The Dam Busters: A Pocket History

Guy Gibson’s 617 Squadron was founded for one reason only – Operation Chastise – the raid on the Ruhr dams. Using Barnes Wallis’ revolutionary bouncing bomb, the hand-picked crews trained day and night over British reservoirs, perfecting the techniques required to deliver the new weapon to its target.On the night of 16/17 May 1943, three waves of modifi ed Lancasters took off and headed for the industrial heartland of Germany and a series of daring raids on the various dams providing water ...