Saturday, February 24, 2018

43-5-16 Dambusters - Operation Chastise


Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently publicised as the "Dam Busters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis. 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 were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians drowned: about 600 Germans and 1,000 mainly Soviet forced-labourers. The damage was mitigated by rapid repairs by the Germans, but production did not completely return to normal until September.


 43-5-16 Dambusters

"At 7.30am on 17 May 1943, Flying Officer Jerry Fray took off in his photo-reconnaissance Spitfire for a damage assessment sortie over Germany. At 30,000 feet and about 100 miles from the Ruhr, he could see what looked like a bank of cloud to his east, but as he flew closer he realised it was the sun glinting on the mass of water that filled the valley below the Möhne dam.

He was stunned by the fact that the floodwater was about a mile wide in the valley and was still gushing through a massive breach in the dam wall. He was overcome by the immensity of the destruction below him and wondered ‘if the powers that be realised just how much damage had been done’.

He took a series of photos and then went on to the Eder valley, where the damage and flooding looked even more extensive. He took a second set of photos and then spotted two enemy aircraft approaching. So he turned and in his un-armed photo-recon Spitfire headed for home at full speed."

The pin-sharp aerial photos Fray took were on the front page of every British newspaper the following morning. A short communiqué issued by the Air Ministry outlined the targets as three Ruhr dams and added, ‘The attacks were pressed home from a very low level with great determination and coolness in the face of fierce resistance.’

Realising how important the dams were to the supply of water and hydro-electric power for the coke ovens and steel mills at the heart of the German war economy, the press went into overdrive. The Daily Telegraph proclaimed on its front page, ‘With one single blow the RAF has precipitated what may prove to be the greatest industrial disaster yet inflicted on Germany in this war.’ The legend of the Dam Busters was born.

The story of how a brilliant but whacky inventor, Barnes Wallis, comes up with the idea of a bouncing bomb and of how a new squadron of some of the best fliers in the RAF, 617 Squadron, is put together under Wing Commander Guy Gibson to carry out the daring, high-risk mission to bomb the dams is well known. The raid has probably become the most famous RAF bombing mission of the war. That is partly down to the success of one of the best British war films ever produced. The Dam Busters was premiered on the 12th anniversary of the raid in May 1955. It still feels real and is compelling viewing nearly 60 years later.

Gliders at Fort Eben-Emael
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=37s
St Nazaire Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=2m30s
Operation Frankton
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=4m
Alexandria Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=5m20s
Doolittle Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=6m30s
Telemark Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=8m4s
Operation Vengeance
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=9m46s .


BBC Timewatch - Dambusters - The Race to Smash the German Dams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DHtLkx6f6M

Johnny Johnson talks about Guy Gibson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL0ptasNvtE

The Last Dambuster - Johnny Johnson - Dan Snow's History Hit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwl5uebP_5E .
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