70 years ago today, the Lancasters and their brave crews took off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire to take part in Operation Chastise, better known as the Dambuster Raid.

there is a program on more4 freeview channel 24 dambusters building the bouncing bomb an engineering doctor re creates the bombing of the dams by making one and using an old four engine aircraft no cgi

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The Germans had their own version of the bouncing bomb. They recovered an unexploded one after the raid and 'reverse' engineered it. They also added rockets to enhance it's performance I believe...Ian

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not sure who the two dispatch riders were in full regalia leaving derwent water this afternoon after the flypass but i was on a modern honda [with panniers as my excuse]but could not catch them through the traffic leaving.are tin hats allowed on public roads?

There are people who are re-assessing the damage and disruption caused by this raid which has always been played down as insignificant, with the main benefit being the boost in moral on the home front. That view was probably put out by the Nazi propaganda ministry.
Historians are now saying that the damage and long term disruption was immense. Factor in the lost production, the labour needed for rebuilding, the increased defences, the lack of water to put out fires in towns on successive conventional raids and it looks a worthy cost. Also, that labour and defence could have been deployed on the Atlantic / channel defences thereby increasing loses during the invasion, one year later.

Its took 70 years, but at least the Bomber Command memorial has been built, and we are beginning to truly appreciate the enormity of their achievements.

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