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No.49 Sqn RAF Founded : 15th April 1916
Cave canem - Beware of the dog 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. |
No.49 Sqn RAF
No.49 Sqn RAF Artwork Collection |
Clipped Signature - Eric Jones. | Clipped Signature - Leslie Hay. | Clipped Signature - Robert Souter. |
Clipped Signature - Ernest Webb. | Clipped Signature - Roderick Learoyd VC. | Clipped Signature - Ken Hubbard. |
Clipped Signature - John Haskins. | Clipped Signature - Ralph Briars. | Ops On Hold by Richard Taylor. |
Home at Dawn by Nicolas Trudgian. | Handley Page Hampden by Keith Woodcock. |
Aircraft for : No.49 Sqn RAF | |||
A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by No.49 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
Squadron | Info | ||
| DH4 Full profile not yet available. | ||
Manufacturer : De Havilland | DH9 Full profile not yet available. | ||
Manufacturer : Handley Page Retired : 1942 Number Built : 1500 | Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber built for the Royal Air Force and was used by Bomber Command in the early years of world war two. Along with the other medium bombers the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane raid on Cologne. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden was known as the Flying Suitcase because of its cramped crew conditions. A total of 226 Hampdens were in service with eight Royal Air Force squadrons by the start of the Second World War. Despite its speed and agility, in operational use the Hampden was no match for the fighters of the Luftwaffe (ME109 and FW 190) and the Hampdens role as a day bomber was brief, but Hampdens continued to operate at night on bombing raids over Germany and in mine laying (code-named gardening) in the North Sea. Almost half of the Hampdens built – 714, were lost on operations, witht he loss of 1,077 crew killed and another 739 missing. German flak accounted for 108; with one Hampden being lost due to German Barrage balloons; 263 Hampdens crashed due to a variety of causes, and 214 others were classed as missing. Luftwaffe pilots claimed 128 Hampdens, shooting down 92 at night. The Hampden soon became obsolete for its roll as a medium modern bomber, after operating mainly at night, it was retired from Bomber Command service in late 1942. but continued with Coastal Command throughout 1943 as a long-range Torpedo Bomber (the Hampden TB Mk I which carried the Mk XII torpedo in an open bomb-bay and a single 500 lb (230 kg) bomb under each wing) The Hampden was also used by the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force. | ||
Manufacturer : Hawker Production Began : 1935 | Hind The Hawker Hind entered service with the Royal Air Force in November1935 and eventually 20 RAF bomber squadrons equipped with Hawker Hinds. Many Hinds were also sold to foreign customers including Afghanistan, the Irish Free State, Latvia, Persia (Iran), Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia. The Hawker Hind was gradually phased out of frontline service from 1936 onwards and replaced by the Fairey Battle and Bristol Blenheim. At the outbreak of world war two only 613 squadorn was still equipped with Hawker Hinds in the roll of Army co-operation before re-equipping the Hawker Hector in November 1939. The Hawker Hind became a training aircraft from 1938 being the next step up from basic training on Tiger Moths. In 1941, Hinds flew combat missions in their original role as light bombers. South African Hinds were employed against Italian forces in Kenya, Yugoslav Hinds were used against the Germans and Italians. | ||
Manufacturer : Avro Production Began : 1942 Retired : 1963 Number Built : 7377 | Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' Operation Gomorrah in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. | ||
Manufacturer : Avro | Lincoln Full profile not yet available. | ||
Manufacturer : Avro | Manchester Full profile not yet available. | ||
Manufacturer : Vickers | Valiant Full profile not yet available. |
Signatures for : No.49 Sqn RAF | |||||||
A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | |||||||
Name | Info | ||||||
J. Bain. DFC AE WOP/AG Click the name above to see prints signed by J. Bain. DFC AE WOP/AG
| J. Bain. DFC AE WOP/AG 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. | ||||||
Tom Bennett DFM Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Tom Bennett DFM | Tom Bennett DFM 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 Lancaster’s put a 12000 tall boy straight through the roof of the tunnel and the tunnel was not reopened until 1946. Three Mosquitoes were used on this operation and only one of the crew is surviving today. This is Tom Bennett DFM | ||||||
Geoff Brunton Click the name above to see prints signed by Geoff Brunton | Geoff Brunton 49 Squadron. | ||||||
Air Commodore Wilf Burnett DSO OBE DFC AFC Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Air Commodore Wilf Burnett DSO OBE DFC AFC
| Air Commodore Wilf Burnett DSO OBE DFC AFC 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.
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Ted Cachart Click the name above to see prints signed by Ted Cachart | Ted Cachart WOP 49 Squadron, POW and youngest (15) WOP in the RAF. | ||||||
Flt Lt Eric Clarke MiD Click the name above to see prints signed by Flt Lt Eric Clarke MiD | Flt Lt Eric Clarke MiD Weapons Operator, 49 Squadron. | ||||||
Flying Officer George Cook Click the name above to see prints signed by Flying Officer George Cook | Flying Officer George Cook 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. | ||||||
Warrant Officer Lou Crabbe Click the name above to see prints signed by Warrant Officer Lou Crabbe | Warrant Officer Lou Crabbe 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. | ||||||
Flight Lieutenant Leslie Hay Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Flight Lieutenant Leslie Hay | Flight Lieutenant Leslie Hay 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 | ||||||
Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges KCB CBE DSO DFC* Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges KCB CBE DSO DFC*
| Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges KCB CBE DSO DFC* 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.
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Group Captain Ken Hubbard, OBE DFC AFC Click the name above to see prints signed by Group Captain Ken Hubbard, OBE DFC AFC
| Group Captain Ken Hubbard, OBE DFC AFC 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. | ||||||
Flight Lieutenant Eric Jones DFC Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Flight Lieutenant Eric Jones DFC | Flight Lieutenant Eric Jones DFC 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. | ||||||
Wing Commander Roderick Learoyd VC Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Wing Commander Roderick Learoyd VC
| Wing Commander Roderick Learoyd VC 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.
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Group Captain Drane Lowe, CBE DFC AFC Click the name above to see prints signed by Group Captain Drane Lowe, CBE DFC AFC | Group Captain Drane Lowe, CBE DFC AFC 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. | ||||||
Mr. F Lowe, DFM Click the name above to see prints signed by Mr. F Lowe, DFM | Mr. F Lowe, DFM 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. | ||||||
Corporal Kenneth Lucas Click the name above to see prints signed by Corporal Kenneth Lucas
| Corporal Kenneth Lucas 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. | ||||||
Wing Commander Len Ratcliff DSO DFC Click the name above to see prints signed by Wing Commander Len Ratcliff DSO DFC | Wing Commander Len Ratcliff DSO DFC 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. | ||||||
Flight Lieutenant Robert Souter Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Flight Lieutenant Robert Souter | Flight Lieutenant Robert Souter 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. | ||||||
Flight Lieutenant Bill Townsend CGM DFM Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Flight Lieutenant Bill Townsend CGM DFM
| Flight Lieutenant Bill Townsend CGM DFM 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 ED-886 codenamed AJ â€" 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. | ||||||
Wg Cdr Peter Ward-Hunt DFC Click the name above to see prints signed by Wg Cdr Peter Ward-Hunt DFC
| Wg Cdr Peter Ward-Hunt DFC 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.
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Flight Lieutenant Ernest Webb DFC Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Flight Lieutenant Ernest Webb DFC | Flight Lieutenant Ernest Webb DFC 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. |
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