Earlier this month, aviation enthusiasts and military veterans alike gathered outside Sheffield to mark the 70th anniversary of one of World War II’s most memorable air assaults: Operation Chastise, otherwise known as the "dambusters" mission.
The gathering was extra special because vintage aircraft, including a Lancaster bomber, recreated a dambuster mission by performing three runs over the Derwent Dam in Derbyshire which, coincidentally, was used back in 1943 by the 617 Squadron pilots to train in preparation of the daring night missions using “bouncing bombs” against dams in Nazi Germany’s industrial heartland in the Ruhr Valley.
If you want to learn more about the actual mission, a quick look at YouTube reveals the following documentary narrated by Actor Martin Shaw who also talked to the last living RAF veteran of the mission as well as a survivor of the tsunami that was caused by the Moehne dam’s destruction:
The Aviationist blog has posted the following footage from onboard the RAF Memorial Flight Lancaster as it flew over the Derwent Dam:
Finally, PlanesTV has the following footage taken from the ground of the Lancaster flying over the dam:
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