Max Hastings - Chastise - The Dambusters Story 1943

William Collins

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This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2019

Copyright © Max Hastings 2019

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Cover photograph © IWM

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Source ISBN: 9780008280529

Ebook Edition © September 2019 ISBN: 9780008280543

Version: 2019-08-01

In memory of the aircrew who achieved the almost impossible on the night of 16/17 May 1943; and of the men, women and children on both sides who perished

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright

4 Dedication

5 Contents

6 List of Illustrations

7 Epigraph

8 RAF Ranks and Army Equivalents

9 Abbreviations Used in the Text

10 Introduction

11 Prologue

12 1 Grand Strategy, Great Dams 1 THE BIG PICTURE 2 HARRIS 3 THE ‘PANACEA MERCHANTS’

13 2 The Boffin and His Bombs 1 WALLIS 2 GESTATION 3 FIRST BOUNCES

14 3 Command and Controversy 1 TARGETS 2 GIBSON 3 ‘A DISASTER OF THE FIRST MAGNITUDE’

15 4 Men and Machines 1 FLIERS 2 FLYING

16 5 The Brink of Battle 1 SIXTY FEET 2 ‘NO NEWS THAT WOULD INTEREST YOU FROM HERE’

17 6 Chastise 1 TAKE-OFF 2 GETTING THERE

18 7 At the Dams 1 THE MÖHNE AND THE SORPE 2 THE EDER AND AFTER

19 8 The Möhnekatastrophe 1 ‘A WALL OF WATER, BLACK AS COAL’ 2 ‘CLOSE TO A SUCCESS’

20 9 Heroes 1 GARNERING THE LAURELS 2 SQUANDERING THE SACRIFICE

21 10 Landings 1 ‘GOODNIGHT, EVERYONE’ 2 RECONCILIATIONS

22 Appendix I: 617 Squadron’s Crews Who Flew on the Night of 16/17 May 1943

23 Appendix II: Landmark Dates in the Evolution of Chastise

24 Appendix III: A Chronology of Operation Chastise 16/17 May 1943

25 Picture Section

26 Acknowledgements

27 Notes and References

28 Bibliography

29 Index

30 Also by Max Hastings

31 About the Publisher

Landmarks CoverFrontmatterStart of ContentBackmatter

List of Pages iv v xi xii xiii xiv xv xvii xix xx xxi xxii xxiii xxiv xxv xxvi xxvii xxviii xxix xxx xxxi xxxii xxxiii xxxiv xxxv 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 315 316 318 319 320 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 ii

The Möhne, the Eder and the Sorpe.

Barnes and Molly Wallis in 1925. (Estate of Mary Stopes-Roe)

The Wallis home in Effingham, Surrey. (Cambridge University Library/MS Vickers)

Wallis in his study with an assistant. (Cambridge University Library/MS Vickers)

1940 cartoon showing the Wallis-designed Wellington bomber.

The scaled-down model of the Möhne at Nant-y-Gro in Powys, eight minutes after a test explosion in 1942. (The National Archives/AVIA 10/369)

Recording apparatus attached to scale-model dam at Watford. (The National Archives/DSIR 27/43)

Test explosion at Nant-y-Gro. (The National Archives/AVIA 10/369)

Cherwell, Portal, Pound and Churchill watching a display of anti-aircraft gunnery, June 1941. (Imperial War Museum/H 10306)

Air Vice Marshal the Hon. R.A. Cochrane. (Imperial War Museum/CH 14564); Sir Charles Craven. (Cambridge University Library/MS Vickers); Sir Norman Bottomley. (National Portrait Gallery, London/Howard Coster); Arthur Collins; Air Marshal Sir John Linnell. (Imperial War Museum/CM 5259); Gp. Capt. F. W. Winterbotham. (Barry James Gilmore/Fairfax Media/Getty Images)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris. (Imperial War Museum/CH 13020)

Harris with his wife Jill and daughter Jackie. (Leonard McCombe/Picture Post/Getty Images)

Avro Lancaster ED932 (G-George) being flown by Guy Gibson during tests at Reculver. (Imperial War Museum/FLM 2343)

An Upkeep bounces onto the seafront during tests at Reculver. (Imperial War Museum/FLM 2343)

Tests at Reculver. (Imperial War Museum/FLM 2360; FLM 2362; FLM 2363)

Melvin Young in the victorious 1938 Oxford Boat Race crew. (The Times/News Licensing)

Young’s miraculous October 1940 Atlantic rescue. (Trinity College Oxford, with help from Arthur G. Thorning)

Young with his rescuer’s captain. (Trinity College Oxford, with help from Arthur G. Thorning)

Melvin and Priscilla Young. (Trinity College Oxford, with help from Arthur G. Thorning)

John ‘Hoppy’ Hopgood. (Hopgood family)

Hopgood with his sister Marna and his mother. (Hopgood family)

Hopgood with Marna. (Hopgood family)

Aircrew of 106 Squadron. (Imperial War Museum/HU 91941)

Henry Maudslay at Eton. (Maudslay family)

Maudslay as squadron leader. (Lincolnshire County Council Archives)

Guy Gibson and his wife Eve. (Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy)

Gibson in 1944. (Imperial War Museum/CH 13618)

Gibson with Nigger. (Associated Newspapers/Rota/Shutterstock)

Gibson, Spafford, Hutchison, Deering and Taetum at Scampton. (CNP Collection/Alamy)

Bill Astell and his family on a pre-war outing in Derbyshire. (Ray Hepner)

Gibson with Dave Maltby. (CNP Collection/Alamy)

Australian crew members on leave in London after the raid. (Imperial War Museum/CH 9942)

F/Lt. Bill Astell. (Lincolnshire County Council Archives)

F/Lt. Joe McCarthy and his crew. (CNP Collection/Alamy)

P/O John Fraser at his wedding, a week before Chastise. (Cavendish Press)

F/Lt. David Shannon. (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty)

F/Lt. Les Munro.

The aircrew who took part in Operation Chastise. (Imperial War Museum/CH 11049)

Lancaster taking off from Scampton for Chastise. (Imperial War Museum/CH 18006)