Operation Chastise
Part of World War II
The Möhne dam on the day after the attacks.
Date 17 May 1943 Location Eder River, Germany Result British Victory
Combatants
No. 617 Squadron	Nazi Germany
Commanders
Guy Gibson	N/A
Strength
19 aircraft	Various anti-aircraft defences
Casualties
8 aircraft shot down 53 killed 3 captured	2 Dams breached 1294 killed

Operation Chastise was the official name for the attacks on German dams on 17 May 1943 in World War II using a specially developed "bouncing bomb". The attack was carried out by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the Dambusters. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 588 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1151 × 1173 pixel, file size: 76 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Eder is a river in Germany (ca. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... For the video game see The Dam Busters (video game) No. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Image File history File links RAF-Roundel. ... Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ... This article is about structures for water impoundment. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The bouncing bomb was a kind of bomb designed by Barnes Wallis of Vickers-Armstrong at Brooklands, Surrey. ... RAF redirects here. ... For the video game see The Dam Busters (video game) No. ...

Background

Prior to the war, within the Air Ministry the industrial heartland of Germany had been identified as an important strategic target and the dams of the area considered as particular targets. Besides providing power they were used to provide water into the canal transport system. The methods to attack the dams had been duly considered. Calculations indicated that repeated strikes with large bombs would be effective but the necessary accuracy with the standard bombers of Bomber Command in face of enemy defences was unlikely.

Development of the plan

The mission developed out of a bomb designed by Barnes Wallis and developed into a working device by a team at Vickers. Wallis was an aircraft designer and had the successful Wellesley and Wellington bombers to his credit. While working on the Warwick, he also began work on bomb design with dams specifically in mind. Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, Kt, CBE, FRS, RDI, commonly known as Barnes Wallis, (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. ... Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004. ... The Vickers Wellesley was a 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrong Ltd for the Royal Air Force. ... The Vickers Wellington was a twin-engine, medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs Chief Designer, R.K. Pierson. ... The Vickers Warwick was a transport, anti-submarine patrol and air-sea rescue aircraft of the RAF during World War II. Vickers Warwick The Warwick was designed in response to Air Ministry specification B.1/35 for a two-engined heavy (by the standards of the day) bomber to replace...

His initial idea was for a 10-ton bomb to be dropped from 40,000 feet (12,200 m). This was part of the earthquake bomb concept. However, at the time there was no aircraft capable of flying at this height with such a heavy load. A much smaller charge would suffice if it could be exploded directly against the dam wall below the surface of the water. The major German dams were protected by heavy torpedo netting to prevent such an attack, and Wallis's breakthrough was to overcome this. A drum-shaped bomb, spinning rapidly backwards (over 500 rpm) and dropped from a sufficiently low altitude at the right speed, would skip for the required distance over the surface of the water in a series of bounces before reaching the dam wall and then, using its residual spin, run down the wet side to the dam's base. An accurate drop could bypass the dam protection and let the bomb be detonated against the dam with a hydrostatic fuse. After testing, and many meetings, the idea was adopted on February 26, 1943. The bomb was codenamed 'Upkeep'. The dams were to be bombed in May of that year, when water levels would be highest and create the most damage to the German war effort. A British 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam bomb The Grand Slam (Earth Quake bomb), was a very large bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis in late 1944. ... Torpedo nets is the term used for a passive naval warship defense device which became common practice during a short period (1904 to 1916) of the battleship era. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, King George VI and Group Captain John Whitworth discussing the Dambusters Raid in May 1943

King George VI speaking to Flight Lieutenant Les Munro

The operation was given to 5 Group which formed a new squadron to undertake the mission. Initially called Squadron 'X', it was led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, a veteran of over 170 missions. A further 21 crews were chosen from 5 Group to join the new squadron based at RAF Scampton, 5 miles north of Lincoln. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sir Ralph Alexander Cochrane GBE KCB CBE (24 February 1895–17 December 1977) was a British pilot and Royal Air Force officer, perhaps best known for his role in Operation Chastise–the famous Dambusters raid. ... Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ... George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death. ... Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, King George VI and Group Captain John Whitworth (shown on the right) discussing the Dambusters Raid in May 1943 Air Commodore John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth CB, DSO, DFC with Bar, RAF (10 January 1912 – 13 November 1974) was a Royal Air... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... No. ... A Wing Commanders sleeve/shoulder insignia A Wing Commanders command flag Wing Commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. ... Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ... RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England. ... Lincoln (pronounced //) is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England. ...

The targets were the three key dams near the Ruhr area, the Möhne, the Sorpe and the Eder Dam on the Eder River. The loss of hydroelectric power was important but the loss of water to industry, cities and canals would have greater effect. Ruhr Area within Germany Map of the Ruhr Area The Ruhr Area, also called simply Ruhr, (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott or Kohlenpott) is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to... The Möhne Reservoir is an artificial lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund. ... The Eder barrier, which creates the Edersee. ... The Eder is a river in Germany (ca. ...

An original Upkeep bouncing bomb at the Imperial War Museum Duxford

The aircraft were adapted Avro Lancaster Mk IIIs, known as B Mark III Special (Type 464 Provisioning).^[1] To reduce weight, much of the armour was removed, as was the mid-upper turret. The substantial bomb and its unusual shape meant that the bomb doors were removed and the bomb itself hung, in part, below the body of the aircraft. It was mounted in two crutches and before dropping ^[2], it was spun up to speed by an auxiliary motor. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 330 KB) A real bouncing bomb at Duxford Imperial War Museum Photgraphed by me Martin Richards Feb 2005 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 330 KB) A real bouncing bomb at Duxford Imperial War Museum Photgraphed by me Martin Richards Feb 2005 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... American Air Museum Duxford The Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire, commonly referred to simply as Duxford, houses the Imperial War Museums aircraft collection, as well as having a large collection of tanks, military and naval vehicles. ... The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). ...

Bombing from 60 feet (18 m) at 240 mph (390 km/h), at a very precise distance from the target, required expert crews, intensive night and low-altitude flying training, and the solutions to two technical problems. The first was to know when the aircraft was the correct distance from the target. The two key dams at Möhne and Eder had a tower at each end. A special aiming device (a device with two prongs making the same angle as the two towers at the correct distance from the dam) showed when to release the bomb. The second problem was to measure the aircraft's altitude (the usual barometric altimeters lacked sufficient accuracy). Two spotlights were mounted, one under the nose and another under the fuselage, such that at the correct height their light beams would converge on the surface of the water. The crews practised over the Eyebrook Reservoir in Leicestershire/Rutland (built in 1940 to supply Corby steelworks, Stewarts and Lloyds), the Derwent Reservoir, Derbyshire, and the Fleet Lagoon at Chesil Beach, Dorset. // Two geometrical objects are called similar if one is congruent to the result of a uniform scaling (enlarging or shrinking) of the other. ... The fuselage can be short, and seemingly unaerodynamic, as in this Christen Eagle 2 The fuselage (from the French fuselé spindle-shaped) is an aircrafts main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. ... Eyebrook Reservoir is a reservoir in the East Midlands of England formed by the damming of the Eye Brook. ... Leicestershire ( IPA: (RP), IPA: (locally)), abbreviation Leics. ... Oakham Castle Rutland is traditionally Englands smallest county and is bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by Northamptonshire. ... For other uses, see Corby (disambiguation). ... Derwent Dam Derwent Reservoir, showing the island and the west tower of Howden Dam Derwent Reservoir is one of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in the north east of Derbyshire, England. ... Looking west down Chesil Beach by Abbotsbury Satellite view of Chesil Beach (linear feature in blue) and Portland Bill (Landsat image viewed using NASA World Wind software) Chesil Beach looking west from the Isle of Portland Portland and Chesil Beach from Abbotsbury Castle A fossil from the far western end... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ...

The bombs were delivered to the squadron on 13 May, after the final tests on 29 April. With promising weather reports the pilots, navigators and bomb aimers were informed of the targets on 15 May, the rest of the crews on the following day. is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The attacks

Organisation

The Lancasters were organised into three groups. Formation 1 was to attack the Möhne and after that, aircraft still with bombs would attack the Eder. Formation 2 was to attack the Sorpe. The third group was a mobile reserve; it would take off two hours later and bomb as directed, either attacking the main dams or bombing smaller dams at Schwelm, Ennepe and Diemel.

Formation 1 was of nine aircraft in three groups—Gibson, Hopgood, Martin; Young, Astell, Maltby; and Maudslay, Knight, Shannon. Formation 2 was of five aircraft, those of McCarthy, Byers, Barlow, Rice and Munro. Formation 3 consisted of the aircraft of Townsend, Brown, Ottley and Burpee. Two crews were unable to make the mission because of illness. Les Munro is the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943[1]. Munro was posted from 97 squadron to 617 squadron which was specially created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany during the war. ...

The operations room for the mission was at 5 Group headquarters in Grantham, Lincolnshire. The codes (transmitted in morse) for the mission were agreed on as Goner for bomb dropped, Nigger for the Möhne breached and Dinghy for the Eder breached. The Nigger code was after Gibson's black dog ^[3] that had been run over and killed on the morning of the 17th. Dinghy was from the nickname of Gibson's friend Young who would be flying A-Apple — Young had had to make forced landings in the sea several times on operations, he and his crew having to resort to the aircraft's inflatable liferaft. Thereafter, he had been known as "Dinghy Young". Grantham is a medium sized market town in Lincolnshire, England with about 35,000 inhabitants (40,000 including Great Gonerby), situated on the River Witham. ... For other places with the same name, see Lincolnshire (disambiguation). ... 1922 Chart of the Morse Code Letters and Numerals Morse code is a method for transmitting telegraphic information, using standardized sequences of short and long elements to represent the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a message. ...

The outbound flights

The aircraft flew two routes, carefully skirting known flak hot spots. “Flak” redirects here. ...

Formation 1 entered continental Europe between Walcheren and Schouwen, crossed the Netherlands, skirting the airbases at Eindhoven and Gilze-Rijen, curved round the Ruhr defences and turned north to avoid Hamm before turning to head south to the Möhne. Formation 2 flew further northwards, cutting over Vlieland and crossing the IJsselmeer before joining the first route near Wesel and then flying south beyond the Möhne to the Sorpe. Satellite image of the Scheldt estuary Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. ... Schouwen-Duiveland is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands. ... Country Province Government  - Mayor G.Braks (CDA) Area (2006)  - Municipality 88. ... Gilze en Rijen is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. ... Map of Germany showing Hamm Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Satellite image Vlieland (Frisian: Flylân) is a municipality in the northern Netherlands. ... Traditional boat on the IJsselmeer Landsat photo The IJsselmeer (or Lake IJssel) is a shallow lake of some 1250 km² in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m. ... Wesel is a city (population about 61,689 in 2004) in Germany, located at the point where the Lippe River empties into the Rhine. ...

The first aircraft, those of Formation 2 and heading for the longer northern route, took off at 21h10. McCarthy's aircraft had a hydraulics fault and he took off in a reserve craft twenty minutes later. Formation 1 took off from 21h25.

The first casualties were taken soon after the craft reached the Dutch coast. Formation 2 did not fare well: Munro's aircraft lost his radio to flak and turned back over the Zuider Zee while Rice flew too low and lost his bomb in the water but recovered the aircraft to return to base. The aircraft of both Barlow and Byers crossed over the coast around the island of Texel. Byers was hit by flak and shot down shortly thereafter crashing into the Waddenzee. Only the tardy aircraft of McCarthy survived across the Netherlands. By contrast, Formation 1 lost Astell, somewhere over Roosendaal. “Flak” redirects here. ... Landsat photo The Zuider Zee (pronounced , Dutch: Zuiderzee, pronounced ) was a shallow inlet of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km inland and at most 50 km wide, with an overall depth of about 4 to 5 meters and a coastline of about 300... This article is about the Dutch island Texel. ... The Wadden Sea (Wattenmeer in German, Waddenzee in Dutch, Waadsee in Frisian, Wattensee in Low Saxon, Vadehavet in Danish) is the name for a body of water and its associated coastal wetlands lying between a section of the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the North Sea. ... Roosendaal ( (help· info)) is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands. ...

The attack on the Möhne dam

Formation 1 arrived over Möhne lake and Gibson's aircraft (G for George) bombed first. Hopgood (M for Mother) attacked second. Hopgood's aircraft was hit by flak as it made its low-level run and was then caught in the blast of its own bomb and destroyed. Subsequently Gibson flew his aircraft across the dam to draw flak from Martin's run. Martin (P for Peter (Popsie)) bombed third; his aircraft was hit but made a successful attack. Then Young (A for Apple) made a successful run and after him Maltby (J for Johnny) and then, finally, the dam was breached. Gibson then led Young, Shannon, Maudslay and Knight to the Eder.

The attack on the Eder dam

A recent photograph of the Eder dam. Note the missing sluice-gate holes on the left, which were not replaced after the attacks.

The Eder valley was heavily fogged but not defended. The tricky topography of the surrounding hills made the approach difficult and the first aircraft, Shannon's, made six runs before taking a break. Maudslay (Z for Zebra) then attempted a run but the bomb struck the top of the dam and the aircraft was caught in the blast. Shannon made another run and successfully dropped his bomb. The final bomb of the formation, from Knight's aircraft (N for Nan), breached the dam. A view of the eder dam, Germany. ... A view of the eder dam, Germany. ...

The attacks on the Sorpe and Ennepe dams

McCarthy (T for Tom) reached the Sorpe alone. It was the least likely to be breached — a vast earth dam rather than the two concrete structures successfully attacked. Despite the mist and ill-placed hills, McCarthy's aircraft successfully dropped its bomb but did not breach the dam. Three of the reserve aircraft were directed to the Sorpe. Burpee (S for Sugar) never reached the dam. Brown (F for Freddy) reached the dam and in increasingly dense mist finally dropped his bomb without breaking the dam. Anderson (Y for Yorker) arrived last and the mist was too dense for him to even attempt the run. The remaining two aircraft were sent to subsidiary targets, Ottley (C for Charlie) was shot down en route while Townsend (O for Orange) dropped his bomb on the Ennepe without breaching the dam.

Attack on the Bever dam?

There is some evidence that Townsend may have mistakenly attacked the Bever Dam rather than the Ennepe. Townsend reported difficulty in finding the dam and in his post-raid report complained that the map of the Ennepe dam was incorrect. The Bever dam is located only about 5 miles southwest of the Ennepe dam and the reservoir has similar geography. However, the Bever dam is located on the south side of the reservoir while the Ennepe is located on the north side of its reservoir. With the mist filling the valleys in the early morning hours, it would be understandable to mistake the two reservoirs. The War Diary of the German Naval Staff reported that the Bever Dam had been attacked at nearly the same time as the Sorpe. In addition, the Wupperverband authority responsible for the Bever recovered the remains of a mine. Paul Keiser, a 19 year old soldier on leave at his home very near the dam, also reported an aircraft making several approaches to the dam and eventually dropping a weapon leaving a big explosion and a great pillar of flame in a column of water. The Dambusters Raid author, John Sweetman, claims that Townsend's report of the moon reflecting on the mist and water is consistent with an attack heading for the Bever rather than the Ennepe given the moon's azimuth and altitude during the attack. Sweetman also points out that the Ennepe-Wasserverband authority is adamant that only a single bomb was dropped near the Ennepe during the whole war and this bomb fell in the woods by the side of the dam, not in the water as in Townsend's report. Finally, members of Townsend's crew independently reported seeing a manor house and attacking an earthen dam, which is consistent with the Bever rather than the Ennepe. The main evidence supporting an attack of the Ennepe is Townsend's post- flight report that he attacked the Ennepe on a heading of 355 deg. M. Assuming that the heading was incorrect, all other evidence points toward an attack on the Bever.

The return flights

On the way back, flying again at treetop level, one further aircraft was lost, that of Young which was hit by flak and crashed into the sea just off the coast of Holland.

Complete list of the aircraft involved

Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ... A Flight Lieutenants sleeve/shoulder insignia Flight Lieutenant (abbreviated as Flt Lt and pronounced as flight lef-tenant, see Lieutenant) is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. ... Air Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan Micky Martin, KCB, DFC & Two Bars, DSO & Bar, AFC (27 February 1918 – 3 November 1988) was an Australian pilot in the Royal Air Force who took part in Operation Chastise, the RAFs famous Dambusters mission in 1943. ... A Squadron Leaders sleeve/shoulder insignia Squadron Leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF, SQNLDR in the RNZAF and RAAF and S/L in the former RCAF) is a commissioned rank in some air forces. ... A Pilot Officers sleeve/shoulder insignia Pilot Officer (Plt Off in the RAF; PLTOFF in the RAAF and RNZAF, P/O in the former RCAF) is the lowest substantive commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries, ranking only above Acting... Les Munro is the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943[1]. Munro was posted from 97 squadron to 617 squadron which was specially created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany during the war. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Bomb damage assessment

Bomber Command wanted to conduct bomb damage assessment as soon as possible. Accordingly, the Commanding Officer of No. 542 Squadron was informed by Bomber Command HQ of the exact time of the attacks. A photographic reconnaissance Spitfire of No. 542 Squadron took off from RAF Benson at 07:30 and arrived over the Ruhr just after first light. Photographs were taken of the breached dams and the huge floods.^[4] Bomber Command badge RAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAFs bomber forces. ... BDA Photo of a military cable station in Basra, Iraq Bomb damage assessment, often referred to as BDA, is the practice of assessing damage inflicted on a target by an air campaign. ... The Supermarine Spitfire was a British single-seat fighter, which was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during the Second World War, and into the 1950s. ... RAF Benson (IATA: BEX, ICAO: EGUB) is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in Oxfordshire, England. ...

After the raid

Badge of 617 Squadron, commemorating Operation Chastise

In all, 53 of the 133 aircrew were killed and three bailed out to be made Prisoners of war. Of the surviving aircrew thirty-three were decorated at Buckingham Palace on 22 June, with Gibson awarded the Victoria Cross. There were five Distinguished Service Orders, ten Distinguished Flying Crosses and four bars, twelve Distinguished Flying Medals and two Conspicuous Gallantry Medals. This image is Crown copyright protected. ... This image is Crown copyright protected. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Victoria Cross (disambiguation). ... DSO medal The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdoms Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy... The Distinguished Flying Medal was (until 1993) a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force (United Kingdom), and formerly also to personnel of the air forces of other Commonwealth countries, below the rank of Warrant Officer, for an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to... The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal was (until 1993) a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force (United Kingdom), and formerly also to personnel of the navies and air forces of other Commonwealth countries, below the rank of Warrant Officer, for conspicuous gallantry in...

After a public relations tour of America, Gibson returned to operations and was killed on a mission in 1944.

Following the dams raid, 617 Squadron was kept together as a specialist unit. The squadron badge ("on a roundel, a wall in fesse, fracted by three flashes of lightning in pile and issuant from the breach, water proper") was chosen and a motto "Après moi le déluge" (After me the Flood). According to Brickhill there was some controversy over the motto, with the original version Après nous le déluge being rejected by the heralds as having inappropriate provenance (having been coined, reportedly, by Madame Pompadour), and après moi le déluge having been used by Louis XV in an "irresponsible" context. The motto having been chosen by the King, the latter was finally deemed acceptable. Madame de Pompadour, portrait by François Boucher circa 1750 Madame de Pompadour (December 29, 1721 – April 15, 1764) was a well known courtesan and the famous mistress of King Louis XV of France. ... Louis XV (February 15, 1710 – May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1715 to 1774. ...

The squadron went on to drop Wallis' massive Tallboy bomb and Grand Slam bomb, using an advanced bomb sight which enabled the bombing of small targets with far greater accuracy than was routinely obtained with conventional bomb aiming techniques. The squadron is still active today. The Tallboy was an Earth quake bomb developed by Barnes Wallis and brought into operation by the British in 1944. ... A British 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam bomb The Grand Slam (Earth Quake bomb), was a very large freefall bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis (who also made the bouncing bomb) in late 1944. ...

Effect on the war

The tactical view

The Möhne and Sorpe lakes poured around 330 million tons of water (equivalent to a cube 687 metres on each side) into the western Ruhr region. Mines were flooded and houses, factories, roads, railways and bridges destroyed as the flood waters spread for around 50 miles (80 km) from the source. The Eder drains towards the east into the Fulda, flooding farmland and several villages. Estimates show that before 15 May 1943 water production on the Ruhr was 1 million tonnes, which dropped to a quarter of that level after the raid. In terms of deaths: 1,294 people were killed,^[5] 749 of them Ukrainian POWs from a camp just below the Eder Dam.^[6] After the operation Barnes Wallis wrote, "I feel a blow has been struck at Germany from which she cannot recover for several years". is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

However, on closer inspection, Operation Chastise did not have the military effect that was at the time believed. By 27 June full water output was restored, thanks to an emergency pumping scheme inaugurated only the previous year, and the electricity grid was again producing power at full capacity. The raid proved to be costly in lives (more than half the lives lost belonging to allied POWs), but in fact no more than a minor inconvenience to the Ruhr's industrial output. However, it is a commonly understood military concept that any single attack in an operation, while having only minimal effect in and of itself to the larger strategic effort, can contribute to a large overall cumulative result, eventually causing a tipping point in the scale of events. (That is why, for example, soldiers continue to fire their weapons in battle even though any single rifle shot cannot possibly win an entire war.) (See also Chaos Theory, and The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell.) is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Chaos Theory (disambiguation). ... The Tipping Point (ISBN 0316316962) is a book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little Brown in 2000. ... Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Gladwell (born September 1, 1963) is a United Kingdom-born, Canadian-raised journalist now based in New York City who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. ...

In his book Inside the Third Reich, Albert Speer expressed puzzlement at the raids; destruction of one of the dams served no purpose at all, he claimed, and the failure to follow up with additional raids represented a major lost opportunity for the Allies. Inside the Third Reich is a memoir written by Albert Speer, the Nazi Minister of Armaments from 1942 to 1945. ... For the son of Albert Speer, also an architect, see Albert Speer (the younger). ...

The strategic view

The Dams Raid was, like many British air raids, undertaken with a view to the need to keep drawing German defensive effort back into Germany and away from actual and potential theatres of ground war, a policy which culminated in the Berlin raids of the winter of 1943–44. In May 1943 this meant keeping the Luftwaffe and anti-aircraft defence forces' effort away from the Soviet Union; in early 1944, it meant clearing the way for the aerial side of the forthcoming Operation Overlord. The term Battle of Berlin is sometimes restricted to the Royal Air Force for a bombing campaign on Berlin and other cities between the night of November 18 1943 and March 1944. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, pronounced lufft-va-fa, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ...

By far the greatest and most unexpected effect was on German food production. The Ruhr valley below the dams was a major source of vital food for Germany, and large areas of arable land were rendered unusable and huge numbers of farm animals were killed. This had an immediate negative effect on German morale. In addition, the pictures of the broken dams proved to be a morale boost to the Allies, especially to the British, still suffering under German bombing.^{[citation needed]}

An associated, but equally major effect was that Barnes Wallis's ideas on earth quake bombing, which had been rejected before, now became accepted by 'Bomber' Harris. Prior to this raid bombing practice had been to 'area bomb' with many light bombs, in the hope that one would hit the target. Work on the earth quake bomb theory resulted in the Tallboy and Grand Slam weapons, which caused unprecedented damage to German infrastructure in the later stages of the war. They rendered the V-2 assembly building unusable, buried the V-3 guns, sunk the Tirpitz and destroyed many bridges and other hardened installations. Notable amongst their successes are the U-Boat pens at Brest, where they penetrated 20 ft thick roofs of reinforced concrete, and the Saumur Tunnel, which was attacked by dropping the bombs straight through 60ft of hill to explode in the tunnel below. The earth quake bomb concept was invented by Barnes Wallis before the Second World War. ... Aerial area bombardment is the policy of indiscriminate bombing of an enemys cities, for the purpose of destroying the enemys means of producing military materiel, communications, government centres and civilian morale. ... The Tallboy was an Earth quake bomb developed by Barnes Wallis and brought into operation by the British in 1944. ... A British 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam bomb The Grand Slam (Earth Quake bomb), was a very large freefall bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis (who also made the bouncing bomb) in late 1944. ... German test launch. ... Like the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket, V-3 cannon was one of the three vengeance weapons (German: Vergeltungswaffe) built by Nazi Germany during World War II. Unlike the V-1 and the V-2, however, the V-3 was not a guided missile, but a... Tirpitz was the second Bismarck class battleship of the German Kriegsmarine, sistership of Bismarck. ... Brest is a municipality in the district of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Saumur is a small city and commune in the Maine-et-Loire département of France on the Loire River, with an approximate population of 30,000 (in 2001). ...

The diplomatic view

An important reason for planning the raid was to persuade Stalin that Britain was capable of being an effective ally. This was the middle period of the war, when the United States had recently entered the war on Britain's side due to the Attack on Pearl Harbor. The Soviet Union, too, had relatively recently been forced to enter the war due to Operation Barbarossa, and was hard pressed by German forces. Due to the seriousness of the situation for the Soviet Union during this period, Stalin often called upon the Western Allies to open a second front: the Dambusters raid provided the British with a valuable opportunity to prove that they were harrying the Germans in every way they could while building up forces for an eventual liberation of Western Europe. However, by the time the preparations for the British raid were complete, the USSR had managed to fight back against German forces; the USSR had also found the capacity to begin its counter-offensive on the Don and Volga. The Dams Raid enabled Churchill, in negotiations with the leaders of these new allies, to point to an effective strike against the hitherto apparently invincible German state. As a result, he was taken more seriously as an ally than might otherwise have been the case. This was most relevant in negotiations with Stalin, but also to a lesser degree in the USA. Although Churchill had the sympathetic ear of Roosevelt, many of the US military staff had until then been less persuaded of the value of British experience and capabilities.^[7] Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვი&#4314... This article is about the actual attack. ... Combatants Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Fedor von Bock Gerd von Rundstedt Heinz Guderian Günther von Kluge Franz Halder Ion Antonescu C.G.E. Mannerheim Giovanni Messe, CSIR Italo Garibaldi, ARMIR Iosef Stalin Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Fyodor Kuznetsov... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... Combatants Germany Romania Italy Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B: German Sixth Army # German Fourth Panzer Army... The eastern front at the time of Operation Uranus. ... This article is about the river in Western Russia. ... “Volga” redirects here. ... Churchill redirects here. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ...

International law

In 1977, Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions prohibited attacks against installations such as dams, dykes and nuclear power stations "if such attack may cause the release of dangerous forces and consequent severe losses among the civilian population". The special protection covering dams and dykes terminates "only if it is used for other than its normal function and in regular, significant and direct support of military operations and if such attack is the only feasible way to terminate such support". Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Protocol I: Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts. ... Original document. ...

The United Kingdom ratified Protocol I in 1998, but made the following reservation in respect of Article 56: Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

"The United Kingdom cannot undertake to grant absolute protection to installations which may contribute to the opposing Party's war effort, or to the defenders of such installations, but will take all due precautions in military operations at or near the installations referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 56 in the light of the known facts, including any special marking which the installation may carry, to avoid severe collateral losses among the civilian populations; direct attacks on such installations will be launched only on authorisation at a high level of command."

Operation Chastise in popular culture

• A 1954 film, The Dam Busters was made about the raids and was very popular. Its depiction of the raid, along with a similar sequence in the film 633 Squadron, provided the inspiration for the Death Star trench run in Star Wars: A New Hope. The film is also watched on television by the character Pink in the 1982 film, Pink Floyd The Wall.
• In 1984, a Commodore 64 computer combat flight simulator The Dam Busters was made based on this operation.
• A 1989 British commercial for Carling Black Label lager reused footage from the attack sequence of the 1954 film, with a wily German sentry on top of the dam catching the perfectly spherical bombs in the manner of a football (soccer) goalkeeper. The pilot of the attacking Lancaster then delivers the brand slogan: "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label!" The commercial ran for many years, frequently appearing in advert breaks for both the 1954 film and documentaries about Operation Chastise. A subsequent Carling commercial also used bouncing bomb imagery, this time to enable a British holidaymaker to beat the Germans to the sunbeds.
• The PC game Call of Duty features a mission in the British campaign, sometime after Operation Chastise, where players must suppress the Eder Dam's AA defenses and destroy the dam's generators in order to clear the way for the RAF to make a second (fictional) raid against the dam.
• The console game Secret Weapons Over Normandy features a mission in which the player must destroy a dam and the suggested weapon is the bouncing bomb. However the dam involved is stated to be in Norway and the mission objective is based on the sabotage at Vemork, so the game has conflated this sabotage and the Dambusters mission.
• On 1 September 2006, it was announced that Peter Jackson would produce a remake of the 1954 movie, to be directed by Christian Rivers with production starting in 2007.

Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Dam Busters is a 1954 British war film, set during the Second World War, and documenting the true story of the RAFs 617 Squadron, the development of the bouncing bomb, and Operation Chastise - the attack on the Ruhr dams in Germany. ... 633 Squadron 633 Squadron is a World War II film directed by Walter Grauman and produced by Cecil F. Ford for United Artists in 1964 starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris and Harry Andrews. ... For other uses, see Death Star (disambiguation). ... This article is about the series. ... This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological... Gerald Scarfes depiction of the wall from Pink Floyd The Wall Pink Floyd The Wall is a 1982 MGM film by British director Alan Parker based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. ... This article is about the year. ... The Dam Busters is a combat flight simulator set in World War II produced by U.S. Gold. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about Black Label beer. ... Lager is a well attenuated beer brewed in cool conditions using a slow-acting brewers yeast, known as a bottom-fermenting yeast, and then stored (or lagered) for a period in cool conditions to clear away particles and certain flavour compounds to produce a clean taste. ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... A football goalkeeper leaves the ground to parry a shot on goal In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, netminder, goalie, or keeper in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the goal. ... CoD redirects here. ... “Flak” redirects here. ... Secret Weapons Over Normandy or (SWON) is a World War II-based flight simulation video game released on November 18, 2003. ... The Vemork hydroelectric plant, site of ammonia production with a militarily important byproduct, heavy water. ... The Vemork hydroelectric plant, site of the heavy water production Vemork, a small community in Norway, close to the city Rjukan and within the Tinn municipality, in the county of Telemark. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other persons named Peter Jackson, see Peter Jackson (disambiguation). ... Dambusters is a war film to be produced by Peter Jackson and directed by first-time director Christian Rivers. ... Christian Rivers is a New Zealand filmmaker. ...

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ Falconer, Jonathan; Staerck, Chris (1998). Allied Photo Reconnaissance of World War II. PRC Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1571451617. 
5. ^ Bomber flies in Dambusters tribute. BBC (16 May 2003). Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
6. ^ 1943: RAF raid smashes German dams. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
7. ^ Churchill, Chapter XXV (concerning US military attitudes to involvement in Europe).

is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Brickhill, Paul. The Dam Busters. London: Evans Bros., 1951. "Novelised" style. Covers entire wartime story of 617 Squadron.
• Churchill, Winston S. The Second World War, Volume IV: The Hinge of Fate. London: Cassell, 1951.
• Gibson, Guy. Enemy Coast Ahead. London: Pan Books, 1955. Gibson's own account.
• Sweetman, John. The Dambusters Raid. London: Cassell, 1999. ISBN 0-304-35173-3.

Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (December 20, 1916 – April 23, 1991) was an Australian writer, whose World War II books were turned into popular movies. ... Enemy Coast Ahead is the title of the book written by Wing Commander Guy Gibson V.C.. One of the most recognized and popular books ever to come out of World War Two, it is the story of Gibsons wartime career in the Royal Air Force which ends in...

External links

• Official site of the Royal Air Force about Operation Chastise
• Site with details of the raids, full crew listing, links to present day 617 Sqn and much more
• Online Dambusters exhibition at the UK National Archives
• Secrets of the Dead: Bombing Nazi Dams and their link page
• BBC Online - Myths and Legends - Home of the Dambusters
• 60th Anniversary BBC News.
• Dambuster & Guy Gibson website in Dutch /
• Dam Busters Filmclips
• Gunner Douglas Webb
• Die Nacht vom 16. auf den 17. Mai 1943 - "Operation Züchtigung": Die Zerstörung der Möhne-Talsperre (in German)
• G for George at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra
• Luftkriegsgeschichte aus dem Ederberland und Waldeck Frankenberg
• Eyebrook
• Dambusters site with details of Operation Chastise including video footage and more

See also