17. WWII’s Most Dramatic Air Raid
At the height of WWII on March 21st, 1943, a special Royal Air Force unit, No. 617 Squadron, was formed. The outfit, which in addition to British personnel also included aircrews from the Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Royal Air Forces, was tasked with the destruction of dams in the Ruhr Valley. Led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, Avro Lancaster heavy bombers were to fly at night along a dangerous route that left them exposed to deadly antiaircraft fire in order to come within viable attack positions. They were to then accurately deliver their ordnance to the targeted dams, despite protective torpedo nets that shielded the concrete structures.
The mission, Operation Chastise, was a dramatic raid against the Edersee, Sorpe, and Mohne dams conducted on the night of May 16th – 17th, 1943. Its genesis lay in contingency plans made before the war had even commenced. The British had long wondered about the feasibility of the destruction of the Ruhr dams in case of hostilities against Germany. The heart of German industry was located in the Ruhr Valley, and its dams not only provided hydroelectric power and water for steel plants, but also potable water for the workforce, as well as water for the region’s transportation canals. Various proposals were examined, but none produced a viable plan that stood a reasonable chance of success. Then, a fortuitous marriage of technological advances and a brilliant mind came to the rescue.