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No. 51 Squadron Royal Air Force
No. 51 Squadron, RFC, was formed at Thetford, Norfolk, in 1916 as a Home Defence Squadron, also responsible for training pilots in night flying. Disbanded in 1919, No. 51 was re-formed on 5th March 1937 as a night-bomber squadron when 'B' Flight of No 58 Squadron at Driffield was raised to squadron status. The squadron moved to Linton-on-Ouse in April 1938 equipped with Whitley medium bombers.
Airfields No. 51 Squadron RAF flew from.
- RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire. from 3rd September 1939 to 24th Nov 1939
- RAF Kinloss, Morayshire.(Coastal Command) from 24th Nov 1939 to 9th Dec 1939
- RAF Dishforth, Yorkshire. from 9th Dec 1939 to 6th May 1942
- RAF Chivenor, Devon. (Coastal Command) from 6th May 1942 to 27th Oct 1942
- RAF Snaith, Yorkshire. from 27th Oct 1942 to 20th Apr 1945
- RAF Leconfield, Yorkshire. from 20th Apr 1945
3rd Sep 1939 Night Ops On the first night of the war 3rd/4th September 1939 three of No.40 Squadron's Whitleys were part of the first 'Nickel' or leaflet raid over Germany.
3rd Sep 1939 Night Ops
28th Oct 1939 51 Squadron Whitley lost
24th Nov 1939 Coastal Command
9th Dec 1939 Move
20th March 1940 Aircraft Lost
5th April 1940 Aircraft Lost
23rd April 1940 Aircraft Lost
12th May 1940 18 Squadron Blenheim lost
12th May 1940 Bombing Raid on Germany
12th May 1940 First bomber raid on Germany
18th May 1940 Aircraft Lost
21st May 1940 Bomber lost
22nd May 1940 Aircraft Lost
22nd May 1940 Bomber lost: crew safe
10th June 1940 RAF resources in Egypt
12th June 1940 First attack on Italy
12th June 1940 Operation Haddock
11th July 1940 Raid
10th February 1941 Operation Colossus
3rd April 1941 Friendly fire incident
7th April 1941 Aircraft Lost
24th Apr 1941 Aircraft Lost
6th May 1941 Postings
9th May 1941 Aircraft Lost
8th Jun 1941 Aircraft Lost
16th Jun 1941 Aircraft Lost
19th Jun 1941 Aircraft Lost
22nd Jun 1941 Aircraft Lost
4th Jul 1941 Aircraft Lost
19th Jul 1941 Aircraft Lost
6th Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
14th Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
18th Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
24th Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
25th Aug 1941 51 Squadron Whitley lost
7th September 1941 Aircraft Lost
15th Sep 1941 Aircraft Lost
29th Sep 1941 Aircraft Lost
22nd Oct 1941 Aircraft Lost
24th Oct 1941 Aircraft Lost
31st Oct 1941 Aircraft Lost
7th November 1941 Aircraft Lost
8th Nov 1941 Aircraft Lost
15th Jan 1942 Aircraft Lost
17th Jan 1942 Aircraft Lost
28th Feb 1942 Raid
6th May 1942 Coastal Command
31st May 1942 Postings and Awards
27th Oct 1942 Back to Bomber Command with New aircraft
28th Jan 1943 51 Squadron Halifax lost
24th May 1943 Aircraft Lost
26th May 1943 51 Squadron Halifax lost
19th June 1943 Explosion
24th Jul 1943 Aircraft Lost
26th Jul 1943 Night Operations
3rd Oct 1943 Aircraft Lost
21st Nov 1943 Aircraft Lost
14th Jan 1944 Detachment
21st Jan 1944 Ops
22nd January 1944 51 Squadron Halifax lost
30th Mar 1944 Aircraft Lost
18th Apr 1944 Halifax bombers in mid-air collision
6th June 1944 Ops
30th June 1944 Aircraft Lost
11th Sep 1944 51 Squadron Halifax lost
5th Jan 1945 Bomber Command
5th January 1945 Ops
6th Jan 1945 51 Squadron Halifax lost
6th Jan 1945 51 Squadron Halifax lost
14th Jan 1945 Aircraft Lost
21st Mar 1945 51 Squadron Halifax lost
20th April 1945 Ops
7th May 1945
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Logbooks
Do you have a WW2 Flying Log Book in your possession?
If so it would be a huge help if you could add logbook entries to our new database. Thank you.
View Logbook entries
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Those known to have served with No. 51 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Booth DFM. George Gerard. W/O.
- Brown Alfred. Sgt. (d.26th May 1943)
- Brown John Raymond. Sgt.Pilot (d.30th Oct 1940)
- Burgum Robert Edward. Sgt. (d.28th April 1944)
- Busby Stanley. Sgt. (d.26th May 1943)
- Chambers William John. Sgt. (d.26th May 1943)
- Colley Ronald Jack. Sgt. (d.24th Feb 1944)
- Coome Stan. Sgt.
- Cope Eric. Flt Sgt.
- Crowe Kenneth.
- Davies William Price. Sgt. (d.26th May 1943)
- Emlyn-Jones .
- Fairclough Mervyn James. F/Sgt.
- Farmer Daniel Gilfillan. Flt.Sgt. (d.4th April 1941)
- Flanagan John. LAC. (d.1st Sep 1940)
- Glassman David. Sgt. (d.11th Jun 1943 )
- Gray Robert. F/O
- Groves Harold Arthur.
- Groves Harold Arthur.
- Hampson Royston Percy. P/O. (d.21st July 1945)
- Hayward William. F/O.
- Hebblethwaite DFC & Bar. Arthur. Flt Lt.
- Howse Derek. F/O. (d.26th Jun 1943)
- Jackson MBE, DFM. Roy. LAC.
- James DFM. William Birdsall. W/O (d.10th Nov 1944)
- Jefferis Douglas John Frederick. Flight Sergeant (d.16th June 1941)
- Judd Errol Ernest. W/O
- Keen CGM, DFM. Geoffrey Frank. Sqn Ldr.
- Keen CGM, DFM. Geoffrey Frank. Sqdn.Ldr.
- Kinerman Edward Frederick. Sgt. (d.13th May 1943)
- King MID Danny. F/O
- Lane DFC Gerald Arthur. Wing Commander
- Leach Alan. P/O (d.5th Jan 1945)
- Leach Alan. P/O (d.5th Jan 1945)
- Leithead DFM. Thomas. F/Lt. (d.26th Feb 1944)
- MacPhedran James Cumming. F/Sgt. (d.26th May 1943)
- Maine Reginald. Sgt.
- Matthews Wilf.
- McLaughlin Thomas. Sergeant (d.24th July 1943)
- Milliken Douglas Wilson. WO II (d.4th Dec 1943)
- Myers Stanley George. Sgt. (d.18th Apr 1944)
- Myers Stanley George. Sgt. (d.18th April 1944)
- Neve DFC. James Arthur. Flt.Lt.
- Norton Douglas Sidney Joseph. W/O. (d.13th March 1945)
- Pawell Joe. F/Lt.
- Peterson DFC, CdG. Malcolm Albert.
- Pope DFC. Percy William S. Sqd.Ldr.
- Popplewell Ernest Malcolm. F/O. (d.16th January 1945)
- Ramsay Harold.
- Reid Willaim. Sgt. (d.26th July 1943)
- Richardson Christopher Arthur. Sgt. (d.26th May 1943)
- Rigby John Edward. PO (d.24th May 1943)
- Ryan James Charles. AC1 (d.31st May 1940)
- Thomas DFC Albert Edward. P/O.
- Thompson Charles Harold. WO.
- Thompson DFC. Donald William. F/Lt.
- Thompson Norman. Sgt. (d.27th April 1943)
- Thomsett Donald. Sgt
- Thomsett Donald Edward. F/Sgt
- Walton MiD. John Watson. Sgt.
- Watson DFC. Dennis Arthur. P/O.
- White Reginald James. Sgt. (d.16th Jan 1942)
- Worden Arthur Cephas. F/Sgt. (d.26th May 1943)
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of No. 51 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.
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Want to know more about No. 51 Squadron Royal Air Force? There are:2075 items tagged No. 51 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Sergeant Thomas "Tommy" McLaughlin 51st Squadron (d.24th July 1943) My wife's uncle, Tommy McLaughlin, was shot down in a raid on Hamburg
in a Halifax over Denmark in 1943. All of the crew perished (he was
the navigator). His grave is properly recorded at Aabenraa, but we
have recently come across a photograph on the internet of a memorial
stone, marking the crash site, inscribed with the crew's names
together with a short account of the shooting down and crash at
Hestehave, near Sonderborg, Denmark.
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F/O. Derek Howse 51 Squadron (d.26th Jun 1943)    I again visited the graves of the crew of a Halifax - JD261 - that was lost on a raid on Gelsenkirchen and put a British Legion cross on all crew man's graves of this aircraft that included my wife's uncle, Flying Officer Derek Howse.
I am of Dutch birth and married the niece of D G Howse. My father was in the Dutch Resistance and so I have been brought up on the history of this conflict that affected my family too.
The attached photo is of some crew members, one on the extreme right being D G Howse. One can not fail to be moved by the smiles of young and brave men standing by their aircraft.
If there are any family members of these men reading this, then I hope that they might care to identify who the others in the photo are, please.
133877 Flying Officer Derek Howse served as an Air Bomber with the 51st Squadron Royal Air Force during WW2 and was killed, age 22, on the night of 25/26th June 1943. He is buried in Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery. Derek was the Son of George Henry Howse, and of Mary Howse, of Harborne, Warwickshire.
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Harold Arthur Groves 51 Squadron I am trying to trace any information about my father, Harold Arthur Groves, who was based at Snaith with 51 Squadron during the 39-45 conflict. I would be most grateful if anyone could furnish me with information as I seem to be drawing a blank. My father never spoke to me about what he did in the war as most airmen did, so it is very difficult to gain such information. Do any of you have any history or photos of Snaith or any records of raids etc? He once told me he was based in the Faroe islands for a short time with the Short Sunderland flying boats, that is all I know of his exploits.
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Harold Arthur Groves 51 Squadron I am trying to trace any information about my father, Harold Arthur Groves, who was based at Snaith with 51 Squadron during the 39-45 conflict. I would be most grateful if anyone could furnish me with information as I seem to be drawing a blank. My father never spoke to me about what he did in the war as most airmen did, so it is very difficult to gain such information. Do any of you have any history or photos of Snaith or any records of raids etc? He once told me he was based in the Faroe islands for a short time with the Short Sunderland flying boats, that is all I know of his exploits.
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P/O. Albert Edward Thomas DFC 51 Squadron Albert Thomas was awarded the DFC while serving with 51 Squadron as an Air Gunner (13th of May 1943).
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F/O. William Hayward No. 11 Squadron William Hayward served as an engineer in No. 11 Squadron and No. 51 Squadron.
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Malcolm Albert Peterson DFC, CdG. No. 138 Squadron I know so little about my father Malcolm Peterson's war record. I have his log books and I know he trained to be a pilot in Blenheim NZ before travelling via Canada to Britain where he first joined 51 Squadron in Sept 1941, during which time he flew on bombing ops over Europe. Following that he joined No. 138 Squadron in January 1942, and this is where the information becomes sketchy because his logbook states 'ops as ordered', rather than mentioning towns which were bombed as happened during the time with 51 Squadron. I think this is when he was with SOE flying out of RAF Stradishall.
From July 1942 there was a stint at No. 10 OTU Abingdon followed by one at No.24 OTU Honeybourne, and on 14th February 1943 a crash at RAF Greenham Common, where the aircraft was totally destroyed. There were no injuries sustained by the crew, but my father was very badly injured and out of the war for 10 months. He recuperated at Stretton Hall, Staffordshire where he met my mother who was a nurse there. There seems to have been a long period of training when my father returned to the war, and finally he joined No. 692 Squadron in Feb 1945.
He was awarded the DFC and also the Croix de Geurre avec palme for his war efforts.
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Sgt. Stanley George Myers 51 Squadron (d.18th April 1944) My Uncle Stanley Myers was mid-upper gunner on Halifax Mk III HX350 call sign MH-Y. The aircraft was shot down on the night of 18th of April 1944 in a raid on the rail yards of Tergnier in Northern France by a nightfighter flown by Hauptman Josef Krahforst. All 7 crew were killed. The aircraft crashed near to a small village called Davenescourt and the next morning a small boy called Paul Mercier, who had heard the crash, went to the site, dodged the German guards and removed a small plaque from a part of the wreckage.
My family and I visited the grave, in the Municipal Cemetery at Davenescourt in 1961. I was 11 years old. Paul Mercier, by now Clerk to the Mayor of Montdidier, found out we were there and came to meet us.
He gave the plaque to my father and it has now passed to me.
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F/Lt. Donald William Thompson DFC. B Flight 51 Squadron My father Donald Thompson was called up May 1941 and after initial flight training was sent to Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada and then onto Basic flying training school at Terrell Field, Texas.
By April 1943 he was a qualified pilot and posted to 51 Squadron.
Here he carried out 27 missions in his Halifax MK2. One of the scariest moments was on the night of 12th/13th of May 1943 flying Halifax DT637 he was returning from a raid on Duisburg when, with poor visibility, the crew were diverted to Riccall airfield.
With a port engine leaking glycolgone and out of action, and running out of fuel, they landed and over shot the runway into a ditch. The Halifax was badly damaged, but the good news was that all of the crew survived.
He was later awarded a DFC for services to 51 squadron and promoted to F/O and later in August 1945 to Flight Lieutenant.
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Harold Ramsay 51 Squadron Harold Ramsay served with Bomber Command in 51 Squadron The survivors of this brutal offensive all suffered terribly all their scarred long days. My Dad was a beautiful creature, a teacher who held all life precious. The terrible treatment of these young, all ways the brightest, is shameful. Only the dead are honoured with monuments in GB, they have waited until all are dead.. my Dad died in 2011. Thank the heavens he missed the pompous revolting ceremonies. These men were silenced. An enormous part of history is lost. Only top brass and posh appointed heroes have appeared in all the docs. The movie A matter of life and death, says more than they ever were allowed to.. alone and dealing with trauma. We have a very bent history.. the propaganda burns brighter than ever. These men were forced by law to do this unforgiveable damage.. today's mercenary boys get called heroes.. which scars them. Where are there men brave enough to tell the truth? Keeping cautionary truths away from those who are to be scarred for life is a criminal sociopathic process.. and should cease, end now.
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