The Dambusters:

617 Squadron was formed in March 1943, for the specific purpose of attacking the Ruhr dams in the industrial heartland of Nazi Germany. The top secret mission was codenamed Operation Chastise, and would be carried out by volunteers from experienced aircrews.

The dams offered a problematic target – they were relatively small and strongly built. Superficial damage at the top of the dam would have little effect, and could be easily repaired. The solution, as proposed by the inventor Barnes Wallis, was to attack at low-level with a spinning, cylindrical 9,000lb bomb. Its shape and spin would make it skip along the water up to the dam, then sink to the river bed before detonating. The pressure of the water would then act on the fractures this explosion caused, hopefully resulting in a catastrophic breach. Codenamed ‘Upkeep’, this weapon would become better known as ‘the bouncing bomb’.

The problem for 617 Squadron was that ‘Upkeep’ had to be dropped at extremely low level – just 60 feet - at a precise speed and distance from the target. The squadron was equipped with the four-engined Avro Lancaster bomber, which had entered service in 1941. The aircraft was reliable, had good handling, and excellent fuel and bomb capacity. The squadron was expertly led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, a strict officer who demanded the best from everyone.

After weeks of intensive training, the raid was launched on the night of 16/17th May. Nineteen Lancasters attacked five dams. The two primary targets, the Moehne and Eder dams, were breached, and a third, the Sorpe, was damaged. Eight Lancasters were lost with all crew, an extremely high loss rate reflecting the danger of the mission. The breaching of the dams caused chaos and devastation in the Ruhr, but the damage was soon repaired. The extent to which Germany’s war industry was meaningfully disrupted is debateable. But of great significance was the effect on British moral. The RAF had daringly and brilliantly destroyed targets the Germans had thought invulnerable.

617 Squadron went on to perform several other special operations during the war, becoming an elite squadron used for precision bombing. Later in the war they used the massive Tallboy (12,000lbs) and Grandslam (22,000lbs) bombs (also Barnes Wallis inventions) to attack U-boat pens, aqueducts, and, in November 1944, in the destruction of the German battleship Tirpitz. 617 Squadron is still part of the RAF, and served in Iraq in 2003.

Aces High

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