The true story of World War Two’s Dambusters raid

In May 1943, a specially formed RAF squadron embarked on a bold moonlight mission, but its success cost a great deal. In 1976, the BBC spoke to one of the aviators who sent it home alive.

Throughout April 1943, Jack Buckley practiced low-level night flight and navigation on secret missions as part of the Royal Air Force 617 Squadron. The security of Operation Chastise is so strict that the rushed squadron (comprised of 133 airmen from the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) did not know what they were actually training for.

“But there was no one near the truth,” Buckley recalled to the BBC in 1976 when he was interviewed at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. “Someone had a bright idea that we might be dropping tanks in the desert, and there were other distant ideas. [such as] I’m against Tirpitz [German battleship]”In the end, the 617 Sentai became known by the bold and dangerous mission they were about to embark on: the Dambusters.

On May 16, 1943, at 21:28 this week 82 years ago, the first bombers of 19 specially modified Lancaster bombers, intended to cripple the Third Reich war machinery, took off. Their targets were three giant dams, Edder and Solpe, Mehne, from the Ruhr region, the German military industrial heartland.

The dam provided water and hydroelectric power to surrounding German factories, which were producing armaments. When the dam was destroyed, the resulting flood was thought to cause devastating damage to the production and morale of the Nazi war. Plans to attack the dams were raised early in the war, but the task was deemed impossible given that the flight routes were significantly defensive and that at the time the planes were unable to carry bombs large enough to destroy them. However, the aircraft took off in May 1943 carried a powerful new weapon: a bouncing bomb.

The codename upkeep, a dedicated explosive, was invented by aircraft engineer Dr. Burns Wallis. Wallis realized that if it explodes in the right place underwater near the base of the dam, a small bomb could have the necessary effects. He designed a barrel-shaped bomb that could cross the surface, just like he would do when the stone was skimmed. This allowed explosives to bypass a protective underwater network located around the dam to prevent torpedoes.

However, for the bomb to work, it had to be dropped from its exact altitude and proper speed. The plane must fly low across the water at a height of just 60 feet (18m) and a speed of 232mph (373kmh). This will bounce back until the bomb hits the dam, causing the backspin to run down the side of the dam, reaching 30 feet (9m) deep and explode. Wallis modeled this trajectory by scooping marble across a water-filled tub in his backyard.

The weapon was still too big to fit in Lancaster’s Bomb Bay, so we had to change the aircraft so that the bomb could be carried downwards and remove much of the plane’s armor.

The 617 squadron bombers set out for three waves, each targeting a different dam. Buckley was in the first wave of nine planes led by the squadron’s 24-year-old Wing Commander Guy Gibson. As the rear gunner of a bomber piloted by Dave Shannon, Buckley told the BBC he remembers that he “rejoices us on the way” when the plane took off the runway. “We set up a course on the enemy coast. It was a full moon, it was almost like daylight,” he said.

Dangerous missions required exceptional flight skills and precision navigation. To avoid radar, Lancaster had to fly at low altitudes on flight routes where the anti-aircraft guns were woven into known locations. At least three planes were shot down when they were off route, but the other two planes crashed because they flew low enough to crash into a high-voltage power line.

The Lancaster in Buckley was one of those that reached the rendezvous at a 2,000-foot (650m) Maine Dam. Gibson decided to bomb, but the others were waiting for a chance. The Möhne approach was particularly dangerous. Surrounded by woody hills, the crew were exposed to interference from the gunners in the tower as they fell low across the water. As for the turn of Buckley’s bombers, four other Lancasters have already dropped the bombs, and one plane crashed after being attacked by enemy fire and a bounce-back bomb explosion. But Möhne Dam was still standing.

Lancaster’s altimeter was not accurate enough, so spotlights were placed on both ends of the aircraft and told the airline when the airline reached the correct height. “We swung, we had to be exactly 60 feet. We spotlighted the aircraft’s nose, spotlighted the tail, and they converged at just 60 feet,” Buckley said. “It was fifth place [pilot David] Maltbee, well, he dropped his weapon well. We were just running, so Gibson called us – the dam was gone. ”

When the dam exploded, a 30-foot (10m) wave of floodwater spiked through the gun, sweeping through the gun, clearing all of its path. However, Buckley couldn’t get the time to enjoy his sense of relief, as Gibson ordered himself, [and planes piloted by] Henry Maudrey and Les Knight will go to Edderdam with him.”

The Aederdam was not protected by anti-aircraft guns, but the short approach that began with a sudden dive made it an even more challenging target. “Well, we had to go down a very steep hill, flatten it, get the spotlight, get the exact height and get the full boost to get the other side up to get out of the valley. It’s very difficult,” Buckley said. “In the end, there were five runs before they actually attacked and successfully hit the dam itself, which caused the violation.”

The Knight’s plane followed Buckley’s plane. Another bouncing bomb struck Edder and collapsed, pouring a million tonnes of water into West Ruhr Valley. Only two Lancasters were able to reach Sorpe’s third target. And because the dam was made up of thousands of tons of earth-covered concrete, it was able to withstand bombs and suffered only partial damage.

The damage caused by the attack was extensive, with 330 million tonnes of floodwater spreading to about 50 miles (80km). 12 war production plants and two power plants were destroyed, and more scores were damaged. The mine was flooded and all bridges, 30 miles (48km) from under the torn Morne Dam, were wiped out. Thousands of acres of farmland became marshes and livestock died in the sea where livestock erupted.

However, there was also a wealth of human costs. Estimates vary, but between 1,200 and 1,600 people died, most of whom were civilians. The victims included 749 prisoners of war, many of whom enslaved female workers from Poland, Russia and Ukrainian. They were based in a camp just below Aederdam and had died in the flood. Of the 19 Lancaster bombers who left that day, eight were damaged or fired down. Of the 133 landlocked ships, 53 were killed. Three other people were captured and taken prisoner.

George ‘Johnny’ Johnson, part of the formation that attacked Sorpe Dam, told the BBC’s Hard Talc in 2018 that he recalled the bomb’s inventors’ devastation when they heard of the deaths in air jurisdiction. “Barnes Wallis shed tears and said, “I killed all those young men. I’ll never do that again.” ”

Johnson told BBC Witness History in the same year: “We still felt we had to make the most of our capabilities, but it made us realize how much the war has had to affect the number of non-combatants, civilians and people killed.”

The long-term strategic impact of Dambusters Raid is still hotly debated. In the aftermath of the attack, Hitler dispatched an army of forced labor to repair the damage, and war production in Ruhr Valley resumed within a few months. The dam was rebuilt in just five months, and enslaved workers worked all night long. Hitler youth, German troops and prisoners appeared to repair bridges and factories. Even the power loss in the region lasted only two weeks. However, the raid meant that Hitler was forced to commit a large amount of talent and money to reconstruction efforts, diverting the resources he may have made to his army fighting on the Eastern Front, and reinforcing the Nazi coastal defenses against European Allied invasions.

Surviving Airmen of the 617 Squadron were praised as heroes on their return, and the attack took place. Front Page News. It will be immortalized later 1955 movie Starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, the Dam Basterds, along with the surge of themes, helped solidify the attack with British national lore.

Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross, with 33 airlines involved being honored for their roles in the raids, and both Johnson and Buckley were awarded the well-known flying cross. Gibson died a year later when his plane crashed on his way back from a German mission. Of the 133 people who took part in the attack, 48 men will live to see the end of the war.

“After the debriefing, we went to the confusion, ate food, then started a great party,” Buckley told the BBC in 1976. It was a raucous celebration that lasted for two days. Despite the sudden loss of many of his comrades, there was no time to properly lament them before the survivors returned to flight. “Well, this was something we were used to during the war, so we couldn’t do it. We drank their health.

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