No.49 Sqn RAF - Squadron Details

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No.49 Sqn RAF - Squadron Details - Aviation Directory

No.49 Sqn RAF

Name : No.49 Sqn RAF
Founded : 15th April 1916
Disbanded : 1st May 1965
Country : UK
Fate : Disbanded 1st May 1965
More Details :

Cave canem - Beware of the dog
Known Code Letters : , EA, XU,

49 Squadron was formed on 15th April 1916, during the First World War. In the course of the war, it flew DH4 and DH9 aircraft before disbanding in July 1919. Reformed in 1936, they flew Hind and Hampdens before war broke out in 1939. It was in a Hampden of 49 Sqn that Roderick Learoyd won the first Victoria Cross awarded to Bomber Command, when on the night of 12th August 1940, he and four other aircraft attempted to breach the heavily defended Dortmund-Ems canal. The squadron transferred to Manchesters and Lancasters, and after the war to Lincolns, before being disbanded once again on 1st August 1955. Less than a year later, on 1st May 1956, the squadron were reformed, equipped with Valiant V-Bombers of Britain's nuclear deterrent programme, but exactly nine years later, with the aircraft grounded, the squadron disbanded for the last time.

Known Service Details :
Pilot or Aircrew	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
Horace Aldridge	sgt	unknown	unknown		Hampden		P/O Henderson and crew are believed to have crashed in the sea, the victims of flak. Hampden AD739 (EA-A) P/O A.J. Henderson Pilot (Missing) F/S I.M. Fisher (Missing) Flt Sgt H. Aldridge (Missing) Wireless Operator / Air Gunner F/S K. Coney (Missing) Killed in Action
James Bain		unknown	unknown		Hampden
W. J. Baird	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4299
Ball	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4403
Batchelor	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4403
G. M. Bates	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	AD719
Tom Bennett		unknown	unknown		Lancaster
J. H. Bentley	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4403
Blower	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	AD719
R. Brames	Sergeant	unknown	22nd March 1941		Hampden	X3054	Killed in Action
A. L. Bryceson	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	X3001
J. Butterworth	Sergeant	unknown	11th February 1941		Hampden	AD719	Killed in Action
D. A. Caldwell	Sergeant	unknown	11th February 1941		Hampden	AD719	Killed in Action
Calvert	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4403
Charles Bruce Campbell	Lieutenant	8th November 1917	29th November 1917		DH4	A7704	Shot down in Aircraft DH 4 serial A7704 on 29/11/17 at Thun St Martin. Pilot Lt C.B. Campbell (Aus) and the Observer, Private First Class W.A.E. Samways were both killed. They were the first 49 Sqn operational casualties. Killed in Action
Lou Crabbe		unknown	unknown
D. A. Cruickshank	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	X3001	Killed in Action
R. I. Eastwood	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4299
R. Ellis	Sergeant	unknown	22nd March 1941		Hampden	X3054	Killed in Action
H. E. Fisher	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	X3001
John H. Green	Pilot Officer	unknown	unknown		Hampden	X3001
T. R. H. Hawkes	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4299
L. W. Homard	Sergeant	unknown	unknown		Hampden	P4299
H. Irving	Sergeant	unknown	12th January 1941		Hampden	L4045	Killed in Action
L. Jackson	Sergeant	unknown	12th January 1941		Hampden	L4045	Killed in Action
Eric Jones		unknown	unknown		Lancaster	JB421
C. J. Lyon	Sergeant	unknown	22nd March 1941		Hampden	X3054	Killed in Action
H. Newhouse	Pilot Officer	unknown	12th January 1941		Hampden	L4045	Killed in Action
P. C. Prosser	Sergeant	unknown	12th January 1941		Hampden	L4045	Killed in Action
William Alfred SAMWAYS	Airman First Class	November 1917	29th November 1917		DH4	A7704	Shot down in Aircraft DH 4 serial A7704 on 29/11/17 at Thun St Martin. Pilot Lt C.B. Campbell (Aus) and the Observer, Private First Class W.A.E. Samways were both killed. They were the first 49 Sqn operational casualties. Killed in Action
William Clifford Townsend		unknown	unknown
R. D. Wilson	Pilot Officer	unknown	22nd March 1941		Hampden	X3054	Killed in Action

Pilots and Aircrew for : No.49 Sqn RAF

A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name.

Name

Info

Aldridge, Horace
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Died : 6 / 7 / 1941

Aldridge, Horace

Bain, James
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Died : 2 / 4 / 2007

Bain, James

WOP/AG 44 & 49 Squadrons. 54 ops. Born 28th May 1919 Hamilton Ontario. Died 2nd April 2007 Lincoln, UK. Married Helen Bettie Patricia Wright on 19th September 42 in Doncaster. Initially WOP/AG from 1940 to 1942. Retrained in Sth Africa as Pilot, returned to Transport Cmd Dakotas in 1944, and left service in 1946. Started out as Sgt aircrew, won DFC as Mid Upper turret gunner in Lancaster over Brest harbour by shooting down an ME109 Early 1941. Commissioned mid 1941, ended war as Flt Lt. Tours on 49 Sqn Hampdens - 5 Grp Bomber Command as Grp Gunnery Officer - 44 Sqn Lancasters, then pilot training and 2 different Dakota Sqns of Transport Command.

Baird, W. J.
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Baird, W. J.

Sergeant W.J.Baird of No.49 Squadron was taken prisoner on February 4th 1941.

Ball,
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Ball,

Batchelor,
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Batchelor,

Bates, G. M.
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Bates, G. M.

Bennett, Tom
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Died : 9 / 1 / 2013

Bennett, Tom

Born in 1919, Tom Bennett was a specialist navigator with 30 ops with 49 Sqn Lancasters followed by selection for Leonard Cheshires elite Mosquito Marker Force within the legendary 617 Sqn. Following the D-Day landings on 5 - 6th June, there was a very great danger that the Germans would reinforce their troops with their reserves Panzer tank corp. These had been stationed at Calais due to the Germans belief that the invasion would come at that point. The only way to get the Panzer through to the Beachhead at Normandy was via the French Saumur tunnel. 617 squadron were assigned to destroy this and were led by the famous Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO DFC. He used 3 Mosquitoes as a marker force for the main 617 Bomber Force and the dropping of flares was so accurate that one of the Lancasters put a 12000 tall boy straight through the roof of the tunnel and the tunnel was not reopened until 1946. Thomas Ben Bennett was born in 1919 in Poplar. After a civilian career as a clerk he volunteered for military service in 1939. Called up in the spring of 1940, he was told that he did not qualify for pilot training as his maths was not sufficiently strong to enable him to cope with aerial navigation. Instead he would train as a wireless operator/air gunner. Tom's Morse skills were insufficient, with the result that he only qualified as an Air Gunner. Service life being what it is, he was then offered, and took, an opportunity to re-muster a navigator. (There were later to be a number of times over Germany when he wished he had taken the advice of the Wing Commander at Uxbridge). After an initial course on Ansons and Blenheims at Jurby, Isle of Man, in April 1942 he was transferred to No. 19 OTU, Kinloss, where he would team up with his pilot Gerry Fawke. His first operational posting was to No. 49 Sqn at Scampton in June 1942. He considered himself fortunate in that they had just declared Manchesters non-operational as he arrived and that the Squadron was converting to Lancasters. On an early operation to Duisburg, their aircraft was coned and only violent evasive action by Fawke saved the day. During a low level operation against Wismar in September 1942, he received a slight flesh wound from shrapnel and was admitted to RAF Hospital Rauceby Fawke and Bennett took part participated in the daylight Le Creusot attack of 24 October 1942 During that month Tom was recommended for the DFM and subsequently awarded a commission. Further trips followed, to include Berlin and targets in Italy. The crew were just about to depart on their 30th operation, against Bremen, when they were prevented from taxying out by Charles Whitworth, Scampton's Station Commander, who told them that they would not be going, and that their tour was over. Tom was then screened and posted for duties at No. 1661 CU, thence to HQ No. 5 Group at St Vincents, Grantham, before being sent to No. 1654 CU, Wigsley as an instructor. Promoted to Flying Officer in April 1944, he had just arrived on No. 83 Sqn at Wyton, a Pathfinder Squadron, when he received a phone call informing him that he was to team up with his former captain at the Mosquito Training Unit at Warboys, prior to transfer to 617 Sqn. As one of the Mosquito Marker crews Tom and Gerry Fawke were to help perfect the low level marking technique against increasingly defended targets, starting with the French rail yards of Juvisy and La Chapelle, then targeting targets in Germany, including Munich. Returning to their forward operating base at Manston after the latter trip on 24/25 April, the crew discovered to their chagrin that their markers had hung up and were still there suspended in the bomb bay.Transferring to the Lancaster for Operation Taxable, Tom was one of the key navigators responsible for perfecting the pattern of overlapping orbits and perfect timing that were vital to the operation's success. Such was Tom's desire to see recognition for ALL the Squadron's navigators that he was later to lobby Leonard Cheshire to campaign for a retrospective award, but without success. Reverting to the Mosquito and their marking role, the crew participated in the attack on the Saumur tunnel, and Le Havre. The Squadron then switched to daylight attacks on the large V-weapon sites at Watten, Wizernes, Mimoyecques and Siracourt, before again targeting U-boat pens and port facilities. During one of the latter operations, an attack on the Gueydon at Brest, after diving to low level Fawke opened fire on a vessel with the Mosquitos cannon and machine guns, prompting Tom to comment You've just killed four German sailors in LA PALLICE. Later operations also saw the crew armed with cameras to photograph proceedings, and he made the only known image of one of the Squadron s Mustangs as he used up footage filming Wg Cdr Cheshire formating on his Mosquito. With the Squadron's marker role now firmly established with No. 627 Sqn, Gerry Fawke and Tom returned to the Lancaster. Tom became Squadron Navigation Officer during August 1944, and was responsible for overseeing navigation for the first two Tirpitz operations and the attacks on West Kapelle and the Kembs dam. The latter would be Tom's final operation on the strength of 617 Sqn. Posted as Station Navigation Officer, Woodhall Spa at the end of October 1944, he was still able to keep an eye on his successor and in February 1945 flew with the Squadron on two further operations. He would later recall: I flew 62 trips, that's why I tell people I'm lucky to be alive. But I lost a lot of friends and you always remember them as they were — young men.Post war Tom remained in the RAF, serving with the RAF Delegation in Greece in 1949 and later with No. 38 Squadron, flying Lancasters on Maritime Reconnaissance in the Mediterranean. His final posting saw him as Wing Adjutant of the RAF's Initial Training School before he left the Service, as a Squadron Leader, in March 1955.

Bentley, J. H.
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Bentley, J. H.

Blower,
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Blower,

Brames, R.
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Died : 22 / 3 / 1941

Brames, R.

Brunton, Geoff
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Brunton, Geoff

49 Squadron.

Bryceson, A. L.
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Bryceson, A. L.

Burnett, Wilf
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Died : 26 / 11 / 2006

Burnett, Wilf

Canadian Wilf Burnett joined the RAF before the war and at the outbreak of hostilities was flying Hampdens. He completed his first tour of 30 operations in September 1940, flying with 49 Sqn at Scampton. His crew had bombed invasion barges in the Channel ports, mined enemy waters, operated against the Ruhr, and taken part in the first raids against Berlin. In July 1941 he was posted to 408 (Goose) Sqn RCAF, at Syerston, where one night in January 1942, returning from Hamburg, their Hampden crashed in extreme weather. Wilf was the sole survivor, and he was hospitalised. Recovering he was accepted to command 138 (Special Duties) Sqn at Tempsford who were engaged in dropping agents and supplies to the Resistance in occupied countries flying Halifaxes, later Stirlings. He died 26th November 2006.

Wilf Burnett signing the print - A Hard Lesson to Learn - by Adrian Rigby

Butterworth, J.
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Died : 11 / 2 / 1941

Butterworth, J.

Sergeant J.Butterworth of No.49 Squadron was killed on February 11th 1941. His Hampden (AD719) was shot down by an intruder and crashed near Grange Farm in Sudbrooke, Lincoln.

Cachart, Ted
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Cachart, Ted

WOP 49 Squadron, POW and youngest (15) WOP in the RAF.

Caldwell, D. A.
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Died : 11 / 2 / 1941

Caldwell, D. A.

Sergeant D.A.Caldwell was killed on February 11th 1941.His Hampden (AD719) was shot down by an intruder and crashed near Grange Farm in Sudbrooke, Lincoln.

Calvert,
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Calvert,

Campbell, Charles Bruce
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Died : 29 / 11 / 1917

Campbell, Charles Bruce

Shot down in Aircraft DH 4 serial A7704 on 29/11/17 at Thun St Martin. Pilot Lt C.B. Campbell (Aus) and the Observer, Private First Class W.A.E. Samways were both killed. They were the first 49 Sqn operational casualties.

Clarke, Eric
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Clarke, Eric

Weapons Operator, 49 Squadron.

Cook, George
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Cook, George

A WOP/AG on Hampdens with 49 Sqn, where he completed 33 Ops. He completed the 2 thousand bomber raids to Cologne and Essen. He then went out to SEAC with 205 Sqn where he completed a full tour of 1000 hours on Operations in a Catalina hunting Japanese submarines.

Crabbe, Lou
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Crabbe, Lou

Served on 49 Sqn as a Flight Engineer on Lancasters from 1944. This was the same squadron with which Wg Cdr Roderick Learoyd won his VC. He flew a total of 33 Ops including raids on Dresden, Munich and the mighty Battleship Koln.

Cruickshank, D. A.
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Died : 11 / 2 / 1941

Cruickshank, D. A.

Sergeant D.A.Cruickshank of No.49 Squadron was killed on February 11th 1941. His Hampden (X3001) was shot down by a night fighter, north of Alkmaar in Holland, where Cruickshank was then buried.

Eastwood, R. I.
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Eastwood, R. I.

Sergeant R.I.Eastwood of No.49 Squadron was taken prisoner on February 4th 1941.

Ellis, R.
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Died : 22 / 3 / 1941

Ellis, R.

Fisher, H. E.
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Fisher, H. E.

Green, John H.
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Died : 17 / 9 / 1947

Green, John H.

John Green was born in Vancouver on 30th May 1918 and was educated at Alberni District High School. Hugh Halliday reports that his father worked at Allison Logging Company, Queen Charlotte Islands. He was granted a short service commission as Acting Pilot Officers on probation on 9th October 1939 in the RAF, he was later graded as Pilot Officer on probation on 4th May 1940 and confirmed as P/O on 4th August 1940. He joined 49 Squadron on 12th October 1940 and flew his first operational flight on the night of 16th/17th October 1940. After a remarkably short period he was recommended for the DFC on 28th November 1940 which stated that.. "This Canadian officer joined his squadron on 12th October 1940, and carried out his first operation, as a First Pilot, on 16th October. On this occasion he flew through extremely difficult weather conditions and was one of four out of twelve aircraft to locate and attack enemy submarines at Bordeaux. On 20th November this officer was captain of an aircraft detailed to bomb the Skoda works in Czechoslovakia which he attacked successfully from 1,500 feet causing fires and explosions. Pilot Officer Green's work as an operational pilot has been outstanding and his enthusiasm, skill and courage have been a source of inspiration to the newly joined flying personnel in his squadron. He has completed a total of ten operational flights against the enemy during the course of which he has completed 77 hours flying as a first pilot." For service with 49 Squadron he was awarded the DFC, Gazetted on 17th January 1941. He was the pilot of Hampden X3001 when it was shot down over Holland on 11th February 1941 and became a PoW but received a promotion to F/O (war subs) on 4th May 1941 and later to F/Lt. Post-War he remained in the RAF and continued to fly. On 17th September 1947 he was flying Spitfire TP454 as part of the Battle of Britain air display over Bournemouth when the aircraft crashed into the sea. He was sadly killed and is buried at Brookwood Cemetery, and was twenty nine years old. At the time of his death he was married to Irene who lived in South Kensington, London.

Hawkes, T. R. H.
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Hawkes, T. R. H.

Sergeant T.R.H.Hawkes of No.49 Squadron was taken prisoner on February 4th 1941.

Hay, Leslie
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Hay, Leslie

Joining the Royal Air Force in May 1941, Leslie Hay was trained as a pilot in Canada. On qualifying he returned to England and eventually was posted to join No.49 Squadron, then based at Fiskerton in Lincolnshire, flying Lancasters. From there he flew his first operation on 1st August 1944, following the Normandy invasion. Leslie Hay completed a total of 36 combat operations in the Lancaster, all with No.49 Squadron, at the height of Bomber Commands offensive against Germany

Hodges, Lewis
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Died : 4 / 1 / 2007

Hodges, Lewis

Lewis Hodges flew with 49 Sqn from June 1940 until he was shot down over occupied France in Sept 1940 and taken prisoner by the Vichy French. He managed to escape and made his way back to England, rejoining 49 Sqn. He took part in the attacks against the German Channel dash operation in Feb 1942. In Nov of that year he joined 161 (Special Duties) Sqn, flying Halifaxes, Lysanders and Hudsons landing and parachuting agents into German occupied territory. Among the people he brought out of France were two future Presidents - Vincent Auriol and Francois Mitterand. He died 4th January 2007.

Homard, L. W.
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Homard, L. W.

Sergeant L.W.Homard of No.49 Squadron was taken prisoner on February 4th 1941.

Hubbard, Ken
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Died : 21 / 1 / 2004

Hubbard, Ken

On 15 May 1957 Valiant XD818 captained by Wg Cdr Ken Hubbard, OC No 49 Sqn, dropped Britain's first H-bomb at Christmas Island in the South Pacific. Awarded the DFC during WWII whilst flying Wellington bombers in Italy with No 70 Sqn, he later flew Liberators and commanded No 104 Sqn with Lancasters. He commanded RAF Scampton during the height of the V-Force build-up with the Blue Steel equipped Vulcan B2s and has flown numerous types including the Victor and Vulcan. He died 21st January 2004.

Irving, H.
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Irving, H.

Jackson, L.
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Jackson, L.

Jones, Eric
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Died : 0 / 0 / 2015

Jones, Eric

Eric Jones joined the RAF in April 1941 and trained as a pilot in Canada. Back in England he was posted to No.49 Squadron flying Lancasters, and flew his first operation on the night of 22nd August 1943. The target that night was Leverkusen. On the night of 14th January 1944 on a raid against Brunswick his aircraft shot down an Me110 nightfighter south of Hannover. He flew 12 trips to Berlin, the most heavily defended target in the Reich. Eric Jones completed a tour of 29 combat operations in the Lancaster. He was awarded the DFC. He died in early 2015. In December 2007 he was flown in a Cessna light aircraft from Bournemouth to Berlin and back - a repeat of his final mission to Berlin in January 1944. (49squadron.co.uk)

Learoyd, Roderick
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Died : 24 / 1 / 1996

Learoyd, Roderick

On the day that war was declared Rod Learoyd was on patrol flying Hampdens with 49 Sqn. Continually involved with low level bombing, on the night of 12th August 1940, he and four other aircraft attempted to breach the heavily defended Dortmund - Ems canal. Of the four other aircraft on the mission, two were destroyed and the other two were badly hit. Learoyd took his plane into the heavily defended target at only 150 feet, in full view of the searchlights, and with flak barrage all around. He managed to get his very badly damaged aircraft back to England, where he circled until daybreak when he finally landed the aircraft without inflicting more damage to it, or injuring any of his crew. For his supreme courage that night he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He later joined 44 Sqn with the first Lancasters, and then commanded 83 Sqn. He died 24th January 1996.

Citation for the Victoria Cross, gazetted 20th August 1940.

This officer, as first pilot of a Hampden aircraft, has repeatedly shown the highest conception of his duty and complete indifference to personal danger in making attacks at the lowest altitudes regardless of opposition. On the night of I2th August, 1940, he was detailed to attack a special objective on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. He had attacked this objective on a previous occasion and was well aware of the risks entailed. To achieve success it was necessary to approach from a direction well known to the enemy, through a lane of especially disposed anti-aircraft defences, and in the face of the most intense point blank fire from guns of all calibres. The reception of the preceding aircraft might well have deterred the stoutest heart, all being hit and two lost. Flight Lieutenant Learoyd nevertheless made his attack at 150 feet, his aircraft being repeatedly hit and large pieces of the main planes torn away. He was almost blinded by the glare of many searchlights at close range but pressed home this attack with the greatest resolution and skill. He subsequently brought his wrecked aircraft home and, as the landing flaps were inoperative and the undercarriage indicators out of action, waited for dawn in the vicinity of his aerodrome before landing, which he accomplished without causing injury to his crew or further damage to the aircraft. The high courage, skill and determination, which this officer has invariably displayed on many occasions in the face of the enemy, sets an example which is unsurpassed.
London Gazette, 1940.

Lowe, Drane
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Lowe, Drane

Joining the RAF in August 1935 he completed pilot training and was posted to 49 Sqn flying Hawker Hinds as a light bomber. At the outbreak of war he took part in the early bombing raids over France, flying Hampdens and then Wellingtons on missions over occupied Europe. Fully operational until mid 1941, he was then posted to OTU at Cottesmore and Finningley as an instructor. After a long and distinguished career, including a spell flying Canberras, he retired from the RAF in 1965.

Lowe, F
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Lowe, F

Joined the RAFVR in 1938 and started flying training at Kidlington. He was posted to 16 OTU, Upper Heyford in July 1940 where he completed a course on Ansons and Hampdens. Later he retrained as a staff pilot until he was posted to CTS Finningsley in November 1940, before transferring to 49 Sqdn. Scampton in December 1940. He flew a tour of 30 bombing and minelaying operations on Hampdens before returning to 16 OTU, Upper Heyford in July 1941 as instructor on Ansons and Hampdens and then as staff pilot on Air Firing Training Flights, using Hampdens, Lysanders and Wellington aircraft. On 28 July 1942, he was detailed to captain a Wellington on a thousand bomber raid on Hamburg, with a pupil crew. Although recalled due to bad weather, the trainee WOP failed to receive the signal and the aircraft was shot down by an Me110. Three crew were killed and three bailed out including the second pilot who was later one of the 50 shot after the Great Escape from Stalag Luft 3. Chatting to his twin brother (a Spitfire PRU Pilot) after the end of the war they discovered that he had taken a photograph of a Prisoner of War camp near Bremen, where he was held near to the end of the war. At that time, of course, he had no idea that he was a prisoner in the very same camp! Frank returned to the UK in May 1945 and subsequently was demobbed in January 1946.

Lucas, Kenneth
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Died : 1 / 2011

Lucas, Kenneth

Ken Lucas joined the RAF in June 1940, and trained as ground crew for bomber Command. He was sent first to 49 Squadron at RAF Scampton, before transferring to 617 Squadron upon its formation, Involved in all the major servicing of the aircraft before the raid including fitting the motors that drove the belt that spun the bomb, and attaching the critical lamps to the underside of the aircraft. Sadly, Ken Lucas passed away in January 2011.

Lyon, C. J.
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Died : 22 / 3 / 1941

Lyon, C. J.

Newhouse, H.
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Newhouse, H.

Prosser, P. C.
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Prosser, P. C.

Ratcliff, Len
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Ratcliff, Len

Len Ratcliff joined the RAFVR in early 1939 to train as a pilot. In 1941 he completed a full tour of 30 operations in Bomber Command with 49 Squadron. After a rest period he was posted to 161 (Special Duties ) Sqn as Flight Commander flying agents and supplies in and out of France, Belgium, Holland, Norway and Denmark. He then spent a period in charge of A.I.2.C at the very centre of clandestine activities in the whole of occupied Europe. He returned to 161 Squadron in 1943 as Flight Commander and later Squadron commander.

SAMWAYS, William Alfred
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Died : 29 / 11 / 1917

SAMWAYS, William Alfred

Shot down in Aircraft DH 4 serial A7704 on 29/11/17 at Thun St Martin. Pilot Lt C.B. Campbell (Aus) and the Observer, Private First Class W.A.E. Samways were both killed. They were the first 49 Sqn operational casualties.

Souter, Robert
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Souter, Robert

Robert Souter joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in February 1941, and after training was posted in 1942 to the Middle East, joining No.108 Squadron then flying Wellingtons. He first flew operationally in June of that year, in the Western Desert campaign, and the last operation of his first tour was in Nov 1942 with the battle of El Alamein. After a period with No.26 OTUWing, Robert undertook a second tour - this time flying Lancasters with No.49 Squadron, up to the end of the war. He had completed a total of 47 operations by that time. After the war he flew Dakotas and Liberators with RAF Transport Command.

Townsend, William Clifford
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Died : 0 / 4 / 1991

Townsend, William Clifford

Pilot and Captain of Lancaster AJ-O, he attacked the Ennepe Dam. Transferring to the RAF from the Army in 1941, Bill Townsend served a tour as a pilot with 49 Squadron, before joining 617 Squadron, at the time a Flight Sergeant. As part of 617 Squadron Bill Townsend flew Lancaster ED886 codenamed AJ–O for Orange in the famous dambuster raid of May 1944. Flight Sergeant Townsend flew his bomber and crew in the third wave of the famous raid. After the first two dams (Mohne and Eder) were breached, O for Orange was tasked to attack the Ennepe dam. With no anti-aircraft firing at them, they had time to do three trial runs before they released their bomb, but it failed to damage the dam. Forced to fly back at tree top level by enemy action, his Lancaster was the last to return. It limped home short of one engine. He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his courageous actions in the raid. Bill Townsend was later promoted to Flight Lieutenant. He had been a pupil at Monmouth and after the war studied at Lincoln College, Oxford. He became a business man and a civil servant after his studies. FLt/Lt Townsend passed away in April 1991 , there with a flypast by 617 Tornadoes at his cremation on the 15th April 1991.

Ward-Hunt, Peter
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Died : 7 / 12 / 2005

Ward-Hunt, Peter

Born 6th December 1916. Joined the RAF in July 1937, with No 106 Sqn flying Hampdens, moving to No.49 Sqn at the end of that year. After a period as an instructor, joined No.207 Sqn flying the Manchester. He was selected to convert others to Lancasters in May 1942, and became a flight commander of No 106 Sqn in February 1943. He died 7th December 2005.

Webb, Ernest
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Webb, Ernest

After joining the Royal Air Force in June 1941, Ernie Webb was chosen for training as a pilot. After qualifying he was posted in 1943 to join No.49 Squadron, based at Fiskerton in Lincolnshire. The squadron were by that time flying Lancasters, and heavily involved in the RAF Bomber Command offensive against the major targets in Germany. He flew a total of 30 combat operations in the Lancaster during his tour with No.49 Squadron, and later went on to serve with No.242 Squadron, RAF Transport Command. Ernest Webb was awarded the DFC.

Wilson, R. D.
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Died : 22 / 3 / 1941

Wilson, R. D.