In 1943, British aircraft designer Barnes Wallis came up with a revolutionary way of breaching German dams. He designed a cylindrical bomb that skipped across the water, over submerged torpedo nets, then exploded at a certain depth against the dam. In order to achieve all of this, the bomb needed to be "spun backwards at 500 rpm before being dropped from low altitude" (About.com – Dambuster Raids).
The Royal Air Force formed 617 Squadron for the task, which was named Operation Chastise. Three large dams in the Ruhr (an important German industrial area) were to be blown up. The squadron trained rigorously with specially modified Lancaster bombers for the mission, as the utmost precision was necessary for success. The video above shows some of their training.
On the night of May 16 and 17, the Möhne dam became the first victim of Wallis's ingenious bomb. The photo above shows the dam the day after the attack. Later that night, the Eder dam was also breached. Their success came at the cost of 8 aircraft and 56 casualties. 33 members of the Squadron were decorated for their valour, and the Squadron still flies today, with modern jets.
To learn more about Operation Chastise and the bouncing bombs, visit the links in the post above, or find yourself a copy of The Canadians at War 1939/45 by Readers Digest, which has a fascinating chapter dedicated to the mission.
The Royal Air Force formed 617 Squadron for the task, which was named Operation Chastise. Three large dams in the Ruhr (an important German industrial area) were to be blown up. The squadron trained rigorously with specially modified Lancaster bombers for the mission, as the utmost precision was necessary for success. The video above shows some of their training.
On the night of May 16 and 17, the Möhne dam became the first victim of Wallis's ingenious bomb. The photo above shows the dam the day after the attack. Later that night, the Eder dam was also breached. Their success came at the cost of 8 aircraft and 56 casualties. 33 members of the Squadron were decorated for their valour, and the Squadron still flies today, with modern jets.
To learn more about Operation Chastise and the bouncing bombs, visit the links in the post above, or find yourself a copy of The Canadians at War 1939/45 by Readers Digest, which has a fascinating chapter dedicated to the mission.
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