Military Operations
Operation Chastise
Modern
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Operation Chastise, known as the Dambusters Raid, was a night bombing attack by the Royal Air Force's No. 617 Squadron against dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley on the night of 16-17 May 1943. Nineteen modified Avro Lancaster bombers, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, dropped specially designed Barnes Wallis bouncing bombs at extremely low altitude to breach the Mohne and Eder dams. The resulting floods destroyed two hydroelectric power stations and damaged industrial infrastructure across the Ruhr, at a cost of eight aircraft and 53 aircrew lost.
Facts
Operation TypeSpecial-forces bombing raid 1 LocationRuhr Valley, Germany (Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams) 1 ParticipantsNo. 617 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, with RAF, RAAF, RCAF and RNZAF aircrew 1 ObjectiveDestroy German dams supplying hydroelectric power and water to the Ruhr industrial region to disrupt arms production 1 OutcomeThe Mohne and Eder dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding and destroying two hydroelectric power stations; eight of 19 aircraft were lost with 53 aircrew killed 1 Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.