The Attack on the Ruhr Dams in Germany
Imagine you are a young New Zealander, new to the Airforce, and you have been chosen for a dangerous mission taking you across the heart of enemy Germany at the dead of night, with no certainty of success. World War 2 has been raging for three and a half years now. For two and a half months you have been training constantly, in low-flying, night navigation and low level bomb aiming. But you have no idea what the actual target will be. Now think of the excitement on the afternoon of May 16th, 1943, when your Wing Commander, Guy Gibson, calls you in for a briefing.
Sergeant Frederick Sutherland recalled of that night: “I think it was like going into an exam room. You could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was keyed up.” Guy Gibson remembers: “The boys came in hushed, having waited two and a half months to hear what it was they were going to attack... There were about 133 young men in that room... a little scruffy, and perhaps a little old-looking in spite of their youth....” Leonard Sumpter wrote:“ We knew that the target was going to be over water, but we thought it was going to be submarine pens... we had no idea we were going to breach dams. I suppose we should have realised because of all the training we did over the Derwent Dam and the Eyebrook Reservoir at Uppingham.”
The Squadron consisted of airmen from across the allied forces of the RAF– Canadians, Americans, Australians, British, and New Zealanders. They were to be flying specially adapted Lancaster bombers, each with a codename of 'AJ' followed by a serial number, which had been delivered to their base at Scampton. Although many of the crew were not decorated, and some not very experienced, they were nevertheless considered the best pilots of the RAF. The RAF had been given a two-month deadline to completely train each one. It had been decided that highly experienced Wing Commander Guy Gibson was the man to carry out the task of training the crews of 617 Squadron, known as Squadron X for a long time, and later known as the Dambusters.
Guy Gibson was 24 at that time. He had already developed Squadron 106, which had become a legend among the RAF. People said that he was self-centred, often known to spend solitary time with his faithful black Labrador “Nigger” (renamed “Digger” for the upcoming movie). His dog, who was the Squadron's mascot for some time, sadly died just before the raid was carried out and was buried outside Gibson's office.
If Gibson did have any character faults, it didn't interfere with his leadership, which was exceptional. He addressed his Squadron at the final briefing to explain the operation known as Chastise. The operation involved 19 Lancaster bomber planes, each one containing 7 crew members – a pilot, a navigator, a bomb aimer, a flight engineer, a radio operator, a front gunner and a rear gunner. 133 men in total were participating in the operation.
Another person was to stand up that hot afternoon at the briefing. That was Dr Barnes Wallis. He was the genius who invented the bomb that was to make the Squadron's raid such a success. He was a brilliant academic and scientist, and was later knighted. Wallis explained his original idea for the bomb: “...Early in 1942 I had the idea of a missile, which, if dropped at a considerable distance upstream of the dam, would reach the dam in a series of ricochets and, after impact against the dam, would sink in close contact with the upstream face of the masonry.”
His first simple experiments involved throwing his daughter's marbles across the surface of water in a tin bath. The idea was that the cylindrical-shaped bomb would bounce on water three times, avoiding any torpedo nets before hitting the dam wall target. For this, backspin on the bomb was essential to ensure that the bomb did not sink when hitting the water – instead it would make direct progress towards the target without drifting off course. More importantly, due to its decreasing momentum it would not bounce after hitting the dam wall; it would crawl down its side to explode 30 feet below the water level.
Imagine skimming stones on water. Now think of doing exactly that except with a 5 tonne bomb. When Wallis first explained his weapon in a paper, many people believed it to be impossible. However, after a number of tests, the RAF decided to back Wallis's weapon (codenamed “Upkeep”) and soon plans to use it became an RAF priority. The Lancasters had been chosen and adapted to hold the Upkeep in a mechanism which spun the bomb before release. In order to work, Barnes Wallis explained, the plane had to reach a speed of 220 mph. The bomb had to be dropped from a height of exactly 60 feet, with the Upkeep back-spinning at 500r.p.m. The distance at right angles over the water back from the dam wall, was 410 yards. As Harold Hobday later reported “...It was very minute timing to get at the right time to the right height- and then get out of it alive without crashing.” To reach exactly 60 feet, these aircraft depended on two spotlights-one at the front, and one at the back of the plane- and the angle of these lights was adjusted, so that at 60 feet they came together.
This was how the bomb was released: First, the Radio Operator started the motor which set the bomb spinning backwards. The Navigator then signalled that they were at the right height, and the bomb aimer released the bomb. You might be wondering why the Dams in the Ruhr Valley were chosen for attack. By breaching the dams- the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe- the valley would be flooded, so that railways, important bridges, pumping stations and chemical plants would be destroyed. Dam water was also important for industrial processes, like the production of steel.
Returning to the Briefing Room - a day before, an urgent message from Bomber command had been sent out: 'Op. CHASTISE. Execute at soonest opportunity.' Here was the moment 133 young men had been awaiting.
Gibson sorted everyone into flight waves. Wave 1, which would be attacking the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe Dams, consisted of 9 aircraft. The second wave, which would be attacking the Sorpe Dam, had 5 Lancasters, while the third wave of 5 aircraft, acted as a backup. Wave 1 would leave the ground in three groups of three at ten minute intervals. AJ-P 'Popsy', flying in Wave 1, included 5 Aussies- Martin, Leggo, Hay, Foxlee, and Simpson-and one New Zealander, Len Chambers. Another New Zealander to take part in the raid was Les Monro, the pilot of AJ-W 'Willie', flying in the second wave.
The first wave passed through enemy territory where they encountered heavy flak (anti-aircraft fire). Gibson, attacking the Mohne Dam, confirmed by radio that the task could and would be done. His bomb was successfully dropped, but did not hit accurately, so the dam did not break. Hopgood attacked in AJ-M next, but his aircraft was hit by flak, and with this distraction the bomb was dropped too late, and exploded on the wrong side of the dam. Next, the ANZAC plane AJ-P attacked. Their bomb threw up a lot of water, but still the dam held. Young, in AJ-A, tried, but to no avail. Finally, AJ-J, piloted by Maltby, dropped a perfectly placed bomb, and, with a huge roar, the wall collapsed and millions of gallons of water thundered out. The Mohne Dam was breached! The code word for a successful breach, 'Nigger', was sent to Bomber Command in England.
Meanwhile, the rest of the first wave- three aircraft- was making for the Eder Dam. Again, the first two attempts (made by Shannon, AJ-L, and Maudslay, AJ-Z) failed to breach the dam- one landed off-target and the other dropped it too late, causing it to bounce on top of the dam, damaging their own aircraft (it later crashed, killing all crew) However, the third attempt, made by Les Knight, an Australian, pilot of AJ-N, made a perfect shot and the Eder Dam collapsed.
In the meantime, the second wave was attempting to reach the Sorpe Dam. Only one of the five planes- AJ-T, piloted by McCarthy- got to the dam, and dropped the bomb under difficult conditions. But there was to be no breach.
The third wave met with disaster. They encountered heavy flak above Holland and most were killed - one man became a prisoner-of-war. There was a plane piloted by Brown, AJ-F, which reached the Sorpe at 3 am. An “Upkeep” was dropped but once again the dam held.
The breaching of the Mohne and Eder Dams caused severe flooding in the Ruhr Valley and huge loss of civilian life. 1,294 people died in the floods. 11 factories were destroyed or disabled, 144 hydraulic power plants and gun placements were destroyed. Basically, Squadron 617 or the 'Dambusters' had turned the river into a weapon of mass destruction. However, even though the mission was a success and things looked good now for the RAF, the allied forces had lost some brilliant young airmen. Barnes Wallis, who was peace-loving, was said to be delighted by the success of his invention, but horrified that it would bring about the deaths of so many fine men.
He said, referring to his weapon, “There is no greater joy in life than to first prove that a thing is impossible and then showing how it can be done. Any number of experiments had pronounced that the Mohne and Eder dams could not possibly be destroyed by any known means - and then one shows it can be done - but the doing was done by Guy Gibson and 617 Squadron, not by me.” Guy Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross medal for his part in the raid.
Of the 133 men that participated in the operation, 53 men died. 8 of the 19 planes failed to return to Scampton. Some say that if the Sorpe dam had been destroyed, the effect on Germany would have been a lot worse, it being the largest of the Ruhr dams. Others questioned why the RAF didn't continue 'nuisance' raids whilst the Germans were rebuilding the dams. However, the dam raid boosted the morale of the Allied countries and soon stories of the bravery of those incredible young men were being passed around. The combination of Barnes Wallis's brilliant mind, the organization of Bomber Command, and the wonderful leadership of Guy Gibson showed the public what teamwork could do. It was proof to the Allied world that true alliance, working together, was the key to winning the war.
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