Seventy one years ago today Guy Gibson was warming up his engines [Archive]

Fox3WheresMyBanana

16th May 2014, 21:44

..and 21 years ago today, on a beautiful evening, the BBMF Lanc pilot and I were paused at the end of the Scampton runway in the Devon, letting the history sink in. After about a minute, the exact same minute as Gibson*, we rolled. I was glad we were going to Coningsby, rather than Germany.

Glass raised.

*though not the hour, we weren't cleared for night flying.

500N

16th May 2014, 21:47

Fox3

That would have been something.

Fox3WheresMyBanana

16th May 2014, 21:55

..and here's where they went

http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag156/RickXI/124c2a90-d9c0-4dd6-81a7-3aaf0ba603bb_zps0863068d.jpg

MATELO

16th May 2014, 22:10

As it was then, as it is now ... and as it will always be....

Per Ardua Ad Astra

Clockwork Mouse

16th May 2014, 22:17

http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r787/turnermh/MeoverMohneDam_zps49e861c0.png

About 30 years after the event.

Fox3WheresMyBanana

16th May 2014, 22:27

Nice one :ok:
I was also there 48 years after - I was going a bit quick to take piccies.

I'll swear the guy in the restaurant recognised me when I paid by credit card - maybe he'd read the name off my helmet the last time through.:E

smujsmith

16th May 2014, 22:33

Guy Gibson, and his fellow squadron members should rightly be acknowledged for the duty they did all those years ago. A rather large glass of Bruichladdich raised in Pig-atop-the-hill this evening in memory. Respect to real heroes, from across our former commonwealth.

Smudge

Fox3WheresMyBanana

16th May 2014, 22:50

A small note for a hometown boy

http://dambusters.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/maccausland_11.jpg?w=213&h=300

Vincent MacCausland

Born in Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island, about 30 miles up the road from me. I actually came across his story yesterday as I am preparing a military display in a local museum. There's a fair few MacCauslands on the Island, the secretary at the Faculty where I lectured is one. He was a teacher originally, as was I.

He was the bomb aimer on Dinghy Young's crew. The man who pressed the button that started the breach in the Mohne Dam. They were shot down over the Dutch coast on the way home, no survivors.

His headstone reads:
"In loving memory. Faithful in duty. Courageous in battle. Brave in Death. At Rest."

More here
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Living/2008-05-17/article-1301846/The-Dambusters/1

p.s. he has Observer's wings as he did this on his first Tour. He was specially asked to retrain as a bomb aimer and serve a second Tour of Ops.

500N

16th May 2014, 23:04

Fox3

Great article.

langleybaston

16th May 2014, 23:07

RIP all our brave boys, and the girls they left behind.

And Nigger of course.

Octane

16th May 2014, 23:31

617 pilot Les Munro is living in NZ and I think 2 more aircrew from the raid are still with us..

langleybaston

16th May 2014, 23:45

A little anecdote, 1968.
I was a metman at RAF Gutersloh. We had brother-in-law and his wife visiting, as you do.
Looking at the dam and the unhealed breach was s.o.p. so we did, and then had a meal in a nearby stuebe. After a meal and drinks, we left.
An hour later, said brother-in-law noticed wallet was not attached to person.
so back to the pub, minging with locals. and the wallet was safely lodged behind bar, ready for idiot brother-in-law.
Whatever else is said, the post-Nazi Germans were and are a decent and honest and law-abiding bunch. I have long since made my peace with them.

oldpax

17th May 2014, 00:08

Also the groundcrew who sweated blood and tears getting them serviceable and ready.

Fox3WheresMyBanana

17th May 2014, 01:24

..and, like my grandfather, cleared out the blood and bits of the ones that struggled back, and patched them up again. Or, like my other grandfather, ensured they left the factory in good working order.

500N

17th May 2014, 01:39

The two dams have been breached by now and they have been on the way home for snow hour and a half.

John Botwood

17th May 2014, 04:27

Wander00

17th May 2014, 06:46

This time last year we had a couple staying in one of our gites and they were visited by her parents - English Mum, German Dad. 70th Anniversary got mentioned, father slowly stated " I was four years old and we were staying in our country cottage, when at night I heard the aeroplanes over head, and the explosions. In the morning I went down to the lake, and went back and told my Mother someone had pulled out the plug in the Edersee". Stunned silence all round

FantomZorbin

17th May 2014, 07:13

My school had a 'Film Club' on a Saturday night displaying such films as Genevieve etc.. The audience would be parents/relatives all sitting on very small chairs in the gym. The Dambusters, newly released, was on the menu so the FZ family duly attended. Before the show a Flight Lieutenant stood up and told us all the history of it - he looked rather worried and very ill at ease which I thought was the result of being confronted by a such a load of kids.

It was only many years later that the penny dropped about the discomfort of the F/L, poor s*d, ... in the audience was my mate's father - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Tedder.

The Bomber Command memorial is exceptionally moving - RIP

Wander00

17th May 2014, 07:24

FZ - The Memorial - stunning, thought provoking, and much dust in the air, Was there with French veterans from Elvington last year

CoffmanStarter

17th May 2014, 08:02

Great respect to all WWII Bomber Crews :D:D:D:D

But let's not forget the personal anguish that Barnes Wallis must have gone through on the night while the Op was on ... and when the losses started coming through on the W/T ...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Barnes_Wallis.jpg

CoffmanStarter

17th May 2014, 09:22

I'll swear the guy in the restaurant recognised me when I paid by credit card - maybe he'd read the name off my helmet the last time through.

So that'll be "F/L Due 11/09/91 O Poss" then :}

glad rag

17th May 2014, 10:04

Then and Now

I was watching our daughter's return to Oz by Qantas this morning whilst following this thread from time to time.

QF10 passed over Nuremberg 60 minutes after departure LHR at 39'000ft and 485kts.

Times change!!

JohnB

Odd indeed! I followed my own relatives 24hour previously on QF2, they passed 20km south of Weeze airport and the local area, where Mrs gr and self hitched up!

Took a screen shot and emailed it to them wishing them safe journey and good night!!

How times have changed indeed.

NutLoose

17th May 2014, 10:25

In the current Flypast magazine there are pictures the throttle box and yoke from Guy Gibsons bomber on that night, it was purloined from the hulk as it was being broken up.

Basil

17th May 2014, 12:15

ISTR reading that the WW2 Germans were surprised that the RAF didn't harrass the reconstruction work (No idea if they did or didn't).
No doubt that if the newly formed Germany and Great Britain had created an axis a hundred years ago they'd have been pretty formidable.
But, then, we were good mates with Argentina until a nutty president blew it.

Dengue_Dude

17th May 2014, 12:30

In those days he was allowed to call his black Labrador dog 'Nigger' without the risk of losing his job . . .

Just as well eh? :ugh:

Kiltrash

17th May 2014, 19:21

Aside from non mil but interested in all things WW2 etc and especialy as we were in Dortmund (2003 ish) and got into friendly drinking contest with the locals and turned out the men aged 50 almost all had relations killed in the Ruhr in the factories supporting the Nazi armament effort

and to a man / woman were glad the RAF and helped stopped Hitler! Respect

Samuel

18th May 2014, 03:15

Dam Buster Pilot Interview Sqn Ldr Les Munro - YouTube

Les Munro is still alive and well living in Tauranga, New Zealand
:D

Downwind.Maddl-Land

18th May 2014, 12:51

And Hopgood should have got a VC too.

Achieved a life-long ambition last year and stood – with a couple of hundred others – on the top of the Möhne at 0028 on 17 May and raised a class of ‘Raid on the Ruhr’ single malt with my beloved and her brother. Very atmospheric. It's unlikely we'll ever see their like again.

thing

19th May 2014, 20:27

Did my yearly dams run on the 15th (couldn't make the 16th) in memory. I believe and stand to be corrected that Howden Dam, the top one of Ladybower and Derwent Dams was the one they practised on rather than Ladybower itself. How they managed to get lined up in time is beyond belief. I tipped in doing half the speed they were doing and at a height that was at all times 500' from persons, structures and vessels your honour and literally seconds later I was over the lip of the dam.

My hat goes off to those guys who found the things in the middle of Germany in the dark while being shot at. I've no idea how they did it.

Fox3WheresMyBanana

19th May 2014, 21:57

It struck me as a surprising co-incidence that a turning point on the medium level solo Nav 1 on the JP at Cranwell was so close to the Ladybower dams. It was surprisingly easy to get a bit off track on that leg,
.....and to drift off the correct height too. A lot.

As I discovered later, almost all my course mates had identical problems ;)

thing

19th May 2014, 22:13

It was busy the other day. Met a very nice Rockwell Commander coming the other way up the Derwent, all lights on as I had, sensible chap and then a couple of PA28s diving down over Hathersage to begin their run.

I've never understood why people run 'up' the dams rather than 'down' them. It's the wrong aspect for a reasonable approximation of the actual training missions and there's a large set of valley walls at the end that I suspect would outclimb any asthmatic GA a/c or at least make for some interesting and reflectful moments.

Dysonsphere

20th May 2014, 06:04

I've never understood why people run 'up' the dams rather than 'down' them. It's the wrong aspect for a reasonable approximation of the actual training missions and there's a large set of valley walls at the end that I suspect would outclimb any asthmatic GA a/c or at least make for some interesting and reflectful moments.

Quite I would hate to try and climb quickly in a PA 28 partically if its a 140 with 3 or 4 up youre lucky to get airbourne at all.