Commemorating the Dambusters: Operation Chastise 80th Anniversary

On the night of the 16th May 1943, 19 Lancaster bombers took off from Lincolnshire. Their targets were three dams in the industrial heart of Germany. 80 years on, The Dambusters raid is remembered as one of the most audacious, innovative, and courageous operations of the war. 

What was the Dambusters raid? 

The Dambusters raid was the brainchild of engineer and inventor Barnes Wallis. Wallis initially worked for Vickers, designing airships, aircraft, and bombs during the war. 

The dams in the Ruhr Valley – the industrial heartland of Germany – had long been viewed as important strategic targets for hydroelectric power, steel works, factories and for providing water to the industrial cities of the Ruhr. 

The dams were incredibly difficult to attack. They were well-defended and hard to hit with traditional bombing methods. In theory, they could be breached by charges placed against the dam walls under the water, but the Germans had already installed heavy torpedo nets to guard against a submerged attack. 

It was Barnes Wallis who hit upon the idea of ‘bouncing’ a bomb over the torpedo nets. 

After experimenting with marbles and a water tank, he proposed his idea: a specially designed bomb that would spin as it was released, causing it to skip along the water, over the defences until it met the dam wall. It would then sink before detonating, creating a breach in the dam wall. Water pressure and gravity would then do the rest. 

The new bomb, codenamed Upkeep, underwent testing, including the demolition of Nant-y-Gro Dam in Wales. Specially modified Avro Lancaster bombers were designed to carry the bombs, and the targets of the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams were selected. 

All that was needed now were the crews that would carry out the operation. 

Who were the Dambusters? 

The Dambusters raid - officially known as Operation Chastise - was the task of No. 5 Group RAF, who formed a new squadron for the operation. 617 Squadron was formed, under the command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson. 

At just 24 years old, Gibson was already an accomplished pilot and a veteran of more than 170 missions, dating back to the beginning of the war. 

The rest of the crews would be selected from the 5 Group squadrons. 

21 crews were selected, and the squadron was based at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. There was a large Commonwealth contingent, including airmen from the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. 

The new squadron went through intensive training. The parameters of the mission were incredibly complex, with the crew instructed to fly at specific speeds and altitudes as they approached the dams, requiring immense skill and precision.

These preparations were incredibly important, highlighting vital issues that needed to be addressed for the mission to be a success. The usual barometric altimeters were not accurate enough for the precise level of flight required, so a cunning solution was required. 

Spotlights were mounted to the bottom of the Lancasters, angled so that when their beams intersected on the surface of the water, the crews would know they were flying at the right altitude.

This would prove to be a double-edged sword for the men of 617 Squadron; while they could now operate at the required altitude, the lights would make them even more vulnerable to anti-air fire, especially as most of the Lancasters’ armour was removed to save weight.

Despite two months of intensive training, the crews were only briefed on their true targets hours before they set off on the raid. 

The Dambusters Raid

The Outbound journey

The first of the 19 Dambuster aircraft took off for Germany at 21:28 on the evening of 16 May 1943.

The crew were split into three waves, taking different routes to the targets and attempting to avoid any large known concentrations of flak guns.

Despite the precautions, not all of the Lancasters reached their targets.

H-Harry and W-Willie suffered damage on the outbound journey and were forced to return to base. Y-York, made it to Germany but was unable to locate the target, and managed to return to Scampton with their mine still onboard.

B-Baker and E-Easy crashed after colliding with powerlines on the outbound journey. K-King and S-Sugar were shot down over the Netherlands, and C-Charlie was shot down over Germany.

Attacking the Dams

The Mohne Dam

The first wave arrived over the Mohne Dam arrived over the dam at around 12:30 in the morning of 17 May.

G-George, piloted by Gibson, was the first to attack the dam. He made a successful attack, but the bomb did not breach the dam. M-Mother was the next to attack but was caught by flak and crashed shortly after the attack, killing four of the crew.

It would take another three attacks before the dam was breached; the final blow delivered by J-Johnny, piloted by David Maltby.

In his book, Enemy Coast Ahead, Gibson wrote: “There was no doubt about it; there was a great breach 100 yards across, and the water, looking like stirred porridge in the moonlight, was gushing out and rolling into the Ruhr valley and towards the industrial centres of Germany’s Third Reich.”

The first dam had been breached, but the job was far from over. Aside from Gibson, those who had dropped their bombs set off for home; the rest headed for the Eder.

On the return journey, A-Apple was hit by anti-air fire over the Dutch coast. All seven of the crew, including Sergeant Lawrence Nichols who was celebrating his 33^rd birthday on 17 May 1943, were killed and are now buried in Bergen General Cemetery

The Eder Dam

Gibson and the remaining aircraft arrived over the Eder to find far less flak than at the previous target, but a far more difficult attack route.

With only three mines left, each crew made multiple runs at the dam to ensure an accurate drop.

Despite this caution, Z-Zebra – piloted by Squadron Leader Henry Maudslay DFC – dropped their bomb too late, damaging their Lancaster in the resulting explosion. Z-Zebra turned for home but were shot down over Germany.

After multiple aborted attempts, Flight Lieutenant David Shannon DFC, flying L-Leather, dropped his mine in the right spot but the dam remained standing.

It was up to the Australian Les Knight. It was the last opportunity to attack the Eder that night, maybe ever.

Gibson wrote: “We were flying above him, and about 400 yards to the right, and saw his mine hit the water. We saw where it sank. We saw the tremendous earthquake which shook the base of the dam, and then, as if a gigantic hand had punched a hole through cardboard, the whole thing collapsed.”

With their primary targets destroyed – and no more mines left to use – the remaining Lancasters turned for home, racing against the rising sun.

Sorpe Dam

The Sorpe Dam, with its earthen embankments, was a tougher nut to crack.

Owing to the earlier losses, only three of the Lancasters of 617 squadron were able to attack. T-Tommy and F-Freddy managed to find and attack the Sorpe, which required a different method of attack than the other dams. Despite their best efforts, the dam remained standing.

Following the destruction of the Mohne and Eder dams, O-Orange was detailed to attack an alternative target, the Ennepe Dam - although conflicting war records suggest that they may have hit the nearby Bever Dam instead.

Regardless, no substantial damage was done to either dam and despite engine issues and the attention of German anti-aircraft fire, O-Orange returned home, the last of the Dambuster crews to do so. 

Was the Dambusters Raid a success?

On paper, Operation Chastise was a success. Two of the three main targets were destroyed and subsequent aerial photography revealed significant flooding throughout the Ruhr valley. 

The flooding did indeed damage factories, steel foundries and hydroelectric plants in the vicinity. 

At the time, many argued that conventional attacks should’ve been launched during the rebuilding period to capitalise on the initial damage and cause longer-lasting disruption in Germany’s industrial heartland. 

However, not only did the raid cause significant disruption to the German war effort, but the repair and rebuilding of the region took valuable manpower away from other regions, including the coastal defences in France. 

The raid did receive criticism, however – especially as a reported 1,600 civilians and prisoners of war were killed by the flooding. This, coupled with the high fatality rate amongst the crews, many argued that the raid had been a waste of life and resources. 

Nevertheless, the raid was a propaganda boon for the Allies, and the RAF in particular, showing that British ingenuity, skill and courage had hit a heavy blow against Nazi Germany in a war that had seen the Allies predominantly on the backfoot. 

Where are the Dambusters commemorated?

Of the 133 airmen who took part in Operation Chastise, only 48 would live to see the end of the war. 53 died during the mission itself and a further 32 died later in the war and are commemorated by the CWGC.

Runnymede Memorial

Runnymede Memorial is one of the largest CWGC sites in the UK, commemorating more than 20,000 men and women of the Commonwealth who died during World War Two and who have no known grave.

Known as the Air Forces Memorial, it is here that the men and women of the air forces of the Commonwealth are commemorated, including those from the Air Training Corps, Royal Air Forces Ferry Command and the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.

Six of the Dambusters who died during the mission are commemorated here: the crew of K-King, piloted by the Canadian Pilot Office Vernon Byers, that was shot down on the outbound journey while crossing the Dutch coast. The seventh member of the crew, Flight Sergeant James McDowell is buried in Harlingen General Cemetery on the Dutch coast.

Six of the crew of J-Johnny are also commemorated on the war memorial. Her crew are credited with the breach of the Mohne Dam and survived operation chastise but would die on 15 September 1943, when returning home from a mission, they crashed into the sea.

Only Flight Lieutenant David Maltby’s body was recovered, and he is buried at Wickhambreaux (St. Andrew) Churchyard in Kent.

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery

27 Dambusters who died during Operation Chastise are buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.

The crews of Z-Zebra, B-Baker, E-Easy and six of the crew of C-Charlie are buried here.

Only one of these four crews was able to attack their target during the raid, Z-Zebra attacked the Eder Dam but was then shot down on the return journey. The others were shot down or crashed en route to the targets.

Of the 28 airmen in these four Lancasters, only Sgt F Tees

Sergeant Freddie Tees survived and became a prisoner of war.

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Germany, with more than 7,500 burials. Close to 4000 of the burials here were members of one of the Allied Air Forces who died during the intensive attacks over Germany throughout the war. Many were brought here after the war’s conclusion from smaller sites across the country.

This includes another 6 airmen who were a part of Operation Chastise, making a total of 33 Dambusters buried at this site.

Many of the other WW2 casualties commemorated here are those who fell in the latter stages of the war, during the Allied push into Germany, and especially the crossing of the Rhine.

Rheinberg War Cemetery

Like Reichswald Forest, Rheinberg War Cemetery is predominantly made up of aircrew of the Allied air forces. More than 2,700 if the 3,330 servicemen commemorated here are airmen who were shot down or crashed while on operations over Germany. Many were originally buried elsewhere and then moved to the cemetery after the war.

Five of the crew of M-Mother are buried here.

Piloted by Flight Lieutenant John Hopgood, M-Mother was the second aircraft to attack the Mohne Dam but was caught by flak and then further damaged by the explosion of its own bomb.

Two of the crew managed to escape the plane before it crashed, living out the rest of the war as prisoners of war, but the rest of the crew perished in the crash.

A second Dambuster crew is also buried here. Y-York failed to attack any of the dams during Operation Chastise as they were unable to find their target. The crew would continue to operate together until a raid on Mannheim on 23 September 1943, during which they were attacked and killed by a German night fighter.

Burials across Europe

As well as these bigger concentrations of Operation Chastise burials, several the Dambusters are buried at smaller sites across Europe, both as a result of loses during the raid itself or as casualties of other operations.

The most well-known of the Dambusters, Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, is buried at Steenbergen-En-Kruisland Roman Catholic Cemetery in the Netherlands.

Gibson survived the Dambusters raid and was then taken off duty and want on a series of publicity tours and a period of leave. Gibson returned to duty in 1944.

He was killed while on a bombing raid on Rheydt and Moenchen-Gladbach, Germany, on 19 September 1944, in which he was operating as the Master Bomber in a twin-engine De Havilland Mosquito.

Gibson crashed on the return journey, near Steenbergen. Both Gibson and his navigator Squadron Leader James Warwick were killed in the crash and were buried in the local cemetery. They are the only CWGC burials in this location.

One of the Dambusters is buried in Italy, at Cagliari St Michele Communal Cemetery. The cemetery at Cagliari, on the isle of Sardinia, is the final resting place of around 60 Commonwealth casualties – predominantly airmen – of whom 49 are identified.

Among them is Flight Lieutenant Robert Hay. Hay few as part of P-Peter, one of the aircraft that attacked the Mohne dam. He survived the attack on the dams, but was killed on 13 February 1944, during an attack on the Antheor Viaduct in southern France. The rest of the crew of P-Peter survived the war.