The Dambusters - 'Was it Worth it?': Barnes Wallis and the Men Behind the Raid in Their Own Words

On 16 May 1943, 617 Squadron's first mission saw 19 Avro Lancasters deploy bouncing bombs to breach the Möhne and Eder dams, inflicting significant damage on Nazi Germany’s industrial Ruhr region.

On the evening of 16 May 1943, nineteen Avro Lancasters took off from RAF Scampton to undertake 617 Squadron’s first offensive attack since its formation a few weeks earlier. Loaded with Barnes Wallis’ newly designed bouncing bombs, the Bomber Command crews set course for their targets – the vital ...