Number 617 Squadron is a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
aircraft squadron, originally based at
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a Firs ...
in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
and currently based at
RAF Marham in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. It is commonly known as "''The Dambusters''", for its actions during
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using sp ...
against German dams during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. In the early 21st century it operated the
Panavia Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role until being disbanded on 28 March 2014. ''The Dambusters'' reformed on 18 April 2018, and was equipped at RAF Marham in June 2018 with the
Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning, becoming the first squadron to be based in the UK with this advanced
V/STOL
A vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft is an airplane able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft are a subset of V/STOL craft that do not require runways at a ...
type. The unit is composed of both RAF and Royal Navy personnel,
and operates from the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
's aircraft carriers.
History
Between the wars
According to the squadron's entry in ''Flying Units of the RAF'' by Alan Lake, No. 617 Squadron was allocated the
unit identification code The Unit Identification Code (UIC) is a six character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies each United States Department of Defense entity. The UIC is often used on various paperwork to assign a soldier to a specific company in which they fall ...
MZ for the period April to September 1939, even though the unit did not actually exist at the time.
Second World War
The squadron was formed under great secrecy at
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a Firs ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
on 21 March 1943 on
Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. It included
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
,
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
and
Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel and was formed for the specific task of attacking three major dams that contributed water and power to the Ruhr industrial region in Germany: the
Möhne
The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen and Warstein. There is a large artificial lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, us ...
,
Eder and
Sorpe. The plan was given the codename
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using sp ...
and carried out on 17 May 1943. The squadron had to develop the tactics to deploy
Barnes Wallis's "
Bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...
", and undertook some of its training over the dams of the
Upper Derwent Valley
The Upper Derwent Valley is an area of the Peak District National Park in England. It largely lies in Derbyshire, but its north eastern area lies in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Its most significant features are the Derwent Dams, Ladybower, Derwent ...
in Derbyshire, as the towers on the dam walls were similar to those to be found on some of the target dams in Germany.
The squadron's badge, approved by
King George VI, depicts the bursting of a dam in commemoration of ''Chastise''. The squadron's chosen motto was ("After me, the flood"), a humorous
double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
on a famous saying of Madame de Pompadour to King Louis XV, made on the loss at the
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, Re ...
by the French. The original commander of No. 617 Squadron,
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
Guy Gibson
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam ...
, was awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for his part in the raid. Guy Gibson also owned a black Labrador named
Nigger
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
, who was the mascot of the squadron for some time but who was run over and killed outside the base on the evening of the raid.
After the raid, Gibson was withdrawn from flying (due to the high number of raids he had been on) and went on a publicity tour. George Holden became commanding officer (CO) in July, but he was shot down and killed on his fourth mission,
Operation Garlic
Operation Garlic was an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal by 617 Squadron carried out on 14-16 September 1943. The operation was unsuccessful. The canal was not significantly damaged by the attack, while 617 squadron lost five of the eight aircr ...
in September 1943, in an attack on the
Dortmund-Ems Canal; he had four of Gibson's crew with him.
H. B. "Mick" Martin took command temporarily, before
Leonard Cheshire
Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist.
Among the honours Cheshire received as ...
took over as CO. Cheshire developed and personally took part in the special target marking techniques required, which went far beyond the precision delivered by the standard
Pathfinder
Pathfinder may refer to:
Businesses
* Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International
* Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature
Computing and information science
* Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser
* Pathfinder ( ...
units – by the end he was marking the targets from a
Mustang fighter. He was also awarded the VC.
On 15 July 1943, 12 aircraft of the squadron took off from Scampton to attack targets in Northern Italy. All aircraft attacked and proceeded to North Africa without loss. The targets were
San Polo d'Enza
San Polo d'Enza ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio Emilia.
San Polo d'Enza borders the following municipalities: Bibbiano, Ca ...
and
Arquata Scrivia
Arquata Scrivia (local dialect: ''Auquâ'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria.
Arquata Scrivia borders the following ...
power stations; it was hoped that the attacks would delay German troops who were travelling down into Italy on the electrified railway system to support the Italian front. The operation met little opposition but the targets were obscured by valley haze and were not destroyed. The 12 crews returned to Scampton on 25 July from North Africa after bombing
Leghorn docks on the return journey. The raid on Leghorn Docks was not a great success, due to mist shrouding the target. On 29 July 1943 nine aircraft took off from Scampton to drop leaflets on Milan, Bologna, Genoa and Turin in Italy. All aircraft completed the mission and landed safely in Blida, North Africa.
The UK Government considered using No. 617 Squadron to target the Italian leader
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
in July or August 1943. The British believed if Mussolini was killed it might take Italy out of the war. It would have been a flight carried out at extremely low level with the targets of Mussolini's headquarters and residence in Rome. Neither of these targets were within 1,500 yards of the Vatican, which the Allies had promised not to damage. However within two weeks of the plan being suggested,
Mussolini was ousted by his opponents and replaced by
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
, leading to an armistice with the Allies in September.
Throughout the rest of the war, the squadron continued in a specialist and precision-bombing role, including the use of the enormous
"Tallboy" and
"Grand Slam" ground-penetrating
earthquake bomb
The earthquake bomb, or seismic bomb, was a concept that was invented by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis early in World War II and subsequently developed and used during the war against strategic targets in Europe. A seismic bomb ...
s, on targets such as concrete U-boat shelters and bridges. Several failed attempts were made on The Dortmund-Ems Canal in 1943 (
Operation Garlic
Operation Garlic was an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal by 617 Squadron carried out on 14-16 September 1943. The operation was unsuccessful. The canal was not significantly damaged by the attack, while 617 squadron lost five of the eight aircr ...
); it was finally breached with Tallboys in September 1944.
In March 1945 the squadron used the Grand Slam bomb for the first time, against the
Bielefeld viaduct, wrecking it. The viaduct had withstood 54 previous attacks without being permanently neutralized.
The Squadron's skills in precision flying were also utilized in the Normandy invasion, as part of a massive effort to
deceive
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight ...
the Germans as to the actual location of the Allied invasion. Beginning on the night before the D-day landings, the Squadron dropped
thin strips of aluminum foil (called Window) over the waters off
Cap d'Antifer
La Poterie-Cap-d’Antifer is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France.
History
During World War II, Operation Biting (also k ...
, about from the actual D-Day landings. The strips were dropped in vast numbers, in carefully choreographed patterns, over many hours, to create on German radar an illusion of a huge approaching naval fleet, even though the ships were non-existent. The Squadron practiced the technique at
Tantallon Castle in Scotland, using captured German
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg ...
,
Freya
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
, and
Seetakt radars.
![Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command%2C_1942-1945._CH17864.jpg)
A particularly notable series of attacks caused the disabling and sinking of
''Tirpitz'', a major German battleship that had been moved into a fjord in northern Norway where she threatened the
Arctic convoys
The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
and was too far north to be attacked by air from the UK. She had already been damaged by an attack by
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
midget submarines
A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...
and a series of attacks from carrier-borne aircraft of the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
, but both attacks had failed to sink her. The task was given to
No. IX and No. 617 Squadrons; they were deployed to
Yagodnik
Yagodnik, Arkhangelsk Oblast, north west Russia, was the site of a World War II airfield. It is located near Arkhangelsk, on an island in the Northern Dvina river, 9 kilometres from the sea at Dvina Bay.
Operation Paravane
The airfield was used ...
, near
Archangel
Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
a staging base in Russia to attack ''Tirpitz'' with Tallboy bombs. On 15 September 1944, the RAF bombers struck the battleship in the forecastle, which rendered her unseaworthy, so she was sent to the
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...
fjord where temporary repairs were made so she was anchored as a floating battery. This fjord was in range of bombers operating from Scotland and from there, in October, she was attacked again, but cloud cover thwarted the attack. Finally on 12 November 1944, the two squadrons attacked ''Tirpitz''. The first bombs missed their target, but following aircraft scored two direct hits in quick succession. Within ten minutes of the first bomb hitting the ''Tirpitz'', she suffered a magazine explosion at her "C" turret and
capsized
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
killing 1,000 of her 1,700 crew. All three RAF attacks on ''Tirpitz'' were led by Wing Commander
J. B. "Willy" Tait, who had succeeded Cheshire as CO of No. 617 Squadron in July 1944. Among pilots participating in the raids was
Flight Lieutenant John Leavitt, an American who piloted one of the 31 Lancasters. Leavitt's aircraft dropped one of the bombs that hit ''Tirpitz'' dead centre. Despite both squadrons claiming that it was their bombs that actually sank the Tirpitz, it was the
Tallboy bomb
Tallboy or Bomb, Medium Capacity, 12,000 lb was an earthquake bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War."Medium capacity" refers to the ratio of bomb ...
, dropped from a No. IX Squadron Lancaster WS-Y (''LM220'') piloted by Flying Officer Dougie Tweddle that is attributed to the sinking of the warship. F/O Tweddle was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in the operations against ''Tirpitz''.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
the Squadron carried out 1,599 operational sorties with the loss of 32 aircraft.
Cold War (1946–1981)
![English Electric Canberra B2 G-BVWC 3 (5984888951)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/English_Electric_Canberra_B2_G-BVWC_3_%285984888951%29.jpg)
After the end of the Second World War, the squadron replaced its Lancasters with
Avro Lincolns, following those in 1952 with the
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...
jet bomber. The squadron was deployed to
Malaya for four months in 1955, returning to
RAF Binbrook
Royal Air Force Binbrook or RAF Binbrook was a Royal Air Force station, now closed, located near Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. The old domestic site (married quarters) has been renamed to become the village of Brookenby. RAF Binbrook was pri ...
to be disbanded on 15 December 1955.
Reformed at
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a Firs ...
on 1 May 1958 as part of
RAF Bomber Command's
V-bomber force maintaining the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent, the squadron was equipped with the
Avro Vulcan B1 from Aug 1960. By 23 May 1961, its aircraft were the upgraded Vulcan B1A fitted with the
electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
tail pod. The squadron's assigned role was high-level strategic bombing with a variety of free fall nuclear bombs. Both the B1 and B1A types were equipped with various free-fall nuclear weapons. These may have included
Blue Danube,
Red Beard
is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, '' Akahige Shinryōtan'', the film takes p ...
,
Violet Club
Violet may refer to:
Common meanings
* Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue
* One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly:
** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
Places United States
* Vio ...
the Interim Megaton Weapon,
Yellow Sun Mk.1 and certainly
Yellow Sun Mk2. American bombs were also supplied to the RAF V-bombers for a short period under the
Project E
Project E was a joint project between the United States and the United Kingdom during the Cold War to provide nuclear weapons to the Royal Air Force (RAF) until sufficient British nuclear weapons became available. It was subsequently expanded ...
arrangements.
![Vulcan 62](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Vulcan_62.jpg)
The squadron began almost immediately to upgrade yet again to the Vulcan B2, taking delivery of the first on 1 September 1961, although its high-level strategic bombing role remained unchanged until the advent of effective Soviet
Surface-to-Air Missiles forced Bomber Command to reassign V-bombers from high-altitude operations to low-level penetration operations in March 1963, when the squadron's Vulcans adopted a mission profile that included a 'pop-up' manoeuvre from to above for safe release of Blue Steel.
Vulcans were configured for the
Blue Steel stand-off bomb and 617 Squadron was the first to be declared operational with it in August 1962, until in January 1970 the squadron's eight Vulcan B2 aircraft were re-equipped with the new strategic laydown bomb,
WE.177
The WE.177, originally styled as WE 177, and sometimes simply as WE177, was a series of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons with which the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) were equipped. It was the primary air-dropped nuclear we ...
B which improved aircraft survivability by enabling aircraft to remain at low-level during weapon release.
Following the transfer of responsibility for the nuclear deterrent to the Royal Navy, the squadron was reassigned to
SACEUR
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...
for tactical strike missions. In a high-intensity European war the squadron's role was to support land forces on the Continent by striking deep into enemy-held areas beyond the forward edge of the battlefield, striking at enemy concentrations and infrastructure, with WE.177 tactical nuclear weapons, should a conflict escalate to that stage. The squadron's eight aircraft were allocated eight WE.177 nuclear bombs. As the Vulcan's bomb bay was configured to carry only one, and assuming that RAF staff planners had factored in their usual allowance for attrition in the early conventional phase of a continental war, leaving sufficient surviving aircraft to deliver the full stockpile of nuclear weapons, it is a reasonable conclusion that the Vulcan force was held in reserve for nuclear strike duties only. The squadron's Vulcan B2s served mainly in that low-level penetration role until disbandment on 31 December 1981.
Tornado GR (1983–2014)
![A2566-UnitedKingdom-Tornado-ZA412-RIAT2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/A2566-UnitedKingdom-Tornado-ZA412-RIAT2013.JPG)
The squadron reformed on 1 January 1983 at
RAF Marham, re-equipped with twelve
Panavia Tornado GR1.
No. 617 Squadron was deployed to King Faisal Air Base, Saudi Arabia following the 1990 Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait, it returned to the UK in Nov 90' replaced by 16/20 Sqn, some of its aircrews did return, operating with various other squadrons throughout KSA.
In 1993, No. 617 Squadron began the changeover to anti-shipping and by May 1994 was operating from
RAF Lossiemouth
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the R ...
assigned to
SACLANT
The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based at ...
, flying the Tornado GR1B with the
Sea Eagle
A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
missile. In December 1994,
Flight Lieutenant Jo Salter
Joanna Mary Salter (born 27 August 1968, in Bournemouth) is a former Royal Air Force pilot, and was Britain's first female fast jet pilot flying the Panavia Tornado ground attack aircraft with 617 Squadron. She later became an inspirational spe ...
became the first female combat ready fast jet pilot.
In 1995, crews from No. 617 Squadron deployed in support of Operation Warden.
In 2003, the Squadron sent several airframes to the
Ali Al Salem Air Base
Ali Al Salem Air Base is a military air base situated in Kuwait, approximately 23 miles (37 km) from the Iraqi border, and roughly 15 km west of Al Jahra. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and during Operation Souther ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
and
Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid Air Base ( ar, قاعدة العديد الجوية) is one of two military bases southwest of Doha, Qatar, also known as Abu Nakhlah Airport ().
It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and othe ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
, as part of
Operation Telic joining airframes from II Squadron, IX Squadron, XIII Squadron, 31 Squadron and 12 Squadron (a total of 30 Tornado GR4/GR4A's were deployed) where they were the first squadron to use the new MBDA Storm Shadow.
In July 2009, ''the Dambusters'' deployed to
Kandahar Airfield
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city K ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, as part of
Operation Herrick
Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Ass ...
in order to provide support for
No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron.
No. 617 Squadron underwent their first full Op HERRICK deployment between April and July 2011, handing over responsibility to
No. 31 Squadron on 15 July.
While deployed, ''the Dambusters'' were the RAF squadron who helped the Tornado GR fleet surpass 1,000,000 flying hours in June 2011.
In July 2011, the squadron took part in Operation Ellamy
In July 2013, it was announced that No. 617 Squadron would become the first operational RAF unit to receive the
Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning. No. 617 Squadron disbanded on 28 March 2014 as part of the draw-down of the Tornado force.
F-35B Lightning (2017–present)
Beginning in 2016, ''the Dambusters'' started their training for conversion to the F-35B ahead of reforming as the first British front line squadron with the Lightning. The squadron worked up at
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort or MCAS Beaufort is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) air base located northwest of the central business district of Beaufort, a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. About 4,700 personnel s ...
,
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, throughout late 2017 and early 2018 before reforming on 18 April 2018.
On 6 June 2018, a quartet of No. 617 Squadron Lightnings (''ZM145'', ''ZM146'', ''ZM147'' and ''ZM148''), supported by three
Airbus Voyagers and an
Airbus Atlas C1, made an eight-hour flight across the Atlantic to become the first of the UK's aircraft to be based permanently at RAF Marham. On 10 July, the squadron participated in the RAF100 flypast over London with three F-35Bs. On 3 August, five more F-35Bs arrived at RAF Marham for ''the Dambusters''. No. 617 Squadron was declared 'combat ready' on 10 January 2019.
''The Dambusters'' underwent their first F-35 deployment on 22 May 2019 when six Lightnings deployed to
RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
, for six weeks as part of 'Exercise Lightning Dawn'. On 16 June, No. 617 Squadron carried out the first RAF F-35 operational mission when two Lightnings conducted a patrol over Syria as part of
Operation Shader
Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground s ...
. On 25 June, No. 617 Squadron's F-35Bs participated in 'Exercise Tri Lightning' alongside
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
F-35As of the
4th Fighter Squadron
The 4th Fighter Squadron, "Fighting Fuujins" is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft, which replaced the unit's General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons in August ...
and
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...
F-35Is of
140 Squadron over the eastern
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
. Four F-35B Lightnings returned home to RAF Marham on 2 July, while the other two arrived at
Amendola Air Base to carry out bilateral training with the
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
, including the local F-35As of
32º Stormo. Three Lightnings departed RAF Marham on 9 October to MCAS Beaufort in preparation for Westlant 19, with them embarking upon
HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' for the first time alongside
No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron on 13 October.
On 22 January 2020, ''the Dambusters'' departed Marham for
Exercise Red Flag
Exercise Red Flag (also Red Flag – Nellis) is a two-week advanced aerial combat training exercise held several times a year by the United States Air Force. It aims to offer realistic air-combat training for military pilots and other flight ...
at
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
, their first with the Lightning. Between September and November 2020, ''the Dambusters'' hosted
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
F-35Bs from
VMFA-211
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron, currently consisting of F-35B Lightning II stealth STOVL strike fighter jets. Known as the "Wake Island Avengers" and the "Bastion Defenders", ...
who deployed to RAF Marham to work up on HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' ahead of the carrier's deployment in 2021.
In May 2021, No. 617 Squadron embarked eight F-35B Lightnings on board HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' as part of
Carrier Strike Group 2021 (CSG21), operating alongside
VMFA-211
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron, currently consisting of F-35B Lightning II stealth STOVL strike fighter jets. Known as the "Wake Island Avengers" and the "Bastion Defenders", ...
as the fixed wing component. On 16 November 2021, one of the squadron's F-35B fighters crashed during
operations in the Mediterranean. The pilot was able to eject safely.
Aircraft operated
List of aircraft operated by No. 617 Squadron:
*
Avro Lancaster B.III (Special) (March 1943 – May 1943)
* Avro Lancaster B.I (March 1943 – June 1945)
* Avro Lancaster B.III (March 1943 – June 1945)
* Avro Lancaster B.VII (FE) (June 1945 – September 1946)
*
de Havilland Mosquito Mk.VI (April 1944 – March 1945)
*
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
Mk. III (June 1944 - 1945)
*
Avro Lincoln B.II (September 1946 – January 1952)
*
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...
B.2 (January 1952 – April 1955)
* English Electric Canberra B.6 (February 1955 – December 1955)
*
Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe an ...
B.1 (May 1958 – July 1961)
* Avro Vulcan B.1A (October 1960 – July 1961)
* Avro Vulcan B.2 (September 1961 – December 1981)
*
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ( in ...
GR1 (January 1983 – April 1994)
* Panavia Tornado GR1B (April 1994 – 2002)
* Panavia Tornado GR4 (2002 – January 2014)
*
Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning (December 2017 – present)
Commanding officers
![617SquadronMemorial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/617SquadronMemorial.jpg)
The following men have commanded No. 617 Squadron:
1943–1955
*March 1943, Wing Commander
Guy Gibson
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam ...
*August 1943, Wing Commander
George Holden
*September 1943 Squadron Leader
Harold Martin
*November 1943, Wing Commander
Leonard Cheshire
Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist.
Among the honours Cheshire received as ...
*July 1944, Wing Commander
James Brian Tait
Group Captain James Brian "Willie" Tait, (9 December 1916 – 31 August 2007) was an officer in the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War. He conducted 101 bombing missions during the war, including the one that finally sank th ...
*December 1944, Wing Commander
John Emilius Fauquier
Air Commodore John Emilius Fauquier, (19 March 1909 – 3 April 1981) was a Canadian aviator and Second World War Bomber Command leader. He commanded No. 405 Squadron RCAF and later No. 617 Squadron RAF (the Dambusters) over the course ...
*April 1945, Wing Commander
John Grindon
*June 1945, Wing Commander C Fothergill
*April 1946, Squadron Leader C K Saxelby
*May 1947, Wing Commander C D Milne (for goodwill visit to USA)
*July 1947, Squadron Leader C K Saxelby
*February 1948, Squadron Leader P G Brodie
*May 1950, Squadron Leader W H Thallon
*June 1952, Squadron Leader M J O'Bryen-Nichols
*Dec 1952, Squadron Leader D Roberts
*May 1954, Squadron Leader J A Ruck (Squadron disbanded December 1955)
1958–1981
*May 1958, Wing Commander D Bower (Squadron reformed with Vulcans)
*May 1960, Wing Commander L G A Bastard
*December 1962, Wing Commander H G Currell
*March 1965, Wing Commander D G L Heywood
*March 1967, Wing Commander R C Allen
*March 1969, Wing Commander C A Vasey
*March 1971, Wing Commander F M A Hines
*October 1973, Wing Commander V L Warrington
*September 1975, Wing Commander R B Gilvary
*July 1977, Wing Commander F Mason (brief tenure due to illness)
*July 1977, Wing Commander J N Stephenson-Oliver
*August 1979, Wing Commander J N Herbertson (Squadron disbanded December 1981)
1983–2014
*January 1983, Wing Commander A J Harrison (Squadron reformed with Tornados)
*June 1985, Wing Commander P J J Day
*January 1988, Wing Commander N J Day
*May 1990, Wing Commander R D Iveson
*March 1993, Wing Commander J H Dickinson
*July 1995, Wing Commander I L Dugmore
*March 1998, Wing Commander G E Thwaites
*September 2000, Wing Commander D G Robertson
*July 2003, Wing Commander A Monkman
*January 2006, Wing Commander S P Rochelle
*January 2008, Wing Commander
D J E Cooper
*October 2010, Wing Commander K D Taylor
*October 2012, Wing Commander D S Arthurton (Squadron disbanded 2014)
2018
*December 2017, Wing Commander J R Butcher (Squadron reformed with F-35 Lightnings)
*April 2020,
Commander Mark Sparrow (Squadron commanded by a Royal Navy officer for the first time in its history)
*5th August 2022,
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
Stu Campbell takes over command of 617 Sqn from Commander Sparrow who leaves on promotion to Captain Air Group HMS Queen Elizabeth
In popular culture
The Second World War exploits of the squadron and ''Chastise'' in particular, were described in
Guy Gibson
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam ...
's own 1944 account ''Enemy Coast Ahead'', as well as
Paul Brickhill
Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (20 December 191623 April 1991) was an Australian fighter pilot, prisoner of war, and author who wrote '' The Great Escape'', '' The Dam Busters'', and ''Reach for the Sky''.
Early life
Brickhill was born in Melbou ...
's 1951 book ''
The Dam Busters'' and a
1955 film, though the accuracy and completeness of these accounts were compromised by many of the documents relating to the war years still being secured by the
Official Secrets Act. The definitive work however is considered ''The Dambusters Raid'' by John Sweetman.
In 2006, it was announced that New Zealand film director
Peter Jackson and
David Frost would co-produce a re-make of the film. It was scripted by
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
and directed by
Christian Rivers
Christian Rivers is a New Zealand storyboard artist, visual effects supervisor, special effects technician, and director. He first met Peter Jackson as a 17-year-old, and storyboarded all of Jackson's films since '' Braindead''. He made his di ...
. The last living Dam Buster pilot at the time, New Zealander
Les Munro
Squadron Leader John Leslie Munro, (5 April 1919 – 4 August 2015) was a Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot during World War II and the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943.
Early life
Born on 5 April 1919 near Gisborne on ...
(1919–2015), offered his services as a technical adviser.
[Alan Veitch, "Dambusters' Anzac legend"]
(''Courier Mail'' 1 October 2006). Access date: 1 October 2006.
See also
*
List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
Squadrons are the main form of flying unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF). These include Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) squadrons incorporated into the RAF when it was formed on 1 April 1918, during the First World ...
*
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using sp ...
, the attack by 617 Squadron on German dams during the Second World War
*
Operation Garlic
Operation Garlic was an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal by 617 Squadron carried out on 14-16 September 1943. The operation was unsuccessful. The canal was not significantly damaged by the attack, while 617 squadron lost five of the eight aircr ...
, an attack by 617 Squadron on the Dortmund-Ems Canal.
*
Operation Catechism
Operation Catechism was a British air raid of World War II that destroyed the German battleship ''Tirpitz''. It was conducted on 12 November 1944 by 29 Royal Air Force heavy bombers that attacked the battleship at its anchorage near the Norwegia ...
, the sinking of
German battleship ''Tirpitz'' by 617 Squadron
* ''
Enemy Coast Ahead'' a book by Guy Gibson written in 1944 shortly before his death
*
''The Dam Busters'' a 1951 book by
Paul Brickhill
Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (20 December 191623 April 1991) was an Australian fighter pilot, prisoner of war, and author who wrote '' The Great Escape'', '' The Dam Busters'', and ''Reach for the Sky''.
Early life
Brickhill was born in Melbou ...
about the operation.
*
''The Dam Busters'', a 1955 film about the operation based on both the Gibson and Brickhill books
References
Notes
Bibliography
* – first hand accounts of the planning, preparation and execution of the raid.
*
* Bouquet, Tim ''617 Going to War with Today's Dambusters''. London: Orion (Orion Publishing Group Limited), 2012.
*
*
* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. .
* Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 1998 (second edition 2001). .
* Moyes, Philip J.R. ''Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1964 (new edition 1976). .
* Price, Nigel. ''Royal Air Force Salute - Tornado''. Stamford: Key Publishing Ltd, 2019.
External links
617 Squadron RAF Official Web Page617 Squadron Dambusters site*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20101206073909/http://www.dambusters.org.uk/docs/recordbook.pdf 617 Squadron – The Operational Record Book 1943 – 1945(PDF) with additional information by Tobin Jones; Binx Publishing, Pevensey House, Sheep Street, Bicester. OX26 6JF. Acknowledgement is given to
HMSO
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...
as holders of the copyright on the Operational Record Book
16./17.05.1943 – "Operation Chastise"Pathe newsreel, 1963, 617 equipped with Blue Steel nuclear missilesPathe newsreel, 1967, Dambusters re-union617 Squadronat the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive.
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 617 Squadron Raf
617 Squadron
Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and currently based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. It is commonly known as "''The Dambusters''", for its actions during Operation Chastis ...
Bomber squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1943
1943 establishments in England