Lancaster bomber to mark 80th anniversary of Dambusters raid with special flypast route
A Lancaster bomber will fly a special route around Lincolnshire next month to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the daring Dambusters raid.
The mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, is one of the Royal Air Force's most famous missions and helped turned the tide of the Second World War.
Nineteen Lancaster bombers from 617 Squadron took off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on the night of 16-17 May 1943 to destroy dams in Nazi Germany's industrial heartland and cut off vital supplies in the Ruhr Valley.
To mark the anniversary of the audacious mission, a Lancaster bomber from the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) will fly over all Bomber Command bases in Lincolnshire.
Bomber Command controlled the UK's bomber force between 1936-1968 and during the Second World War, more than a million personnel served or supported the command.
The BBMF Lancaster will fly over 34 locations on the evening of 16 May - exactly 80 years since Lancasters began taking off from Scampton bound for the Ruhr.
Flight Lieutenant Giles Croft, BBMF operations officer, said: "We are working hard to produce an achievable plan that allows us to showcase the Lancaster, commemorate the unsung heroes of Bomber Command and also incorporate the tasking we already had for the evening of 16 May."
Flt Lt Croft explained how there are some logistical challenges included in the commemorations.
"At this stage, the Lancaster sortie for that evening includes 34 flypast locations which is far more than we would normally plan in a single sortie," he said.
"We will try to 'make up the time' by reducing most events to a single overflight so that we can meet our fixed time over the RAF Museum in Hendon but still manage a tour of the Lincolnshire Bomber Command Airfields prior to landing before sunset.
"I personally can't wait to see our Lancaster over her home turf, against the same backdrop she would have had in the 1940s; I just hope that backdrop is clear evening skies with less than 15kts crosswind!"
Two dams were destroyed during the Dambusters raid using Sir Barnes Wallis' revolutionary bouncing bombs, while another was damaged.
Despite the success of the mission, there were some heavy losses.
Of the 133 airmen who left on the raids, 53 did not return - a survival rate of just over 60 percent.
Squadron Leader Mark Sugden, Officer Commanding the BBMF, said: "The Dambusters raid was one of the most audacious raids in the history of the Royal Air Force, and we at the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight are proud to commemorate the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of all those involved."
The BBMF is based at RAF Coningsby, also in Lincolnshire, and its mission is to maintain a number of historic wartime aircraft in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen.
You can see the full list and times of where the Lancaster will be flying on 16 May here on the RAF's website.
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