No. 50 Squadron RAF

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Brief History

No. 50 Squadron reformed at RAF Waddington on 3 May 1937, equipped with Hawker Hind biplane light bombers. It began converting to the Handley Page Hampden monoplane medium bomber in December 1938. It was still equipped with Hampdens when the Second World War broke out, forming part of 5 Group, Bomber Command. It flew its first bombing raid on 19 Mar 1940 against the seaplane base at Hörnum on the island of Sylt. On 12 Apr 1940, in an attempt to attack German warships off Kristiansand returning from the German invasion of Norway, 50 Squadron took part in an attack on the German fleet. When 12 Hampdens of 50 and 44 Squadron spotted a German warship and attempted to attack, they lost 6 of their number to beam attacks by German fighters, with 13 officers and men from 50 Squadron dead or missing. After these losses, daylight attacks with Hampdens were abandoned.

50 Squadron continued operations by night, taking part in the RAF's strategic bombing offensive against the Germans for the remainder of 1940 and 1941. It re-equipped with Avro Manchesters from April 1942. The Manchester was disappointing, however, with unreliable engines and had a lower ceiling than the Hampden it replaced.[13] Despite these problems, 50 Squadron continued in operations, contributing 17 Manchesters to Operation Milliennium the "1,000 aircraft" raid against Cologne on 30/31 May 1942. It lost two aircraft that night, one of which piloted by Flying Officer Leslie Thomas Manser who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for pressing on with the attack after his aircraft was heavily damaged, and when a crash became inevitable, sacrificing his own life by remaining at the controls to allow the rest of his crew to parachute to safety.