Of the 19 Lancasters that set out from RAF Scampton on Operation Chastise on the evening of 16 May 1943, only 11 returned. One hundred and thirty-three aircrew had trained for this epic mission, 53 had died and three would now spend the next two years as prisoners of war. However, for the remaining members of 617 Squadron, the war was far from over. Though basking in the glow of the audacious raid, more dangerous missions and special operations awaited 617’s airmen.
The first to leave the squadron was Flight Sergeant Cyril Anderson. One of the least experienced to fly on Chastise, he had experienced technical problems and was then forced off track by searchlights. Uncertain of his position he had abandoned his mission and returned home with his Upkeep bomb still onboard. Following a short interview with Wing Commander Gibson, the crew were immediately posted back to 49 Squadron. There they continued to operate with the main force, but ill fortune seemed to sit on their shoulders. On the night of 23 September 1943, they were all killed when their Lancaster was shot down by a night fighter near Offenbach while returning from an operation to Mannheim.
Others were more fortunate. Pilot Officer Bill Townsend who had been part of the reserve wave and attacked the Ennepe (or possibly the Bever) Dam – identification is uncertain – left 617 Squadron at the beginning of October 1943, deemed tour expired. Posted to the Conversion Unit at RAF Balderton, he subsequently spent the remainder of the war instructing, before being sent to India to fly Liberators in February 1945.
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NAUMACHIA TRUTH BEHIND ROME'S GLADIATOR SEA BATTLES
In their quest for evermore novel and bloody entertainment, the Romans staged enormous naval fights on artificial lakes
OPERATION MANNA
In late April 1945, millions of Dutch civilians were starving as Nazi retribution for the failed Operation Market Garden cut off supplies. eet as In response, Allied bombers launched a risky mission to air-drop food
GASSING HITLER
Just a month before the end of WWI, the future Fuhrer was blinded by a British shell and invalided away from the frontline. Over a century later, has the artillery brigade that launched the fateful attack finally been identified?
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One of the more difficult island campaigns in WWII's Pacific Theatre saw a brutal months-long fight that exhausted Japanâs military strength
MAD DAWN
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