The Dambusters Raid

(Originally published as "Operation Chastise, The Dams Raid: Epic or Myth" Janes 1982)
The Dambusters Raid - one of the very few military missions in history to become known the world over and capture the attention of strategists, historians and the general public over several decades.
On 16 May- 1943, Lancaster aircraft of 617 Squadron left RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, England, on Operation 'Chastise', the daring night attack on the dams of western Germany. The resulting spectacular success gave rise to a legend, created by the official publicity machine and enhanced by a nation and its allies ready to make heroes of their young warriors.
There is no doubt that the Dambusters Raid was one of the most brilliant air attacks of the Second World War. But understanding of the facts of the event, its origins and its effects was coloured by the traumas and the pressures experienced by those offering early accounts; only now can it more adequately be evaluated free of these constraints and with the benefit of released official reports.


by John Sweetman
Published by Arms and Armour Press 1990 revised 2nd edition. 219pp illustrated, index, appendix, bibliography. 16x24 mint, including d/j.





Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.