In March 1943, the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed 617 Squadron, a heavy bomber unit flying four-engine Lancasters, that trained for one specialized task: to bomb and thereby breach the dams in Germany's industrial Ruhr valley. The objective was to create flooding that would extensively damage war industries and also that would disrupt river navigation and the supply of drinking and industrial water. Three major dams were targets: the Mohne and Sorpe, which provided much of the water supply for the Ruhr, and the Eder Dam, which was essential to maintaining the navigable waters of the Wester River and the Mittelland Canal. For this mission, the British airship and aircraft engineer Barnes Wallis developed a special dambuster bomb. Knowing that the dams were protected by nets intended to deflect conventional bombs, Wallis proposed a bouncing bomb, which would clear the nets, bounce off the water, then smash into the dam wall, but remain intact until it had sunk to a depth of 30 feet. At that point a hydrostatic fuse (like those used in depth charges) would detonate 6,600 pounds of powerful RDX explosive, ensuring that the dam would rupture catastrophically well below the water line. Concerned that the bomb would fail to travel down the dam wall to the required depth, Wallis designed a canister, or drum-shaped bomb, 50 inches in diameter and 60 inches long. He further designed a rig to mount it across the bomb bay of the Lancaster, and installed a small motor in the bomb bay that would start the canister spinning forward, so that it would indeed roll down the wall of its target.

The design was only half the requirement of the mission. The bomb had to be dropped just 60 feet above the water, so that it would bounce with sufficient force to reach the dam with the momentum required to roll down to the required depth. This called for flying skill of the most exacting and daring order.

After intensive crew training, and with the Wallis bombs installed, 19 Lancasters took off on the night of May 16-17, 1943, under the leadership of Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Eight of the aircraft were lost, but the Mohne and Eder Dams were indeed breached, bringing a massive flood. The Sorpe Dam remained undamaged. While many German citizens were flooded out of their homes, the hoped-for dislocation and disruption of industry did not occur, and the dams themselves were repaired by October. Gibson was decorated with the Victoria Cross. Although another dambusting mission was never attempted--and the Wallis bomb was never again deployed--the 617 Squadron was retained intact for other precision bombing missions.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Military Topics at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Military Topics and other relevant topics.