SPECIAL FEATURE: “This squadron will either make history, or be completely wiped out” - Who were the Dambusters?

​This week marks the 80th anniversary of the daring Dambusters raid, Operation Chastise, and to mark the occasion, celebratory events have been happening across the county.
The debriefing following Operation CHASTISE. Squadron Leader Townson, the Intelligence Officer, questions, from left to right: Pilot Officers FM Spafford and HT Taerum and Flight Lieutenant RD Trevor-Roper, Sergeant J Pulford and Flight Sergeant GA Deering are partially hidden. Air Chief Marshal Air Arthur Harris and the Hon Ralph Cochrane, Air Officer Commanding 5 Group, observe.The debriefing following Operation CHASTISE. Squadron Leader Townson, the Intelligence Officer, questions, from left to right: Pilot Officers FM Spafford and HT Taerum and Flight Lieutenant RD Trevor-Roper, Sergeant J Pulford and Flight Sergeant GA Deering are partially hidden. Air Chief Marshal Air Arthur Harris and the Hon Ralph Cochrane, Air Officer Commanding 5 Group, observe.
The debriefing following Operation CHASTISE. Squadron Leader Townson, the Intelligence Officer, questions, from left to right: Pilot Officers FM Spafford and HT Taerum and Flight Lieutenant RD Trevor-Roper, Sergeant J Pulford and Flight Sergeant GA Deering are partially hidden. Air Chief Marshal Air Arthur Harris and the Hon Ralph Cochrane, Air Officer Commanding 5 Group, observe.

​In the first of a two-part special feature to mark the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters, we’ve worked with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) to look back at the Operation, and the many tributes that are being paid to our homegrown heroes – including Hameringham’s own George ‘Johnny’ Johnson, the last Dambuster who sadly died last year at the age of 101.

So who were the Dambusters? They were members of the RAF's 617 Squadron who were specially assembled at Scampton in March 1943 to bomb three dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley – he Möhne, the Eder and the Sorpe – just two months later, with Wing Commander Guy Gibson as its commander.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Gibson had to assemble his aircrews and all the ground staff and auxiliary support needed in just three weeks – some of whom were hand-picked by Gibson, but many had simply come to the end of their tours, or were due to start their second tours – with just eight weeks of intensive low-level training and technical preparation before the raid – all under the utmost secrecy.

Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the Commanding Officer of 617 Squadron, pictured in the Summer of 1943.Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the Commanding Officer of 617 Squadron, pictured in the Summer of 1943.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the Commanding Officer of 617 Squadron, pictured in the Summer of 1943.

The raid, which took place on the night of May 16 and 17, was called Operation Chastise and involved 133 aircrew flying 19 specially adapted Lancaster bombers.

Barnes Wallis, Vickers Armstrong's assistant chief designer, came up with the idea for a unique new weapon, popularly called 'the bouncing bomb' – a 9,000 pound cylindrical mine that was designed to bounce across the surface of the water until it hit a dam, and it would then sink and detonate the mine at a depth of 30 feet.

The timing of the raid was dependent on a number of factors including the weather, the lunar cycle and the ability to supply the modified planes and equipment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The dates of May 16/17 was only selected a few days prior to the raid because May was when the dams were at the fullest from melting snow in the mountains, and would therefore have the greatest impact on bursting the dams.

HM King George VI examining the Moehne Dam model with Group Captain Charles Whitworth (right) and Wing Commander Guy Gibson (left), Officer Commanding 617 Squadron, during his visit to Scampton, the Squadron's home, on 27 May 1943.HM King George VI examining the Moehne Dam model with Group Captain Charles Whitworth (right) and Wing Commander Guy Gibson (left), Officer Commanding 617 Squadron, during his visit to Scampton, the Squadron's home, on 27 May 1943.
HM King George VI examining the Moehne Dam model with Group Captain Charles Whitworth (right) and Wing Commander Guy Gibson (left), Officer Commanding 617 Squadron, during his visit to Scampton, the Squadron's home, on 27 May 1943.

Gibson himself said that “this squadron will either make history, or be completely wiped out.”

After being briefed, the aircraft set off in three waves on the evening of May 16, each targeting a different dam.

The Möhne and the Eder were both successfully breached, while the Sorpe was damaged but not destroyed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, the cost to 617 Squadron was devastating as 53 of the 133 men were killed, with three more presumed dead, though it was later discovered that they had been taken prisoner and spent the rest of the war in POW camps.

Modified Lancaster B.I, ED825/G, pictured with and without the special 'Upkeep' weapon designed by Barnes Wallis and used by 617 Squadron to attack dams in the Ruhr industrial heartland of Germany on 16/17 May 1943.Modified Lancaster B.I, ED825/G, pictured with and without the special 'Upkeep' weapon designed by Barnes Wallis and used by 617 Squadron to attack dams in the Ruhr industrial heartland of Germany on 16/17 May 1943.
Modified Lancaster B.I, ED825/G, pictured with and without the special 'Upkeep' weapon designed by Barnes Wallis and used by 617 Squadron to attack dams in the Ruhr industrial heartland of Germany on 16/17 May 1943.

Air Vice Marshal Cochrane, Group Commander of 5 Group, sent a message to Gibson following the raid, saying:

"The disaster which you have inflicted on the German war machine was a result of hard work, discipline and courage. The determination not to be beaten in the task and getting the bombs exactly on the aiming point in spite of opposition have set an example others will be proud to follow."

Barnes Wallis himself wrote of the mission’s success: "For me the subsequent success [of the raid] was almost completely blotted out by the sense of loss of those wonderful young lives."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Guy Gibson received the Victoria Cross for his heroics in the raid, while 33 other aircrew, including Johnny Johnson who received the Distinguished Flying Medal, were decorated for their bravery at Buckingham Palace.

The exploits of the Dambusters were made into a film in 1955 starring Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis and Richard Todd as Guy Gibson.

George ‘Johnny’ Johnson was the last of the remaining Dambusters up until his death in December 2022.

In tomorrow’s segment, we’ll look at the special events that have been happening across the county to pay tribute to the Dambusters.

- With thanks to the Royal Air Force, RAF Benevolent Fund, and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight for the information used in this feature.

Related topics: