No. 617 Squadron RAF
617 Squadron crest. Lightning striking a dam, with water flowing from the breach
Active	21 March 1943 - 1955 1958-81 1983-present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Strike/Attack
Part of	No. 1 Group
Base	RAF Lossiemouth
Motto	Après moi le déluge French: "After me, the flood"
Equipment	Panavia Tornado
Battle honours	Fortress Europe 1943-1945 The Dams 1943 Biscay Ports 1944 France and Germany 1944-1945 Normandy 1944 Tirpitz, Channel and North Sea 1944-1945 German Ports 1945 Gulf 1991 Iraq 2003
Commanders
Notable commanders	Guy Gibson Leonard Cheshire Willie Tait John Fauquier RCAF

No. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Number 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in Air Command. RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A battle honour is a military tradition practised in the Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RAF ( 12 August 1918 – WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Group Captain James Brian ("Willie" Tait ("Tirpitz" DSO and three bars, DFC and bar ( 9 December 1916 John Emilius “Johnny” Fauquier, DSO & 2 Bars, DFC (March 19 1909 - April 3 1981 was a Canadian Aviator and Second World War 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is better known as the "Dambusters" squadron. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 from RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain.

History

Second World War

The squadron was formed at RAF Scampton during World War II on March 21, 1943. RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England, near the village of Scampton, on the site of an old World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It included Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel. The Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF) is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The squadron was formed for the specific task of attacking three major dams on the Ruhr in Germany: the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe. The Ruhr is a medium-size River in western Germany ( North Rhine-Westphalia) a right tributary (east-side of the Rhine. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Möhne Reservoir is an artificial Lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund. The Eder is a 177 km long River in Germany, left tributary of the Fulda River. The Sorpesee is an artificial lake near to Sundern Geography The Sorpesee belongs to the Sauerland. The plan was given the codename Operation Chastise and was carried out on 17 May 1943. Operation Chastise was the official name for the attacks on German Dams on 17 May 1943 in the Second World War using a specially developed " Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The squadron had to develop the tactics to deploy Barnes Wallis's "Bouncing bomb". Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE, Kt, FRS, RDI, FRAeS ( 26 September 1887  &ndash 30 October A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed specifically to bounce to a target such as across water to avoid Torpedo nets Unlike Skip bombing, which uses conventional

The original commander of 617 Squadron, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in the raid. Wing Commander ( Wg Cdr in the RAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, W/C in the former RCAF) is a commissioned Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RAF ( 12 August 1918 – See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since The Squadron's badge, approved by King George VI, depicts the bursting of a dam, in commemoration of Chastise.

After the raid, Gibson was banned from flying and went on a publicity tour. George Holden became Commanding Officer (CO) in July, but he was shot down and killed on his fourth mission with the squadron in September 1943, an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal; he had four of Gibson's crew with him. George Holden (born 15 April 1889 was an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the VFL. The Dortmund-Ems Canal is a 269 km long canal in Germany between the river port of the city of Dortmund and Emden. H. B. "Mick" Martin took command temporarily, before Leonard Cheshire took over as CO. Air Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC ( 27 February WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Cheshire personally took part in the special target marking techniques required which went far beyond the precision delivered by the standard Pathfinder units — by the end he was marking the targets from a Mustang fighter. For other meanings see Pathfinder. The Pathfinders were Elite Squadrons in RAF Bomber Command, during World He was awarded the VC.

Throughout the rest of the war, the Squadron continued the specialist and precision bombing role, including the use of the enormous "Tallboy" and "Grand Slam" ground-penetrating earthquake bombs, on targets such as concrete U-boat shelters and bridges, and the Dortmund-Ems Canal was finally breached with Tallboys in September 1944. The Tallboy was an Earth quake bomb developed by Barnes Wallis and brought into operation by the British in 1944 The Grand Slam was a 22000 lb Earth quake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War. The earth quake bomb was a concept that was invented by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis before World War II and subsequently developed and used during The Dortmund-Ems Canal is a 269 km long canal in Germany between the river port of the city of Dortmund and Emden.

A particularly notable attack was the sinking of the Tirpitz. Operational history This battleship was launched on 1 April 1939 and she was planned to be deployed in a manner similar to the ''Bismarck'', as a Commerce raider Tirpitz had been moved into a fjord in northern Norway where she threatened the Arctic convoys and was too far north to be attacked by air from the UK. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The Arctic Convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and the United States to the northern ports of the Soviet She had already been damaged by an attack by Royal Navy midget submarines and a series of attacks from carrier-borne aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm, but both attacks had failed to sink her. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Specification The craft were about 51 feet (155 m long 55 feet (1 The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships The task was given to No. 9 and No. No IX (Bomber or 9 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was the first in the service to receive the Panavia 617 Squadrons, who operated from a staging base in Russia to attack Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending They damaged her so extensively that she was forced to head south to Tromsø fjord to be repaired. ( Romsa in Northern Sami, Tromssa in Kven and Finnish) is a city and municipality in the county of Troms, This fjord was in range of bombers operating from Scotland, and from there, in October, she was attacked again, but cloud cover thwarted the attack. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Finally on 12 November 1944, the two squadrons attacked Tirpitz. Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The first bombs missed their target, but following aircraft scored three direct hits in quick succession. Within ten minutes of the first bomb hitting the Tirpitz she turned turtle. Both squadrons claim that it was their bombs that actually sank the Tirpitz. All three RAF attacks on Tirpitz were led by Wing Commander J. B. "Willy" Tait, who had succeeded Cheshire as CO of No. Group Captain James Brian ("Willie" Tait ("Tirpitz" DSO and three bars, DFC and bar ( 9 December 1916 617 Squadron in July 1944. ^[1]

The World War II exploits of the squadron, and Chastise in particular, were described in Paul Brickhill's 1951 book The Dam Busters and a 1954 film. Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill ( 20 December 1916 &ndash 23 April 1991) was an Australian Writer, whose World War II The Dam Busters is a 1951 book by Paul Brickhill about British Royal Air Force Squadron 617, commanded by Wing Commander Guy The Dam Busters is a British War film, set during the Second World War, and based on the true story of the RAF 's 617 Squadron

The definitive work however is considered "The Dambusters Raid" by John Sweetman, Cassell Military Paperbacks (82,99,2002). It is based on careful research and cross checking of original documents as well as interviews with survivors of the raid.

In 2006, it was announced that New Zealand film director Peter Jackson and David Frost would co-produce a re-make of the film. Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE (born 7 April 1939) is an English Satirist and Television presenter, famed as both a It has been scripted by Stephen Fry and will be directed by Christian Rivers. Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957 is an English Humorist, Writer, Wit, Actor, Novelist, filmmaker Christian Rivers is a Academy Award and BAFTA winning New Zealand Visual effects Art director and filmmaker The last living Dam Buster pilot, New Zealander Les Munro, offered his services as a technical adviser. ^[2]

Post war

No 617 Sqn Tornado GR1

After the end of World War II, the squadron was given the Avro Lincoln, following those in 1952 with the English Electric Canberra jet bomber. The Avro Type 694 Lincoln was a British four-engined Heavy bomber of the Second World War, first flying on 9 June 1944 and entering service in August WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The squadron was deployed to Malaya for four months in 1955, returning to RAF Binbrook to be disbanded on 15 December 1955. The Federation of Malaya (Persekutuan Tanah Melayu was a federation of 11 states formed on January 31 1948 from the nine Malay states and the British RAF Binbrook, located at Binbrook, England, was opened as a Bomber Command station in June 1940 during World War II. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar)

The squadron operated the Avro Vulcan upon reforming at Scampton on 1 May 1958 as part of the "V-Force". WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England, near the village of Scampton, on the site of an old Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. History Early development RAF Bomber Command ended World War II with a policy of using heavy four- Piston-engined bombers for massed At first nuclear equipped, they reverted to conventional bombing after 1968 until disbanded on 31 December 1981. Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981

The squadron was reformed at RAF Marham, Norfolk on 1 January 1983, to be equipped with the Panavia Tornado GR1. Royal Air Force Station Marham, commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station, a Military Airbase, near the Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In 1993 it began the changeover to anti-shipping and by 1994 was operating from RAF Lossiemouth with Tornado GR1B with the Sea Eagle missile. RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. The BAe Sea Eagle is a medium Weight, ' fire-and-forget ' Sea-skimming Anti-ship missile designed and built by BAe Dynamics (now 617 Sqn continued its pioneering heritage by becoming the first RAF squadron to fire the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise-missile, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. MBDA is a missile manufacturer with operations in France, Germany, Italy and Britain. Storm Shadow is an Anglo - French air-launched Cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA and used by France Italy and the United Kingdom The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia

Previous aircraft operated

• Avro Lancaster - 1943
• Avro Lincoln - 1946
• English Electric Canberra - 1952
• Avro Vulcan - 1958
• Panavia Tornado - 1983

See also

• List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
• dambusters

References

Further reading

• RAFweb.org Accessed 17 May 2007.
• 617 Squadron site
• Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary: No. 617 Squadron
• 617 Squadron - The Operational Record Book 1943 - 1945 (PDF) with additional information by Tobin Jones; Binx Publishing, Pevensey House, Sheep Street, Bicester. OX26 6JF. Acknowledgement is given to HMSO as holders of the copyright on the Operational Record Book