlands as a relief effort as part of 29 April – 7 May 1945

After the war

Lancaster pa474 of the bbmf at kemble arp

Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945. North Killingholme closed and 550 Squadron was disbanded on 31 October 1945, the same day that . Today, the

Lancaster is painted in the colours of BQ-B "Phantom of the Ruhr" EE139.

Aircraft operated

Notable aircraft

Three of the Lancasters that flew with 550 Squadron managed to fly one hundred operations or more, and another nearly did:

Squadron bases

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

History of No.'s 541–598 Squadrons at RAF Web

550 Squadron and North Killingholme Association Official website

550 Squadron Association

Senior officers of 550 Squadron
Retrieved 5 June 2019

Retrieved 7 June 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:No. 550 Squadron Raf Bomber squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II 550 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946