Posted on 05/18/2014 12:59:26 AM PDT by Rummyfan
In the years since the night of May 16-17, 1943 – the night of Operation Chastise – the events that transpired on that moonlit spring night have been made into feature films, documentaries, novels, non-fiction books, magazine articles, dramatic paintings, computer games, marches and comic books. It was a stunning attack deep inside Germany on targets long thought to be unassailable.
On that dark night, lit only by the moon, 133 very young men of 617 Squadron took off in 19 specially-modified Avro Lancaster bombers, formed up and flew extremely low over the English Channel across the Dutch coast.
Having trained for months to deliver a very special weapon, the young men were headed for a date with destiny. The aircraft were to fly low, beneath radar coverage, navigate deep into Germany, locate and attack a series of massive dams on tributaries of the Ruhr River. Behind each of these dams – the Möhne, the Sorpe, the Eder and the Ennepe – were massive reservoirs of water that, it was hoped, would flood factory sites downstream and bring much of Germany's industrial production to a standstill.
(Excerpt) Read more at rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca ...
Please elaborate
The C-46 had a lot more in it that could go wrong than the C-47.
Whatever became of that C-46 that landed in the desert where the crew stood off the sheriff at gunpoint and then they took off for Mexico and were never seen again?
Yes, two different companies (Curtis vs. Douglas).....one can’t help but think the Douglas designers took a cue from Curtis, though. Yet the B-29 designers went back to that characteristic ballistic nose.
Destruction of civilian infrastructure is a war crime.
The development of Dr. Barnes Wallis’ “bouncing bomb” is fully covered and the how and why behind its use by No. 617 Squadron is accurately described and shown. The success of the Ruhr dams raid was a tribute to Wing Commander Guy Gibson's ability and charisma.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson had a black lab that he'd named the non-PC N-word and that would not translate well for today's audiences. The same day Gibson flew his mission against the dams was the day he lost his dog (hit by a car).
After winning his Victoria Cross for the raid on the Ruhr dams, Gibson continued as commander of No. 617 Squadron until he was reassigned (eventually) to 5 Group of Bomber Command. No. 617 Squadron became the specialist squadron for testing Dr. Barnes Wallis’ later bombs: the 12,000 lb. “Tall Boy” and 22,000 lb. “Earthquake” bombs.
Sadly, Guy Gibson did not survive the war. His Mosquito from 5 Group was shot down over Germany on 19 September 1944.
Since when? Munitions factories included? Shipyards?
War is one Nation against another. Thankfully, most of that aggression is directed against their respective military. Too often the politicians are all too eager to send young men to die when there is no personal danger to the politician.
The great thing about nuclear weapons is that finally the politicians were in as great a danger as the military. THAT made them stop and think a bit!
Like we did in Iraq?
Hey, don’t get mad at me. I don’t make the rules.
Most infamously in Serbia.
As it happens every member of his crew died in action during the course of the war.
The name of Group Leader Gibson’s dog cannot be uttered due to political correctness.
True fact: sadly, his dog was run over & killed the day before the mission. Gibson ordered that the dog be buried at exactly midnight the night of the raid, saying, “We’ll both be going into the ground at the same time”.
“Bomber Command crews also suffered an extremely high casualty rate: 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4% death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. This covered all Bomber Command operations including tactical support for ground operations and mining of sea lanes.
A Bomber Command crew member had a worse chance of survival than an infantry officer in World War I; more people were killed serving in Bomber Command than in the entire Blitz, or in the bombings of Hamburg or Dresden. By comparison, the US Eighth Air Force, which flew daylight raids over Europe had 350,000 aircrew during the war and suffered 26,000 killed and 23,000 POWs.
Of the RAF Bomber Command personnel killed during the war, 72% were British, 18% were Canadian, 7% were Australian and 3% were New Zealanders.
Taking the example of 100 airmen:
>55 killed on operations or died as result of wounds
>3 wounded on operations or active service
>12 taken prisoner of war (some wounded)
>2 shot down and evaded capture
>27 survived an operational tour"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.