617 Squadron

In May 1943, Guy Gibson led 617 Squadron on an audacious assault on the dams of the Ruhr valley using Barnes Wallis’ ingenious ‘bouncing bombs’.

What happened to RAF 617 Squadron after the completion of Operation Chastise?

The raid had been a success, but the bombing offensive against Nazi-occupied territories did not let up and 617 Squadron continued to be at the heart of these operations.

Squadron Leader Tom Bennett, who flew as one of the lead navigators of 617’s Mosquito marker force, recounts many of the precision attacks made by 617’s Lancasters on vital targets in occupied Europe, such as the tragic Pölitz raid of December 1944, the attack on Bergen in January 1945 and the numerous raids made against the Nazi battleships Tirpitz.

A number of personalities who served with the Squadron leap from the pages, like Tom McLean, who managed to destroy three night-fighters while wounded from his position as rear gunner, as well as the unpredictable Australian Colin Keith ‘Aspro’ Atbury who after being retired from active duty snuck out of his dull job with the Air Ministry to continue flying with his crew.