THE DAMBUSTERS

OPERATION CHASTISE 17 & 18 MAY 1943

Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16 /17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special bouncing bombs developed by Barnes Wallis. 19 Lancasters were adapted to carry Upkeep, the famous Bouncing Bomb. In order for the ‘bouncing bombs’ to be successful, they needed to be dropped at a height of 18 metres and a speed of 370 kilometres per hour. This required a great deal of skill and incredible bravery. The operation was given to No. 5 Group RAF, which formed a new squadron to undertake the dams mission. It was initially called Squadron X, as the speed of its formation outstripped the RAF process for naming squadrons. Led by 24-year-old Wing Commander Guy Gibson, a veteran of more than 170 bombing and night-fighter missions, twenty-one bomber crews were selected from 5 Group squadrons. The crews included RAF personnel of several nationalities, members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). The squadron was based at RAF Scampton, about 5 miles (8 km) north of Lincoln.

The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 enslaved labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 56 aircrew, with 53 dead and 3 captured, amid losses of 8 aircraft.

13 Australians who took part in the Dambusters Raid included Harold ‘Mick’ Martin, who was considered one of the finest bomber pilots of the Second World War. Two Australians died during the attack, and another was captured and would remain a prisoner of war in a German prison camp until the end of the Second World War. The surviving aircrew of 617 Squadron were lauded as heroes, and Guy Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the raid. The raid also established 617 Squadron as a specialist precision bombing unit, experimenting with new bomb sights, target marking techniques and colossal new 'earthquake' bombs developed by Barnes Wallis.    

Gibson was killed in action on the 19 September 1944 at the age of 26. The 1955 film “The Dambusters’ portrayed the raid and was adapted from Australian RAAF Paul Brickhill’s novel.  

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