Today, May 16th, is the 65th anniversary of the famous 'Dam Busters' raid by 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force on the Moehne, Eder and Sorpe dams in the Ruhr Valley in Germany.
The Moehne and Eder dams were breached, and the Sorpe damaged, causing widespread flooding. The damage wasn't as great as hoped for by the experts who selected the targets, but the official German report nevertheless commented somberly that it represented 'a dark picture of destruction'.
Today a fly-past of a Lancaster bomber and other aircraft from the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was held over Derwent Dam in England. 617 Squadron used this dam to train for the raid. The Daily Mail has an article and some excellent photographs of the occasion.
The last surviving pilot of the Dam Busters operation was present for the occasion.
Squadron Leader Les Munro, 89, said: “I'm not one to get emotional about things but it's very nice to be back here. It does surprise me that subsequent generations take part in things like this, but it's up to the individual how they react.”
I'd planned to do this weekend's edition of Weekend Wings about the Dam Busters raid, but the problem with posting last weekend's edition means that it'll slip a bit. I may do it next weekend, or I may leave it until next year. I'll see what other subjects come up.
Peter
1 comment:
Thanks for reminding us (in Louisiana) of this anniverary. The courage of the men who flew into harms way in fragile aircraft at night filled with bombs and gasoline never ceases to amaze me.
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