16 May 1943
 

The above is the date of the anniversary of a famous bombing raid by the RAF.

Operation Chastise.

We will remember them.

I have stood on the centre of the Eder Dam, looked at the pattern they flew to make their attack runs and thought, they flew that in the dark whilst being shot at. It would be difficult enough to do with modern kit. Total respect.

YS

Yellow Sun
There were no defences on the Eder, but I have also stood where you did, and as you say some excellent flying. Incidentally my late Father was shot down only a few miles away on 3/10/43 and given the terrain as you will have seen was very lucky to survive the belly landing.

Cheers
Mr Mac

Whilst also respecting a very tight specification on height, speed and distance.!!

RAF Museum Midlands is officially opening the new Bomber Command display tomorrow. No, not an error. It was after midnight before the crews returned, I believe, and the true damage was known. A chance to see, among other things, a Wellington. No Lancaster, but there is Gibson's VC.

I once had a go at the run-in to the Eder Dam in the sim of a certain 4-engined transport ac, by day and with the benefit of a rad alt and autothrust (in place of the Nav plus lights and the Flt Eng). Damned if I could get lined up correctly at 60ft before reaching the dam…

Its a shame the BBMF couldn't put have something on over Ladybower to commemorate the 80th anniversary due to 'regulations' in place after Shoreham, but as it was a nice day I had a few hours up at Whinstone Lee Tor overlooking the valley and watched a few G.A. Aircraft trying the run alongside carrying sightseers.

A Defence Helicopter Flying School 'Juno HT1' (SYS73) did a low pass in the mid-afternoon which I thought was pretty neat, but nothing prepared me for what I saw when pulling up FR24 on the phone and seeing at a A400M 'Atlas' was taking a detour on it's way into Brize Norton and already setting up-sight for a run down the valley. Camera was set-up, the weather was perfect, it wasn't the same as a BBMF Lancaster but seeing the A400M doing it's manouvres weaving between the terrain was definitely worth the 4 hours of waiting. I was hoping with a slim-to-none chance that the RAF was going to do something "unofficial" and I got lucky today.

Various sources state that the crews had 7 seconds* to get the height right, speed right and line right at the Eder...

And the Eder was defended - by 2 sentries armed with rifles!!

*erroneously attributed to the Sorpe profile in one TV documentary, but the attack profile for the Sorpe could not have ben much more; moreover, McCarthy's/Johnson's UPKEEP was delivered from an estimated 30 feet.

Certain parts of these gentlemen's anatomy were ferrous in nature.

A shot of the flypast over Kirmington this evening

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....bd827a46e7.jpg

CAEBr

Hi CAEBr. I see the Marrowbone and Cleaver is still there. That used to be, IIRC, the haunt of 103 Sqn, and there was quite a bit of memorabilia inside. And good draught Bass!!

The roads over and around Elsham Wolds were packed this evening, it just shows how much this means to the locals. The Lancaster looked and sounded lovely in the evening sunshine.
Have 617 Sqn done anything (for the public)?

I must try the Marrowbone and Cleaver sometime, It still has lots of memorabilia and is very popular. Now there's a thought for a new thread.......

What was amazing was how little time the squadron had to practise - these days it would have been a 4 year "training process"

I think they 'save' actual Lancaster airborne hours by using the Dakota to practice.
Just struck me that, apart from UAS' and AEFs where Tutors are flown, Coningsby is probably the only RAF station where they would have a BFI for AVGAS.

I think Asturias56 was actually highlighting the short time that it took 617 sqn to work-up to the raid, rather than BBMF to perform the commemoration.

Whats equally remarkable is that the Squadron Commander and leader of the raid in 1943 was aged 24. In 2023 he would probably still be holding, awaiting an OCU slot.

"I think Asturias56 was actually highlighting the short time that it took 617 sqn to work-up to the raid, rather than BBMF to perform the commemoration."

correct!

Yes sorry, I misunderstood.

Squadron X - first crews arrived on 24 Mar 43, mission flown on 16 May 43, less than 2 months to train up in a completely new skill set (night OLF).

Even more impressive was that when ACM Portal gave the go ahead for the raid (24 Feb 43 as I recall) Upkeep existed only in plans, only smaller test bombs had been dropped. So the bomb was manufactured and used operationally in only 8 weeks!