After the Flood, what the dambustets did next ! John Nichol

 

617 Arguably the most famous bomber squadron in the RAF during World War II. Formed in spring 1943 by the hugely talented but also arrogant and narrow minded* (Wing Commander) Guy Gibson they were the elite of RAF crews. Hand picked by Gibson himself for their experience, flying ability and reputation these men trained relentlessly to fly low level over Europe to bomb the dams of the Rhur Valley. In May 1943 133 men set off on that task. Nearly half would fail to return from the success of breaching two of the dams. Guy Gibson was instantly grounded and strictly forbidden to fly because of the propaganda coup his loss would be to the enemy.

John Nichol looks at what happened to the squadron after the raid, when other RAF bomber squadrons were flying to Berlin, Hsmburg and Munich 617 were left flying training missions for future operations that were not fixed. Soon they would be put to use on the most difficult operations and skill would be needed in the extreme. 

John Nichol a former Navigator in the RAF and famously shot down during the build up to the first gulf war brings a unique perspective on this squadron history. Being in a unique place to interview the surviving members of the squadron near the end of their lives he manages to weave it into this book in such a way it feels as if you're talking to them yourself. If you are an aviation enthusiast or have an interest in elite RAF squadrons this book is a must and the missions were the hardest of the war. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Have fun stay safe πŸ‘


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some aviation pictures

Image
  π’œπ“‚π‘’π“‡π’Ύπ’Έπ’Άπ“ƒ π’œπ’Ύπ“‡π“π’Ύπ“ƒπ‘’π“ˆ 777 𝒢𝓉 β„‹π‘’π’Άπ“‰π’½π“‡π‘œπ“Œ Some more aircraft pictures taken overlooking gate 23 terminal 3 it’s a good spot. There’s an early morning 777 being loaded with cargo.  There’s also a mid morning photo of and American Airlines 787 waiting on stand  π’œπ“‚π‘’π“‡π’Ύπ’Έπ’Άπ“ƒ π’œπ’Ύπ“‡π“π’Ύπ“ƒπ‘’π“ˆ 787 𝒢𝓉 β„‹π‘’π’Άπ“‰π’½π“‡π‘œπ“Œ
Read more

Sales, shopping and storms

Image
  Last night I listed some of the golf balls on eBay, the Titleist Pro V1’s and the TruFeel’s. Now it’s a crowded market on eBay so I placed them on promotion to be listed top. This morning I had sold both listings not for much but it’s a start.  After a quick visit to Tesco it was down to the local parcel shop to send them off.  It was an afternoon of preparing more golf balls to be listed and then a quick walk up Rowley lane and a big haul of 28 balls. When I inspected them at home three of the more valuable ones had small splits so we’re condemned to the bin.  I’ll keep you posted on more sales, have fun stay safe πŸ‘πŸΌ
Read more

Afternoon walk

Image
  It was an afternoon walk, I headed up to Rowley path as I feel there might have been a few Christmas golfers. I made it up to the top of the path and back. I found 11 balls today which was good going. The farmer had also been out with the chainsaw making the path safe by cutting some fallen trees. He’d left a can of two stroke petrol/oil mix near the tree so I grabbed it and left it on a fence post near to the farm for them to find in the daylight. It was a nice walk, I’ve finished Phoenix and I’m onto a new book so look out for a bad review.  Have fun stay safe πŸ‘πŸΌ
Read more