No. 550 Squadron

Group
No. 1 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF North Killingholme

In the database: 4 aircraft.

History

No. 550 Squadron was formed at RAF Waltham, near Grimsby, in November 1943 from a flight of No. 100 Squadron, and flew the Avro Lancaster in No. 1 Group. Early in 1944 it moved to RAF North Killingholme in Lincolnshire, from where it operated for the rest of the war.

The squadron flew some 3,500 sorties and dropped over 16,000 tons of bombs; three of its Lancasters became veterans of more than a hundred operations, among them “Phantom of the Ruhr”. In the final weeks it joined Operation Manna, dropping food to the starving population of the occupied Netherlands, before disbanding in October 1945.

Photographs

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Crew members of Lancaster PA995/BQ-V of [No. 550 Squadron](/squadrons/8/) board their aircraft at [North Killingholme](/airfields/16/) for its 100th operation on 5 March 1945. Left to right are: Sergeant J Nicolson (mid-upper gunner), Flight Sergeant Jack Bold (bomb aimer) and Sergeant M McCutcheon (rear gunner).
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH14855.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. The crew of [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mark III, ED905 'BQ-F' "Press on regardless", of [No. 550 Squadron](/squadrons/8/) RAF, pose on their aircraft after it had completed 70 operational sorties, at North Killinghome, Yorkshire. They were to fly ED905's hundredth successful sortie on 4 November 1944. The crew consisted of: captain and pilot, Flight Lieutenant D A Shaw; navigator, Sergeant R Harris; engineer, Pilot Officer C Bruce; air bomber, Flight-Sergeant A Llanwarne; mid-upper gunner, Flight-Sergeant A Buckingham; and rear gunner, Flight-Sergeant E Griffiths.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Teal W H (Cpl), No. 550 Squadron RAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH17852.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. The rear section of [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mark I, DV305 'BQ-O', [No. 550 Squadron](/squadrons/8/) RAF based at [North Killingholme](/airfields/16/), Lincolnshire, seen at Woodbridge Emergency Landing Ground, Suffolk, after the severely-damaged aircraft crash-landed there following an attack by a German night fighter over Berlin on the night of 30/31 January 1944. In the course of the attack both the rear gunner and the mid-upper gunner were killed, and the bomb-aimer baled out having misunderstood orders. The pilot, Flying Officer G A Morrison, managed to bring the crippled aircraft back without any navigation aids.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CE121.jpgView source & full licence →
The crew of [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mark III, ED905 'BQ-F' "Press on regardless", of [No. 550 Squadron](/squadrons/8/) RAF, pose on their aircraft after it had completed 70 operational sorties, at [RAF North Killingholme](/airfields/16/), Yorkshire. They were to fly ED905's hundredth successful sortie on 4 November 1944. The crew consisted of: captain and pilot, Flight Lieutenant D A Shaw; navigator, Sergeant R Harris; engineer, Pilot Officer C Bruce; air bomber, Flight-Sergeant A Llanwarne; mid-upper gunner, Flight-Sergeant A Buckingham; and rear gunner, Flight-Sergeant E Griffiths.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer : Teal W H (Cpl), No. 550 Squadron RAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:550_Squadron_Lancaster_and_crew_IWM_CH_17852.jpgView source & full licence →