The British Air Ministry knew before the Second World War that the Ruhr Valley and its dams, the Mohne dam, the Sorpe dam, and the Eder dam, were “important strategic targets”. These dams not only protected the area from being flooded, but also regulated water levels and generated hydropower, too. And so, during the war, they knew that they had to do something about them.
On the night of 16–17 May 1943, a squadron of the Royal Air Force conducted a daring mission deep into German territory to destroy two dams in the Ruhr valley, the industrial heartland of Germany. The subsequent flooding destroyed two hydroelectric power plants and several factories and mines, crippling Germany’s steel and coal production. The mission was codenamed Operation Chastise.
While the operation was successful in destroying the dams, its impact was “not enough to change the course of the war.”
Learn more about this operation, as well as the squadron formed for the mission, the Dam Busters, over at Amusing Planet.
(Image Credit: The National Archives UK/ Wikimedia Commons)
the dam bustahs
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From the But I Digress department. And here's a picture of Ursula Jeans as Mrs. Wallis, Doctor Wallis's wife in the movie.
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