Flightlines JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
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3.1 the Dambusters Revisited
The Dambusters Revisited J.L. HINKS, Halcrow Group Ltd. C. HEITEFUSS, Ruhr River Association M. CHRIMES, Institution of Civil Engineers SYNOPSIS. The British raid on the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams on the night of 16/17 May, 1943 caused the breaching of the 40m high Möhne and 48m high Eder dams and serious damage to the 69m high Sorpe dam. This paper considers the planning for the raid, model testing, the raid itself, the effects of the breaches and the subsequent rehabilitation of the dams. Whilst the subject is of considerable historical interest it also has significant contemporary relevance. Events following the breaching of the dams have been used for the calibration of dambreak studies and emphasise the vulnerability of road and railway bridges which is not always acknowledged in contemporary studies. INTRODUCTION In researching this paper the authors have been very struck by the human interest in the story of English, German and Ukrainian people, whether civilian or in uniform, who participated in some aspect of the raid or who lost their lives or homes. As befits a paper for the British Dam Society, this paper, however, concentrates on the technical questions that arise, leaving the human story to others. This paper was prompted by the BDS sponsored visit, in April 2009, to the Derwent Reservoir by 43 members of the Association of Friends of the Hubert-Engels Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Applied Hydromechanics at Dresden University of Technology. There is a small museum at the dam run by Vic Hallam, an employee of Severn Trent Water. -
Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell
Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell Roger Bushell is famously remembered as “Big X”, the mastermind and driving force behind what is arguably the most audacious prisoner of war escape of the Second World War. The story of the breakout later became immortalized on film in “The Great Escape”, based on the best-selling book of the same name by fellow prisoner, Paul Brickhill. This has largely overshadowed other aspects of his life, his pre-war flying experiences and his, albeit, short wartime role within the RAF. Roger Joyce Bushell was born in 1910 in South Africa to an English gold- mining engineer. At the age of 10 he was sent to boarding school at Wellington in England. Following this he spent time at Grenoble University, becoming a proficient linguist in French and German before going to Cambridge in 1929. Whilst there, he indulged in his non-academic passions including acting, rugby and skiing. It was also whilst at Cambridge that Bushell took up his other great passion: flying. In 1932 he joined 601 Squadron Auxiliary Air Force as a Pilot Officer. 601 Squadron was otherwise known as “The Millionaires’ Squadron” because most of its members were wealthy young men, paying their way to learn how to fly at the weekend. Many of these men were also fellow skiers, such as Max Aitken, who joined the squadron in 1934 following some encouragement from Bushell. Bushell won his wings in June 1933 and was promoted to the rank of Flying Officer 8 months later. On graduating from Cambridge with a law degree, Bushell was called to the Bar in 1934. -
MASAD-83-22 Air Force and Navy Trainer Aircraft Acquisition Programs
/-Gr - Y 4 , +Asl+H., c BY THECOMPTROLLER GENERAL ’ eport To The Congress8 z THEUNITED STATES r Force And Navy Trainer rcraft Acquisition Programs G41 examined the status of one Navy and tvAir Force Programs to acquire 1,184 tri ler aircraft costing an estimated $10.8 bi In over the next decade. GAO found th *The Department of Defense needs to firm up its plans to acquire T-45 aircraft for training Navy pilots. In doing so, the Navy should be directed to consider extending use of its present aircraft. -The Air Force’s T-46A has experienced some cost growth. Its accelerated en- ginadevelopment and concurrent test- ing and production are areas of poten- tial concern. -The Air Force planned to begin develop- ment of the Tanker-Transport-Bomber Training System in fiscal year 1983, but tha Congress did not authorize’ appropriations for the program in that! y@ar. The Air Force has applied for\\ fiscal year 1984 approval. \ 121798 GAO/MA#AD-82-22 &LY &I983 Request for copies of GAO reports should be sent to: U.S. General Accounting Off ice Document Handling and Information Services Facility P.O. Box 6015 Gaithersburg, Md. 20760 Telephone (202) 2756241 The first five copies of individual reports are free of charge. Additional copies of bound audit reports are $3.25 each. Additional copies of unbound report (i.e., letter reports) and most other publications are $1.00 each. There will be a 26% discount on all orders for 100 or more copies mailed to a single address. Salk orders must be prepaid on a cash, check, or money order basis. -
Premises, Sites Etc Within 30 Miles of Harrington Museum Used for Military Purposes in the 20Th Century
Premises, Sites etc within 30 miles of Harrington Museum used for Military Purposes in the 20th Century The following listing attempts to identify those premises and sites that were used for military purposes during the 20th Century. The listing is very much a works in progress document so if you are aware of any other sites or premises within 30 miles of Harrington, Northamptonshire, then we would very much appreciate receiving details of them. Similarly if you spot any errors, or have further information on those premises/sites that are listed then we would be pleased to hear from you. Please use the reporting sheets at the end of this document and send or email to the Carpetbagger Aviation Museum, Sunnyvale Farm, Harrington, Northampton, NN6 9PF, [email protected] We hope that you find this document of interest. Village/ Town Name of Location / Address Distance to Period used Use Premises Museum Abthorpe SP 646 464 34.8 km World War 2 ANTI AIRCRAFT SEARCHLIGHT BATTERY Northamptonshire The site of a World War II searchlight battery. The site is known to have had a generator and Nissen huts. It was probably constructed between 1939 and 1945 but the site had been destroyed by the time of the Defence of Britain survey. Ailsworth Manor House Cambridgeshire World War 2 HOME GUARD STORE A Company of the 2nd (Peterborough) Battalion Northamptonshire Home Guard used two rooms and a cellar for a company store at the Manor House at Ailsworth Alconbury RAF Alconbury TL 211 767 44.3 km 1938 - 1995 AIRFIELD Huntingdonshire It was previously named 'RAF Abbots Ripton' from 1938 to 9 September 1942 while under RAF Bomber Command control. -
US Army Air Forces.Pdf
U.S. Army Military History Institute Air-WWII 950 Soldiers Drive Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5021 11 Aug 2012 U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES, WWII A Working Bibliography of MHI Sources CONTENTS General Sources......p.1 Organization/Administration/Training/Equipment......p.3 Bombing Technique.....p.4 Aircraft.....p.4 Overseas Operations/Units General Sources......p.6 Europe.......p.7 -Air Attacks on Ploesti…..p.10 -Firebombing of Dresden…..p.11 -Accidental Bombing of Switzerland…..p.13 Mediterranean.....p.13 -Lady-Be-Good…..p.14 Asia-Pacific.....p.14 The “Confederate” Air Force…..p.16 GENERAL SOURCES Air Force/AAF Review, 1942-46. Per. Official service journal. Arnold, Henry H. "The Army Air Forces." Army Navy Journal (22 Aug 1942): pp. 1441-42. Per. Bowman, Martin W. Clash of Eagles: USAAF 8th Air Force Bombers Versus the Luftwaffe in World War 2. South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2006. 254 p. D785.B6962. Bright, Charles D., editor. Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Air Force. NY: Greenwood, 1992. 710 p. UH23.3.H36. Eaker, Ira. Oral history transcripts & clippings. Arch. Ehlers, Robert S., Jr. Targeting the Third Reich: Air Intelligence and the Allied Bombing Campaigns. Lawrence, KS: UP of KS, 2009. 422 p. D810.S7.E45. U.S. Army Air Forces, WWII p.2 Jablonski, Edward. America in the Air War. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1982. 176 p. D790.J33. Merry, Lois K. Women Military Pilots of World War II: A History with Biographies of American, British, Russian and German Aviators. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2011. 212 p. D785.M47. Mireles, Anthony J Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945. -
A Tribute to Bomber Command Cranwellians
RAF COLLEGE CRANWELL “The Cranwellian Many” A Tribute to Bomber Command Cranwellians Version 1.0 dated 9 November 2020 IBM Steward 6GE In its electronic form, this document contains underlined, hypertext links to additional material, including alternative source data and archived video/audio clips. [To open these links in a separate browser tab and thus not lose your place in this e-document, press control+click (Windows) or command+click (Apple Mac) on the underlined word or image] Bomber Command - the Cranwellian Contribution RAF Bomber Command was formed in 1936 when the RAF was restructured into four Commands, the other three being Fighter, Coastal and Training Commands. At that time, it was a commonly held view that the “bomber will always get through” and without the assistance of radar, yet to be developed, fighters would have insufficient time to assemble a counter attack against bomber raids. In certain quarters, it was postulated that strategic bombing could determine the outcome of a war. The reality was to prove different as reflected by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris - interviewed here by Air Vice-Marshal Professor Tony Mason - at a tremendous cost to Bomber Command aircrew. Bomber Command suffered nearly 57,000 losses during World War II. Of those, our research suggests that 490 Cranwellians (75 flight cadets and 415 SFTS aircrew) were killed in action on Bomber Command ops; their squadron badges are depicted on the last page of this tribute. The totals are based on a thorough analysis of a Roll of Honour issued in the RAF College Journal of 2006, archived flight cadet and SFTS trainee records, the definitive International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) database and inputs from IBCC historian Dr Robert Owen in “Our Story, Your History”, and the data contained in WR Chorley’s “Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, Volume 9”. -
Prisoners of War 1915 – 1945
“In the Bag”: Prisoners of War 1915 – 1945 “IN THE BAG”: PRISONERS OF WAR 1915 - 1945 THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE HELD AT THE POMPEY ELLIOT MEMORIAL HALL, CAMBERWELL RSL BY MILITARY HISTORY AND HERITAGE, VICTORIA. 12 NOVEMBER 2016 Proudly supported by: “In the Bag”: Prisoners of War 1915 – 1945 One of ‘The Fifty’- Understanding the human cost of The Great Escape through the relics of Squadron Leader James Catanach DFC Neil Sharkey A lot of people know about the Great Escape and their most important source of information is this document :- And the detail of the escape they remember most, is this one. “In the Bag”: Prisoners of War 1915 – 1945 I really shouldn’t make light of one of the Second World War’s most fascinating and tragic episodes and only do so to make the point that the film was made as entertainment. Many aspects of the story were altered for commercial reasons. None of the actual escapees were American, for instance, and none of the escape attempts involved stolen motorcycles, or hijacked Messerschmitts. Most characters in the film were amalgams of many men rather than single individuals and the ‘The Fifty’ to who the film is dedicated were not machine- gunned in one place at the same time, as depicted in the film, but shot in small groups, in different locales, over many days. Much of what the film does depict, however, is correct, the way sought-after items—tools, identity papers, supplies—were fabricated or otherwise obtained, as well as, the inventive technologies employed in the planning of the escape and the construction of the tunnel. -
The Dams Raid
The Dams Raid An Air Ministry Press Release, dated Monday, 17th May 1943, read as follows: In the early hours of this (Monday) morning a force of Lancasters of Bomber Command led by Wing Commander G. P. Gibson, D.S.O, D.F.C., attacked with mines the dams at the Möhne and Sorpe reservoirs. These control two-thirds of the water storage capacity of the Ruhr basin. Reconnaissance later established that the Möhne Dam had been breached over a length of 100 yards and that the power station below had been swept away by the resulting floods. The Eder Dam, which controls head waters of the Weser and Fulda valleys and operates several power stations, was also attached and was reported as breached. Photographs show the river below the dam in full flood. The attacks were pressed home from a very low level with great determination and coolness in the face of fierce resistance. Eight of the Lancasters are missing. That short statement lacked some of the secret details and the full human story behind one of the most famous raids in the history of the Royal Air Force. It is the real story of the Dambusters. The story of the “bouncing bomb” designer Barnes Wallis and 617 Squadron is heavily associated with the film, starring Michael Redgrave as Dr Barnes Wallis and Richard Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson – and featuring the Dambusters March, the enormously popular and evocative theme by Eric Coates. The film opened in London almost exactly twelve years after the events portrayed. The main detail of the raid which was not fully disclosed until much later was the true specification of the bomb, details which were still secret when the film was made. -
Geoffrey Wellum: the Battle of Britain’S Youngest Warrior
Never StillStay Geoffrey Wellum: The Battle of Britain’s Youngest Warrior BY RACHEL MORRIS As Hitler’s tanks roll into Poland on September 1, 1939, Europe’s worst fears are confi rmed: war becomes inevitable. A thousand miles away, a young man celebrates his fi rst solo fl ight in a de Havilland Tiger Moth, heading to a quiet English country pub with friends to enjoy a pint of beer. As his training continues, the mighty German Blitzkrieg sweeps across the continent. Soon he will earn his coveted Royal Air Force pilot wings in time to join the most epic aerial battle of history: defending the green fi elds of his homeland from the Luftwaff e foe determined to clear the path for invasion. Interviewed in London’s RAF Club in 2012, Geoff rey Wellum recounted his experiences as the youngest pilot to fl y and fi ght during the Battle of Britain. 22 fl ightjournal.com 2 Never Stay Still.indd 22 7/16/13 2:52 PM Spitfi re Mk I P9374 comes in to land at Duxford, England on a fall evening. No. 92 Squadron fi rst received Spitfi res in early 1940 and fl ew various marks throughout the war. Wellum was struck by the machine’s great beauty but regretted they had to use such a wonderful aircraft as a weapon of war. (Photo by John Dibbs/planepicture.com) SPITFIRE 23 2 Never Stay Still.indd 23 7/16/13 2:52 PM Never stay still East India Flying Squadron gets Scrambled again in the afternoon, the squad- blooded ron suffered further losses with Flight Lieuten- After completing advanced pilot training, Wel- ant Paddy Green badly wounded, Sergeant Paul lum was posted straight to No. -
Source N - Great Escape Article from Mail Online by Phil Craig
Wartime West Sussex 1939 - 1945 The Great Escape case study Source N - Great Escape article from Mail Online by Phil Craig The story starts with a classic moment of British derring-do - what Hollywood rightly christened The Great Escape. On March 24, 1944, 76 Allied airmen, mostly RAF officers, crawled along a tunnel deep beneath the forbidding fences and deadly machine-gun towers of the Stalag Luft III PoW camp and escaped to freedom. Unfortunately, the tunnel was discovered half way through the break-out and many more got left behind. Among them was 21- year-old Flight Lieutenant Alan Bryett. Today, sitting in his home in Bromley, Bryett smiles at the recollection of their extraordinary escapade - and the courage of its leader, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, 'the bravest man I ever knew'. He also insists that Bushell never took the terrible risks they faced for granted. 'I remember him telling us that we couldn't run an escape like this without one or two of us being killed.' Hero: British prisoner-of-war Roger Bushell was shot by the Nazis in 1944 after attempting to escape Unfortunately, however, it wasn't just one or two who lost their lives. In the end, 50 of the escapees, including Squadron Leader Bushell, were murdered by the Germans. Imprisoned since 1940, Bushell was a driven man and a fanatical escaper. One previous attempt had ended in tragedy when the Czech family sheltering him were rounded up and executed, so Bushell knew exactly what the enemy was capable of. He had also been warned that his next escape would be his last. -
Features: RAF100 Steam Challenge • RAF100 Parade in Leicester • Wittfest Success • Community Support
TITLE OF ARTICLE SECTION HEADING Autumn 2018 Autumn WitteringThe official magazine for RAF Wittering and the A4 Force View AUTUMN 2018 WITTERING VIEW 1 Features: RAF100 Steam Challenge • RAF100 Parade in Leicester • WittFest Success • Community Support SECTION HEADING TITLE OF ARTICLE Editor Welcome to the autumn edition of the Wittering View. It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was introducing my first edition. I’m sure most of us have the same impression with the high tempo of Foreword work going on around the Unit. The main feature continues with proving powerful, and is helping the celebration of the RAF Centenary. In what has been a remarkable year for us to make informed decisions RAF Wittering personnel have been the Royal Air Force, Wittering continues to that better take account of involved in a vast array of events in the needs of our people. I was support of RAF100. A fascinating article focus on its dual roles of being the home of particularly proud to see the about the Steam Challenge on page Shadow Board engage with the 12 demonstrates the diversity involved specialist engineering and logistics capabilities Chief of the Air Staff and members in the events. We also have more on of the Air Force Board Executive the Baton Relay on page 13, with more under the command of the A4 Force, while Committee during their recent coverage of the significant RAF100 also providing a safe aerodrome at which the visit to the Station and, more event in London on page 16. The importantly, heartened to see the support from 2 MT Sqn can be read on next generation of military pilots learn to fly. -
467 Squadron RAAF, WW2 Fatalities
Cover Design by: 121Creative Lower Ground Floor, Ethos House, 28-36 Ainslie Pl, Canberra ACT 2601 phone. (02) 6243 6012 email. [email protected] www.121creative.com.au Printed by: Kwik Kopy Canberra Lower Ground Floor, Ethos House, 28-36 Ainslie Pl, Canberra ACT 2601 phone. (02) 6243 6066 email. [email protected] www.canberra.kwikkopy.com.au Compilation Alan Storr 2006 The information appearing in this compilation is derived from the collections of the Australian War Memorial and the National Archives of Australia. Author : Alan Storr Alan was born in Melbourne Australia in 1921. He joined the RAAF in October 1941 and served in the Pacific theatre of war. He was an Observer and did a tour of operations with No 7 Squadron RAAF (Beauforts), and later was Flight Navigation Officer of No 201 Flight RAAF (Liberators). He was discharged Flight Lieutenant in February 1946. He has spent most of his Public Service working life in Canberra – first arriving in the National Capital in 1938. He held senior positions in the Department of Air (First Assistant Secretary) and the Department of Defence (Senior Assistant Secretary), and retired from the public service in 1975. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Melbourne University) and was a graduate of the Australian Staff College, ‘Manyung’, Mt Eliza, Victoria. He has been a volunteer at the Australian War Memorial for 21 years doing research into aircraft relics held at the AWM, and more recently research work into RAAF World War 2 fatalities. He has written and published eight books on RAAF fatalities in the eight RAAF Squadrons serving in RAF Bomber Command in WW2.