Dambusters Raid 16th/17th of May 1943. Today is the 73rd Anniversary of this historic raid with pilots and aircrew from Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and not forgetting the American, Joe McCarthy who flew with the RCAF. 53 did not return, 32 died before the war ended. 48 survived the war. Now only 2 are still with us. We will remember them! Produced these slides myself and also the you tube feature, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkEPh4lIo0Q
Well done Geoff to remember us of this outstanding aviation operation and the bravery and determination of the crews. Standing on Scampton top,it's difficult to imagine that Lancasters were able to take off from this former grass airfield,small in comparison to today's single large concrete runway airfield, with all up weights of 68000 lbs. As regards Lancaster production,20 odd years ago,I worked at Trafford Park for a successor company to Met Vick.a leading steam turbine generator and switchgear manufacturer. One of the chaps still working was an apprentice during this period when Metropolitan Vickers were given contracts to build Lancasters....an arrangement directed by the government to maximise the war effort and an example how industry could switch from its core activities to the war effort. "E" having worked on the site for the whole of his working life was a good source of company history and used to recall this period when he was an apprentice.
Geoff, A very timely reminder of such bravery by the Allied Air Crews, who lost over 55000 of their numbers, not including those injured or taken into captivity as POW's. Regards Tom
I've just taken a break from my latest book to have a look on the net and pleased to see a few entries about the brave chaps of the Dams Raid. The book? 'The Dambusters' by James Holland. It's a fantastic read and I highly recommend it. Coincidently I'm at the 16th May in the book, so I'll be straight back to it shortly. I also live not far from Derwent Water and have seen the Lancaster of the BBMW flight passing serenely down the valleys and over the dam on many occasions. All the flight tributes have been fantastic, but especially remember the 50th in 1993, when so many of the crews and even the actor Richard Todd were present. They were treated like royalty and rightly so. There is also a super little museum on one of the towers on the dam wall. I've had a taxy ride in 'Just Jane' along the grass strip in at East Kirby at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. Well worth it and I got the Bomb Aimers position for the run. It made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, so goodness knows how the crews must have felt flying over occupied Europe in what is really a very small and cramps aircraft by today's standards. Great site. Thanks
This is London. The Air Ministry has just issued the following communique. In the early hours of this morning, a force ofLancasters of Bomber Command, led by Wing Commander G.P. Gibson DSO DFC, attacked with mines the dams of the Mohne and Sorpe reservoirs. These control two-thirds of the water storage capacity of the Ruhr Basin. Reconnaissance later established that the Mohne Dam had been breached over a length of 100 yards, and that the power station below had been swept away by the resulting floods. The Eder Dam, which controls the headwaters of the Weser and Fulda Valleys, and operates several power stations, was also attacked and reported as breached. Photographs show the river below the dam in full flood. The attacks were pressed home at extremely low level with great determination and coolness in the face of fierce resistance. Eight of theLancasters are missing.
