70 yrs ago today, 19 Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron RAF skilfully attacked the great dams of Western Germany using an innovative new Bouncing Bomb developed by Barnes Wallis to breach the dam defences . ‘Operation Chastise’ the official title of the Dambusters Raid was a partial success. Of the five intended targets only two of the dams were breached. Nevertheless the raid is rightly one of the greatest moments in R.A.F. history and lives on in legend. 8 aircraft were lost, 53 crew were killed and 3 captured. Two hydroelectric power plants were destroyed and several more were damaged. Many factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. It is estimated that 1.600 Germans were killed when the Mohne and Edersee dams were breaches, causing catastrophic flooding in the heavily industrialised Ruhr Valley and in the Eder Valley.
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