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Lancaster B.Mk.I (Special)
Unit: 617 Sqn, RAF
Serial: AJ-C (ED817)
This aircraft was modified for the Upkeep/Dam Buster bomb. Due to damage sustained during trial drops of the weapon, this particular aircraft did not take part in the Dam raids.
Lancaster B.Mk.III (Special)
Unit: 617 Sqn, RAF
Serial: AJ-A (ED887)
In the night on 16th/17th of May 1943, this Lancaster was piloted by S/Ldr H.M.Young taking part in operation ‘Chastise’ (attack of German dams in Ruhr river basin (Ruhrgebiet).
Whilst 1943 marked a steady increase in the ability of Bomber Command to mount heavy and increasingly accurate raids over Germany, as a prelude to the major offensives of 1944, it is the ‘Dams Raid’ of the nights of 16/17 May 1943 that most people are aware of. Of the 19 Lancasters of 617 Squadron that attacked the Mohne, Eder, Sorpe and Ennepe Dams, 8 failed to return. Many modern commentators now decry the raid as failure to achieve the strategic successes prophesied. However, whilst that had been the aspiration in 1938 it was recognised by 1943 that that was not likely. The Mohne and Eder were breached and the swift German repairs to industry and infrastructure, utilising the Todt Organisation inside Germany for the first time, were only achieved at great expense to other projects such as the Atlantic Wall. Canal, and hence coal, traffic on which the Ruhr industries depended was disrupted and steel production reduced. Furthermore, a Division’s-worth of manpower, plus AAA guns and barrage balloons, were swiftly deployed to defend other dams from potential attack. Finally, the raid had positive morale effects not only upon the other crews of Bomber Command but also upon the UK and allied populations.
