Remembering That It Is 80 Years Since The Dambusters Raid
Today, the 16th May 2023 we remember the 80th anniversary of Operation Chastise, popularly known as the Dambusters Raid.
On 16 May 1943, 19 Lancaster bombers and 133 airmen, including 13 Australians, set off in three waves to bomb four dams in Germany’s industrial heartland, the Ruhr Valley. The Möhne and Eder dams were struck and eventually collapsed during the attack. Sorpe Dam was hit three times but not breached, and Bever Dam sustained very minor damage from the attack.
Of the 19 Lancasters and 133 men who set out on the mission, only 11 bombers and 77 aircrew returned. Even with such heavy losses, the operation was considered a success, with the survivors hailed as heroes in the Allied press.
Read more about the Raid and Australian’s who participated in it on the DVA website
The Image above is from the Australian War Memorial ART40866 – Art Collection
The Dam Busters Film
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. It was directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF’s 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bomb.
Read about the Dam Busters Film on the Wikipedia website
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