Lancaster to mark Dambuster raids

A LANCASTER bomber will fly over Yorkshire this weekend to mark the anniversary of the Dambusters raids of the Second World War.

The historic aircraft will be seen above South and West Yorkshire today and tomorrow to remember the famous bouncingbomb raids on Germany.

The legendary plane will fly over the Hatfield and Hatfield Woodhouse areas at around 12.48pm tomorrow as part of the

RAF Bomber Command Remembrance Flight.

Today it will be seen in the skies of Huddersfield between 2.40pm and 3.25pm.

Air crews from Yorkshire played a large part in the Second World War, with RAF Bawtry used as a Bomber Command centre while RAF Finningley and RAF Lindholme were also used for attacks in Europe.

The Dambuster raids, officially known as Operation Chastise, were carried out on the night of May 16 and 17 1943 by 617 Squadron, using special bouncing bombs developed by Barnes Wallis.

The Möhne and Eder dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley, with two hydro-electric power stations destroyed, along with factories and mines.

An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding.

Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September.

The RAF lost 53 crew and had three captured, with eight aircraft destroyed.

The 1955 film The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, told the story of the raids that helped to change the course of the Second World War.