Non-Fiction
1 Best Non-Fiction Book About Operation Chastise
Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.
Phase
Operation Chastise
16–17 May 1943
On the night of 16–17 May 1943, No. 617 Squadron RAF attacked dams in Germany’s Ruhr region using specially designed bouncing bombs developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Eder dams were breached and the Sorpe was damaged.
The raid caused major flooding and disruption but also heavy civilian casualties, including forced labourers, while eight of the nineteen Lancasters failed to return. The operation became one of Bomber Command’s best-known raids and established the enduring “Dambusters” reputation of 617 Squadron.
