Operation Chastise, as the Dambusters’ May 1943 bouncing bomb attack on the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams was officially called, was a heroic example of precision bombing by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was also a very temporary victory.
The Nazi regime deployed slave labour and the dams were soon repaired. The raid killed so many aircrew and destroyed so many aircraft that the RAF did not even return to attack those completing the repairs.
The truth is that Chastise was a propaganda coup by the air ministry and ministry of information. Deploying public relations skills they had pioneered during the Battle of Britain, they fed newspapers a meticulously managed account that highlighted heroism and scientific innovation and glossed over the cost.
The Dambusters were a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic. The New York Times reported: “RAF Blasts 2 Big Dams in Reich” and “Ruhr Power Cut, Traffic Halted as Floods Cause Death and Ruin”.
In the UK, the Air Ministry press team achieved a clean sweep in popular and broadsheet newspapers. The Daily Mirror declared “Torrent Rages Along Ruhr – Huns Get a Flood Blitz”. The accompanying story described “hundreds of square miles of devastation” in Germany’s “most vital industrial areas”.
Also included in the immensely popular left-wing Mirror’s account was a colourful depiction of Wing Commander Guy Gibson’s selfless courage. The Daily Mirror explained how Gibson drew enemy fire to allow fellow Lancaster Bomber crews to press their own attacks.
None of the reports mentioned bouncing bombs. Their existence was strictly secret. The Mirror explained that Gibson dropped mines before flying alongside the Möhne dam to “attract the fire” of the anti-aircraft guns on it.
The equally popular Daily Express ran a headline across all eight columns of its front page: “Floods Roar Down Ruhr Valley”. It described waterspouts leaping 1,000 feet into the sky as the RAF pressed the attack. Wing Commander Gibson was pictured on the front page in uniform and smoking his pipe.
Elite titles joined the chorus. The Times celebrated “vast damage” that had dealt the enemy “a severe blow”. Sir Arthur Harris, head of RAF Bomber Command, had initially opposed the raid as ill-conceived. Now he explained that: “We had high hopes, but the immediate results of breaching the dams were beyond our expectations”. The Times praised Gibson’s leadership. It would praise him again ten days later when he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The Manchester Guardian echoed the consensus. The raid demonstrated the audacity and courage of Gibson and the squadron he led. Gibson was “a pilot with contempt for danger”. He attacked with perfect accuracy and then, when “guns appeared out of slots in the wall of the dam”, he flew alongside it to draw flak away from his comrades. The raid was “a new blow at Ruhr industries”, the Guardian concluded.
In Britain, extensive newspaper coverage of the raid continued for two weeks after it took place. Air Ministry and Bomber Command reconnaissance pictures were offered and published. These were selected to provide “proof of the accuracy and intensity of the RAF attack”.
Newspapers responded to the Dambusters by acting as cheerleaders for Bomber Command. They conveyed the message that precision was a particular attribute of the service that had excelled in the Battle of Britain and continued to display its efficiency in taking the war to Germany. In fact, accuracy in low-altitude attacks such as those on the dams was achieved at extremely high cost.
The Dambusters raid involved 19 Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron. Each had a crew of seven. Eight failed to return. Of the 133 highly skilled airmen who flew from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on the night of 16 May 1943, 53 were killed. These were skilled and experienced crews.
Their loss was not prominent in contemporary reporting of the raid. Indeed, newspaper editors fell willingly in line with Sir Arthur Harris’ message to the surviving crews: “Your skill and determination in pressing home the attack will forever be an inspiration to the RAF”.
The Dambusters were inspiring. But while the Air Ministry engaged enthusiastically in public relations about the precision attacks on the Ruhr dams, it was not keen to repeat such complex precision bombing. Area bombing of enemy cities was a more efficient way to disrupt industry and kill German workers.
Five months after the Dambusters raid, 504 aircraft from RAF Bomber Command attacked the centre of the city of Hanover. This raid on the night of October 8-9 1943 killed 1,200 on the ground and inflicted serious damage on the city. Meanwhile, 27 bombers and their crews were lost. So, just over 5% of the aircraft and skilled crew sent to bomb Hanover failed to return. In the Dambusters Raid, 42% of the aircraft were lost and almost 40% of the aircrew died.
The statistics explain why Gibson and his colleagues deserve immense respect and gratitude for their skill and courage. The Dambusters raid was a triumph of secret planning, precision accuracy and outstanding technology carried out by heroes.
In addition to Gibson’s Victora Cross, survivors received awards including Distinguished Service Orders, Distinguished Flying Crosses, Conspicuous Gallantry Medals and Distinguished Flying Medals. The raid enhanced morale on the home front.
It was a huge propaganda victory, but it was not a model for future success. The bouncing bomb was never used again, but saturation bombing continued apace with Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg and Pforzheim among the cities reduced to rubble by area attacks.
Tim Luckhurst has received funding from News UK and Ireland Ltd. He is a member of the Free Speech Union and the Society of Editors
