OPERATION CHASTISE – THE CREW LIST

Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Dambuster Raid

Who were the Dambusters?

They had to be, as the task for which their squadron had been assembled would require an unprecedented skill set; they were to attack the great dams of the Ruhr using a new weapon code-named ‘Upkeep’, a revolutionary ‘bouncing bomb’ invented by Barnes Wallis. For ‘Upkeep’ to work, however, it must be released from the height of just 60ft some 400 yards or so from the target whilst flying at exactly 220mph. But to reach that target each crew must penetrate deep into enemy territory at night, evade German radar and fighters by flying the whole return journey at tree-top height whilst trying to avoid a plethora of power lines, pylons, trees, chimneys and buildings along the way! Only a highly-skilled pilot with a talented crew would have any chance of success.

But succeed they did. Both the Möhne and Eder dams, amongst the largest in Europe, were breached, whilst the Sorpe dam was also damaged. There had, however been a heavy price to pay; of the 133 men to depart Scampton that night only 77 retuned. Of the 56 who didn’t make it back, only 3 survived.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Chastise we're proud to release this special poster dedicated to those 133 airmen who were the Dambusters. Each of the 19 Lancaster crews is listed by name, rank and position alongside their aircraft’s individual role in that incredible mission on the night that a legend was born.

An un-signed, Open Edition poster.
Overall size: 23 ¼” wide x 29” high