Operation Chastise, otherwise known as the Dam Busters raid, on the night of Nov. 16-17, 1943 was the most daring and successful air mission flown during the Second World War.
Made famous by books and movies, the destruction of the Mohne and Eder dams significantly hindered Nazi war production for months. The legendary raid has a local connection as several of the hand picked aircrew of RAF 617 ‘Dam Buster’ squadron trained at Huron County British Commonwealth Air Training Plan bases.
In March 1943, Wing Commander Guy Gibson was selected to command the newly formed special operations RAF 617 Squadron.
At the age of 24, Gibson was the Hollywood image of an RAF pilot. Handsome, brave, charming, almost shy but he was a deadly killer in the air. He had already had served three operational tours in both Bomber and Fighter Commands. He won the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross not once but twice.
In 1940, Air Marshall Sir Arthur Harris called Gibson “the most full out fighting pilot” in the RAF.
Yet he was also disciplinary tyrant who made exacting demands on his aircrews. The men of 617 were handpicked based on their demonstrated skills and ability to operate under extreme stress. Australians, New Zealanders and 29 Canadians augmented the British aircrews of 617 Squadron.
Among the crewmen was American born Joe McCarthy. McCarthy, 22, joined the RCAF in May 1941. He spent seven weeks training on Fleet Finches at Sky Harbour in Goderich. By early 1943 when he was tapped for 617 Squadron, Flt. Lieut. McCarthy had flown 30 bombing missions and won the Distinguished Flying Cross.
In March 1943, Pilot Officer Lewis Burpee, 25, had already completed 32 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Medal. In 1942, the Ottawa born Burpee earned his pilot’s wings at Centralia’s No. 9 Service Flight School. In March 1943, due to his effectiveness as both a leader and combat pilot, Burpee’s Wing Commander recommended him for Gibson’s 617 Squadron.
Special operations 617 Squadron was based at RAF Station Scampton in the U.K. Its purpose was to strike a decisive blow against four dams in the Ruhr Valley, which was the heart of the Nazi industrial complex. The problem of breaching the massive dams was solved by British engineering genius Barnes Wallis who developed a 9,250 lb (4,196 kg) ‘bouncing bomb’ that could skip across the water until it hit its target then sink and detonate like a depth charge.
The barrel shaped bomb was a brilliant innovation that required tremendous skill and accuracy on the part of aircrew to deliver. The bomb had to be dropped from just 60 feet (18 m) above the water at a precise speed of 232 mph (373 km/h) from a distance of 800 yards for the bomb to bounce seven times over the water to hit the dam, sink and explode.
In ideal conditions, the task demanded the highest aviation skill levels but heavy German anti-aircraft fire would make the mission’s success seem miraculous.
On the night of May 16-17, 1943, a total of 21 Lancasters equipped with a single bouncing bomb took off from England in three waves to strike the Ruhr dams. Flying at just 100 feet (30 m), Wing Commander Guy Gibson commanded the first wave of nine aircraft, Flt. Lieut. McCarthy led the second wave of five and Pilot Officer Burpee followed in the third wave.
McCarthy’s formation suffered disaster before it reached the target area. One Lancaster lost its bomb and turned back. Heavy flak over the Netherlands destroyed the radio in a second aircraft forcing it to return to base. Another Lancaster was shot down over the Dutch coast while a fourth hit hydro wires and crashed leaving just McCarthy’s plane as the sole aircraft in the second wave.
Gibson led his formation to the Mohne Dam where he made the first run. He successfully dropped his bomb hitting the dam but failed to rupture it. Gibson then circled above the dam to guide the remainder of his formation’s attacks one plane at a time.
The second aircraft flew too low and was destroyed by the blast of its own bomb. It took several more runs for the remaining Lancasters of Gibson’s first wave to breach the Mohne dam. Gibson then headed his formation to the Edersee dam, which was also breached.
Flt. Lieut. McCarthy’s objective was the Sorpe dam. Due to the topography surrounding the dam, the Sorpe was the most difficult target to approach. The run had to be made along the dam’s length rather than at right angles like the attacks on the other dams. The pilot then had to sharply pull his aircraft up to avoid crashing into a cliff face. McCarthy’s plane made 9 passes along the Sorpe dam before his bomb aimer was satisfied on the tenth run that the conditions were exactly right to release the bomb. The bouncing bomb hit the dam and damaged the crest but failed to breach it.
Centralia trained Pilot Officer Lewis Burpee was supposed to have attacked the Sorpe dam as well. His Lancaster was shot down over the Netherlands before it reached the target area. All crewmen aboard were killed.
In all, eight of the 19 Lancasters that took part in the raid were shot down. Out of 133 crewmen who made the attack, 53 were killed and three captured. Despite the loss of over a third of 617 Squadron, the “Dam Buster Raid” was deemed a brilliant success. Two dams were breached; industrial production in that part of the Ruhr Valley did not return to normal until September.
However, 600 German civilians and 1,000 Russian slave labourers were drowned when torrential waters from the breached dams swept away all in the flood.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson was awarded a Victoria Cross for his part in the raid. On a good will tour of North America, Gibson visited RCAF Station Centralia on Sept. 2, 1943. The Exeter Times Advocate lionized “Dam Buster” Gibson who pinned pilot wings on the graduating class. Gibson had barely a year to enjoy his celebrity status.
Bored with promoting the war effort, Gibson volunteered for combat duty. He was killed on Sept. 19, 1944 when his Mosquito fighter plane was shot down near Steenbergen, Netherlands.
In his book Dam Busters (2018), Ted Barris relates a moving anecdote about a Christmas gathering at the Walker family cottage in Grand Bend in the late 1990’s. The Walker family knew that their father, Revie Walker, had been an RCAF navigator in the first wave of the Dam Buster attack but had no idea how deeply the experience affected him until someone suggested playing the Dam Busters (1955) movie. In an attack scene, the actor playing Walker is visible for only a second, the room went silent as the real Revie Walker said “That’s me” as he relived the experience of over half a century ago. The unexpected outburst was an emotional experience for the Walker family that Christmas. When his son, John, asked his father if he was scared, he said “I was. It was incredibly high-risk. But it was worth it.”