Dinghy Young

In the 1955 film The Dam Busters, Young was portrayed by Richard Leech.

On the night of the 16/17 May 1943, the raid took place. Young flew Avro Lancaster ED877/G AJ-A (code-named "A-Apple"). The other crew were Flight Sergeant Charles Walpole Roberts (Navigator), Flying Officer Vincent Sandford MacCausland (Bomb Aimer), Sergeant David Taylor Horsfall (Flight Engineer), Sergeant Lawrence William Nichols (Wireless Operator), Sergeant Gordon Arthur Yeo (Front Gunner) and Sergeant Wilfred Ibbotson (Rear Gunner). A-Apple flew as part of the first wave which attacked the Möhne Dam. Young was second in command of the raid, which was led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson flying G-George.

Young married an old family friend, Priscilla Rawson, in 1942 while he was in Washington. He had previously met Priscilla during his time at Kent College. She remained in the United States when he returned to the United Kingdom.

After serving in a training unit, Young was promoted to squadron leader and, in September 1941, began a tour with 104 Squadron, flying Vickers Wellingtons. He served in Egypt and Malta and, on completing his tour of duty, received a Bar to his DFC. In July 1942, he was sent to Washington, D.C. to serve as part of the RAF Delegation. Upon his return to the United Kingdom, he began training to fly the Avro Lancaster with a new crew. They all joined 57 Squadron in March 1943, where Young became a flight commander.

Young qualified as a pilot as a member of the Oxford University Air Squadron, although the officer who trained him described him as "not a natural pilot". He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1938. After the outbreak of war in 1939, he began operational training. In June 1940, he joined No. 102 Squadron RAF, flying Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers. It was during this tour that he twice had to ditch his aircraft and take to a dinghy. The first occasion was on 7 October, when he was flying on a convoy escort mission over the Atlantic from a base in Northern Ireland. Young was forced to ditch his aircraft because of engine failure and the crew spent 22 hours in an inflatable dinghy before being rescued. The second occasion was in the English Channel, south of Plymouth. Young completed his tour in February 1941 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).

Young was born in Belgravia, London, to Henry George Melvin Young, a British solicitor, and Fannie Rowan Young. He was educated at Amesbury School in Hindhead, Westminster School class of 1933, Kent School in Kent, Connecticut class of 1932, and Trinity College, Oxford, where he was part of the winning crew of the 1938 Boat Race.

Squadron Leader Henry Melvin "Dinghy" Young, DFC & Bar (20 May 1915 – 17 May 1943) was a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War.