No. 49 Squadron

Group
No. 5 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Fiskerton

In the database: 7 aircraft · 5 service members · 1 sortie.

History

No. 49 Squadron moved to RAF Scampton in 1938 and became the first unit to equip with the Handley Page Hampden, serving in No. 5 Group from the outbreak of war. On 12 August 1940 its Hampdens carried out a daring low-level attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, a vital German waterway; Flight Lieutenant Roderick Learoyd pressed his run home through fierce fire and was awarded the Victoria Cross — the first won by a member of Bomber Command.

The squadron briefly took the Avro Manchester in 1942 before settling on the Avro Lancaster, and early in 1943 moved to RAF Fiskerton. It flew in most of the major operations of the bomber war, among them the attack on the German rocket-research site at Peenemünde in August 1943, where it lost four of the twelve Lancasters it sent. Its badge shows a racing greyhound above the motto Cave Canem — “beware of the dog”.

Photographs

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Avro 683 Lancaster. Lancaster B Mark I, W4113 ‘GP-J’, of No. 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit based at [Winthorpe](/airfields/8585/), Nottinghamshire, in flight. W4113 was a veteran aircraft having flown on a number of raids with Nos. [49](/squadrons/30/) and [156](/squadrons/63/) Squadrons RAF in 1942 and 1943
ⓘ licence & creditStanley Devon / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Avro_683_Lancaster._CH11936.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Armourers prepare to load Hampden P1333/EA-F of [No 49 Squadron](/squadrons/30/) with 250lb general purpose (GP) bombs, [Scampton](/airfields/1/), 6 June 1940.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH263.jpgView source & full licence →
An [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) Mk III of [No. 49 Squadron](/squadrons/30/) RAF is guided to its dispersal point at [Fiskerton](/airfields/7/), Lincolnshire, after returning from a raid on Berlin, 22 November 1943. A member of the ground crew, illuminated by a lamp shining from the bomb-aimer's position, guides Avro Lancaster B Mark III, JB362 'EA-D', ("D for Donald") of No. 49 Squadron RAF to its dispersal point at Fiskerton, Lincolnshire, after returning from the greatest and most destructive raid mounted on Berlin to date (22/23 November 1943); the main weight of the raid falling in the centre and south of the city with extensive damage both to housing and to industrial premises. Warrant Officer H Blunt and his crew arrived safely back at their dispersal a few minutes before midnight on 22 November, but were shot down and killed in "D for Donald" when returning from their next visit to Berlin, Germany on 27 November 1943.
ⓘ licence & creditMiller F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guiding_Avro_Lancaster_B_Mark_III,_JB362_%27EA-D%27.pngView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Armourers fit fuzes to 250-lb GP bombs on their trolleys, prior to loading into [Handley Page Hampden](/aircraft/6/) Mark I, P1333 'EA-F', of [No. 49 Squadron](/squadrons/30/) RAF at [Scampton](/airfields/1/), Lincolnshire. P1333 crash-landed near Breda, Netherlands, on returning from a raid on Merseburg, Germany on 17 August 1940.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH254.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Leading Aircraftwoman Lilian Yule tractors [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mark III, DV238 'EA-O', of [No. 49 Squadron](/squadrons/30/) RAF to its dispersal slot at [Fiskerton](/airfields/7/), Lincolnshire. DV238 later went to [No. 44 Squadron](/squadrons/29/) RAF with whom it was lost during a raid on Berlin on 16/17 December 1944
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH13716.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. 250-lb GP bombs on trolleys are prepared by armourers, prior to loading into [Handley Page Hampden](/aircraft/6/) Mark I, P1333 'EA-F', of [No. 49 Squadron](/squadrons/30/) RAF at [Scampton](/airfields/1/), Lincolnshire. P1333 crash-landed near Breda, Netherlands, on returning from a raid on Merseburg, Germany on 17 August 1940. The Hampden parked in the distance, P1347 'EA-D', crashed in Brittany with the loss of all her crew after being hit by anti-aircraft fire over Stettin, Germany, on 4/5 September 1940.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH262.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. [Avro Lancasters](/aircraft/1/) await their crews in their dispersals at sunset, before taking off from [Scampton](/airfields/1/), Lincolnshire on a bombing raid. The nearest aircraft is a Mark I, R5751 'EA-E', of [No. 49 Squadron](/squadrons/30/) RAF, normally based at [Fiskerton](/airfields/7/), also in Lincolnshire.
ⓘ licence & creditClark N S (P/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH9134.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. A WAAF intelligence officer, Section Officer P Duncalfe, questions the pilot, Warrant Officer H Blunt (to her left), and crew of [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mark III, JB362 'EA-D', ("D for Donald") of [No. 49 Squadron](/squadrons/30/) RAF, on their return to [Fiskerton](/airfields/7/), Lincolnshire, from a bombing raid on Berlin, Germany. On their next sortie to Berlin five days later, Blunt and his crew were shot down in "D for Donald" and killed.
ⓘ licence & creditMiller (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH18658.jpgView source & full licence →