Author(s): Max Arthur

History

The Dambusters raid is an unforgettable event in British military history and has passed into legend. On 16 May 1943, nineteen Lancaster bomber crews gathered in the dusk at RAF Scampton. Their brief was to fly at night across occupied Europe and drop specially designed 'bouncing' bombs at a mere 60 feet above water to destroy three crucial and heavily defended dams deep in the German industrial heartland. Bestselling author Max Arthur has collected together first-hand accounts of the mission and the painstaking preparation that went into it. As well as the sheer bravery of the raid, Arthur also manages to capture the sense of loss when 56 men lost their lives. With contributions ranging from RAF air and ground crew to German civilians who witnessed the raid, this landmark oral history collection paints a moving and personal picture of one of the most famous operations of the Second World War.