Historic Dambusters raid remembered on 75th anniversary
Thales is supporting a conference with the Royal Aeronautical Society to mark the 75th anniversary of one of the most daring raids in the history of the Royal Air Force (RAF) – the ‘Dambusters’. The conference will involve a detailed review of the origin, preparation, execution and achievements of arguably the RAF's most famous single mission, 75 years ago.
On the night of 16-17 May 1943, Lancaster Bombers from the newly-formed and highly-secretive 617 Squadron took off from RAF Scampton to embark on Operation Chastise; an attack on the major dams of western Germany, using a purpose-built ‘bouncing bomb’, invented by Sir Barnes Wallis. The bomb contained vital fuze technology from Thales that played a key role in the mission’s success.
To mark the anniversary, Thales is part of a wider industry group sponsoring the Royal Aeronautical Society’s conference in London on 17 May, entitled ‘The Dams Raid 75 Years On – Reviewing Operation Chastise’. The conference will bring together distinguished historians with a deep understanding of the events and context of the operation, enabling it to be suitably marked with a balanced assessment of the mission.
617 Squadron was formed in March 1943 under the command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson with one mission – to attack and destroy the dams of western Germany vital for the Nazi industrial war effort. Using a squadron of specially modified Lancaster Bombers and acting in great secrecy, Gibson had the highly difficult task of training his crews in low-level flying to deliver an oil drum-sized weapon over water in May, when the dams were at their fullest. The bouncing bombs had to be dropped from a height of only 60ft at night, where they would bounce along the water, strike the dam wall, sink and then explode.
Andrew Culton, Business Development Manager from Thales in the UK, says: “Barnes Wallis knew that it was critical to the operation’s success that the bomb would not explode when it hit the water or the wall, but that it sank to the right depth alongside the wall to explode and create the shock wave to breach the dam wall. The hydrostatic fuzes, which were essentially modified depth charges, ensured the bomb exploded at the most critical point.”
Despite the hazardous low level threat, difficult terrain and enemy fire, 617 Squadron managed to seriously damage the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams. Despite considerable losses, the raid was a major morale boost for Great Britain during the darker days of World War Two.
Andrew will be taking one of the original bouncing bomb hydrostatic fuzes to the conference. EMI, which built the fuzes, later became part of Thales when operating as Thorn EMI – an iconic British engineering firm. He says: “It will be fitting to bring a little piece of history to such a prestigious event. It’s a part of our company heritage, which has continued to the present day where we still provide that critical bomb fuzing capability for modern RAF operations.”
For more information on the conference, visit the Royal Aeronautical Society’s website.