Dambuster Raid
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
On 26 Feb 1943, the new "Upkeep" bomb was approved for use against German dams. "Upkeep" was designed by Barnes Wallis. It was a drum-shaped bomb designed to be carried by aircraft. When released at a low altitude, they spun at the rate of over 500 RPM (revolutions per minute) backwards, which allowed them to skip across the surface of the water, hit the walls of dams, and roll toward the base of the dam before the hydrostatic fuses detonated the explosives. The mission was given to Squadron X of the No. 5 Group of the Royal Air Force, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, targeting Möhne, Sorpe, and Eder dams in the Ruhr area. The aircraft Gibson's men flew were Lancaster Mk III bombers, specially modified for the mission by re-configuring the bomb bays, equipping with special altimeters, and removing some of the armor.
The attack, code named Operation Chastise, was organized into three groups. Formation 1 was to attack Möhne Dam, and if there were unused bombs, the formation was to perform an attack on Eder Dam. Formation 2 was to attack Sorpe Dam. Formation 3 was a mobile reserve group that would take off two hours after the first two groups departed, and remain in the air to receive further instructions, possibly making a second run on one of the three primary targets that Formation 1 or 2 might fail to destroy, or this third group might be ordered to attack the smaller dams at Schwelm, Ennepe and Diemel.
The bombs were delivered to the squadron on 13 May 1943, and the operation was launched at 2110 on 16 May. The first group of bombers took off at 2139 hours on 16 May, and the final (reserve) group took off at 0009 hours on 17 May.
The nine bombers of Formation 1 entered continental Europe between Walcheren and Schouwen in the Netherlands, then skirted many major German defense concentrations before heading south toward Möhne Dam. Flight Lieutenant Astell's bomber was lost near Roosendaal in southern Netherlands after clipping power lines as a result of flying too low.
The five bombers of Formation 2 entered continental Europe near Vlieland in northern Netherlands. They suffered early setbacks as Lieutenant Les Munro's aircraft was damaged by flak soon after entering the Netherlands and was forced to turn back, and Pilot Officer Rice also returned after losing his bouncing bomb. The bomber flown by Pilot Officer Byers was shot down near the Dutch island of Texel. The two aircraft that remained met with aircraft of Formation 1 and flew in concert for a distance to approach Möhne Dam, then breaking off from the group for Sorpe Dam.
The four bombers of Formation 3 took off two hours after Formation 2 launched, as scheduled.
Gibson attacked first when Formation 1 reached Möhne Dam, hitting it. Flight Lieutenant Hopgood followed Gibson, but was damaged by flak, then was destroyed in the blast of his own bouncing bomb. With Gibson circling nearby to draw flak fire, Flight Lieutenant Martin made the third attack run, which was successful despite receiving some flak damage. Squadron Leader Young's bomber and then Flight Lieutenant Maltby attacked next in sequence, with both bombs hitting, and finally breaching the dam. Upon the bursting of Möhne Dam, Gibson led the bombers of Squadron Leader Young, Flight Lieutenant Shannon, Squadron Leader Maudsley, and Pilot Officer Knight toward Eder Dam, while the others returned for Britain. Upon reaching Eder Dam, they found the dam undefended, but the topography made the attack difficult. Shannon attempted the attack first, making six separate runs and still did not feel confident enough to release the bomb. Maudsley made an attempt on Eder Dam after Shannon; his bomb struck the top of the dam and detonated, taking Maudsley's bomber down in the blast. Shannon made an attempt again after Maudsley, hitting the dam. Knight was the last to make the attack run, hitting the dam successfully and breaching the Eder Dam.
Among the bombers of Formation 2, Flight Lieutenant McCarthy's bomber was the only aircraft that reached over the target, Sorpe Dam. His bomb successfully detonated, but it did not breach the earth dam. Three of the Formation 3 bombers were then ordered to attack Sorpe Dam. Pilot Officer Burpee never made it to the target. Flight Sergeant Brown dropped his bomb in dense fog, hitting the dam but did not breach it. Flight Sergeant Anderson reached Sorpe Dam last and found the fog now so thick that he was forced to give up and return to base.
Pilot Officer Ottley and Flight Sergeant Townsend, both of Formation 3, were sent to attack the smaller dams. Ottley was shot down en route, while Townsend's bomb detonated at the base of Ennepe Dam but failed to breach it. Later, various evidences indicated that Townsend probably attacked Bever Dam instead of Ennepe Dam by mistake.
On the return flight, Young's bomber of Formation 1 was hit by flak off the coast of the Netherlands and crashed into the sea.
In all, 53 of the 133 air crew members on this mission were killed and three were captured. The survivors were later highly decorated, including Gibson, who received the Victoria Cross. They were kept together as an elite bomber unit later named the No. 617 Squadron with the nickname "Dambusters".
At 0730 on 18 May, a Spitfire aircraft of No. 542 Squadron flew across the region and photographed the extent of the damage. The breach of Möhne and Eder Dams flooded the Ruhr region with over 300 million tons of water, flooding mines, farms, houses, factories, and infrastructure. The dam breaches allowed RAF command to claim Operation Chastise as a victory; "I feel a blow has been struck at Germany from which she cannot recover for several years", said Barnes Wallis. Statistics showed that the attacks successfully reduced water production capacity of the region to a quarter of its pre-attack levels, which had immediate consequences for nearby industries. However, the flooding also led to the death of 1,294 people, 749 of which were Ukrainian prisoners of war and most of the rest innocent civilians.
Epilogue
The Germans restored full water output by 27 Jun 1943, expertly reducing the potential damage that the British wished to inflict on German production. Albert Speer expressed puzzlement after the war on the British failure to conduct follow-up attacks, and the rationale for launching attacks on dams in the first place especially given that it had little military effect. In the book The Arms of Krupp, author William Manchester questioned the justification for the attack on the dams and the concept of strategic bombing altogether. He wrote:
In 1977, Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions prohibited unjustified attacks against installations such as dams, dykes and nuclear power stations for their potential consequences on the civilian population.
Sources: The Arms of Krupp, Wikipedia.
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Winston Churchill
25 Sep 2007 02:24:02 PM
No.617 Squadron was based at RAF Scampton, a few miles north of Lincoln. Today this base is home to the world famous Red Arrows display team.
12 Jan 2008 07:54:53 AM
Hello my name is Andrew fay i am doing a project on the dambuster raid i would greatly appricate if you could send me information on this topic to the above e-mail address thank you
16 Jun 2009 02:44:23 PM
Whilst the Germans were able to make good the damage in a relatively short space of time it would require some 20,000 workers to be taken off work on the Atlantic Wall to complete the repairs. Barnes Wallace would later be critical of the fact that the RAF did not make further attacks with conventional bombloads to disrupt the repair work.
Nonetheless, the raid proved a great morale booster to the hard-pressed British public, and Guy Gibson would receive the Victoria Cross from King George for his role in drawing enemy flak away from other attacking bombers making their approach to the target.
13 Jul 2009 05:34:39 AM
Actually can you help - my Step Farther flew on the Damm missions (RAF Pilot) (DFC-AFC & Bar)- Pathfinder and who spoke very little of these raids - he passed away several years ago.
I am interested in finding out 'more' information of the Pathfinders and in Particular Flt.Lt.R.L.Howatson., DFC - AFC Bar.
Thank you
9 Feb 2010 06:26:34 AM
Does anyone know where I can find a copy or original/negative of the Dambuster's celebratory dinner - I have the menu just need a photo of the group of men at the dinner to go with it ?