Op Chastise - 74 yrs ago tonight
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Op Chastise - 74 yrs ago tonight
Most of us lead busy lives, so in the hubbub of that daily routine one could be forgiven for overlooking today's date.
So this is hopefully a timely reminder that this evening might be an appropriate juncture to open a bottle of your favourite tipple and have a drink to 133 men whose Personal Parts were clearly ferrous in nature.
And have a second for the 53 that didn't make it back, especially Flt Lt John Hopgood DFC* who should have also got a VC, IMHO.
So this is hopefully a timely reminder that this evening might be an appropriate juncture to open a bottle of your favourite tipple and have a drink to 133 men whose Personal Parts were clearly ferrous in nature.
And have a second for the 53 that didn't make it back, especially Flt Lt John Hopgood DFC* who should have also got a VC, IMHO.
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For those who came in late, as the Phantom would say. (I'm referring to those who think 30 years ago, was ancient times).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise
Those brave men must have needed wheelbarrows to haul around their cojones, I'd say. One doubts whether we'll see their like again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise
Those brave men must have needed wheelbarrows to haul around their cojones, I'd say. One doubts whether we'll see their like again.
May have mentioned it before but had a gite guest a few years back who as a small boy had been awakened by aircraft noise and explosions. He went for a walk and came back and told hid Mother that someone had pulled out the plug of the Edersee.......
Based at JHQ Rheindahlen in the early 1970s it was standard practice to visit the Dams or in my case the Möhnesee during ones' tour in Germany.
I took this photo of the dam in 1973, but struggled then as now when I examine the photo to see where repairs to the face had been made, although to be fair the photo was taken thirty-years after repair and assume the brick facing has weathered over the years.
I took this photo of the dam in 1973, but struggled then as now when I examine the photo to see where repairs to the face had been made, although to be fair the photo was taken thirty-years after repair and assume the brick facing has weathered over the years.
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Under the Geneva Conventions of nowadays, wouldn't the deaths of the 800+ Allied POWs which resulted from that 'atrocity' be considered to be a war crime?
Or is that outdated thinking?
Or is that outdated thinking?
Visited the Eder on the 40th anniversary of the raid...
In an F-4. At low level, several passes - some in formation. The Gutersloh SNavO had forgotten to tell us that we weren't supposed to use the dams as turning points / targets etc. But lots of genpub waving at us seemed happy enough.
I think...
Didn't have the heart to tell the SNavO that we'd also 'said hello' to the Möhne on the way back to Gut...
In an F-4. At low level, several passes - some in formation. The Gutersloh SNavO had forgotten to tell us that we weren't supposed to use the dams as turning points / targets etc. But lots of genpub waving at us seemed happy enough.
I think...
Didn't have the heart to tell the SNavO that we'd also 'said hello' to the Möhne on the way back to Gut...
PDR1, we were there on detachment from Wattisham for EX BOLD GAUNTLET, together with some F-15s, Mirage 3, C-160 and a C-130.
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Under the Geneva Conventions of nowadays, wouldn't the deaths of the 800+ Allied POWs which resulted from that 'atrocity' be considered to be a war crime?
PDR
Just to back Beagle up - it was as he says, detached Ops - there was an (?) annual exercise based at least in part at Gutersloh that involved various NATO Air Defenders, (and others). Looking at the logbook I've got a few F-4 sorties flown out of there in '81.
What was an F4 doing operating out of Gutesloh
Last edited by wiggy; 17th May 2017 at 09:59.
Onetrack,
"One doubts whether we'll see their like again."
Oh contraire, we saw many MANY examples of 'their like' in Iraq and Afghanistan and many paid a grievous price for it.
"One doubts whether we'll see their like again."
Oh contraire, we saw many MANY examples of 'their like' in Iraq and Afghanistan and many paid a grievous price for it.
To mark the occasion, I see that the RAF Museum has circulated a photograph .... with a certain dog front and near-centre:
https://twitter.com/rafmuseum/status/864786354017796096
https://twitter.com/rafmuseum/status/864786354017796096
Originally Posted by Beagle
PDR1, we were there on detachment from Wattisham for EX BOLD GAUNTLET, together with some F-15s, Mirage 3, C-160 and a C-130.
We found that at one end you could get down to a small pebbley beach next to the dam, so some of us went paddling. And of course we started skimming stones - for some reason this really upset them...
Mind you, I thought they were rather selective in their outrage, because the gift-shop/cafe on the dam itself sold the old Revel plastic kit of the Lancaster Type 464 as a souvenir.
PDR