- On the 16th of May 1943,
19 Lancaster bombers took off from here
at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire
to launch a daring raid on the dams
of the Ruhr and the Eder Valleys in Germany.
The raids used an invention by a British inventor
called Barnes Wallis, which was a bouncing bomb.
It effectively skipped along the surface of the dams,
to drop down behind the torpedo net
and then destroy the dam,
sending thousands of tons of water into the valley below.
Today I'm going to be trying to get an idea
of what it was like for those pilots back in World War II.
I'm going to be flying a plane down the place
where they actually trained.
Now, the mission to destroy the dams over in Germany,
or Operation Chastise, to give it its proper name,
was a top secret mission
and the air crews only had a few weeks,
before they actually did the mission, to do their training.
For that, the RAF and 617 Squadron
used the Derwent Valley here in Derbyshire,
and this right here behind me is one of the dams
that they used in target practice.
This is the Derwent Dam.
It was chosen because of its resemblance
to the Mohne Dam over in Germany in the Ruhr Valley,
which was one of the dams that was destroyed.
Now today, I'm going to be doing a practice run of my own.
I'm going to be bringing the PA28 over here
from the airfield I'm based at and I'm going to be doing
a low level run down the Derwent Valley
to try and recreate what those Dambuster pilots did
during World War II.
Operation Chastise was carried out
by a brand new special mission squadron
of the Royal Air Force, 617 Squadron.
There's still a memorial to the dambusters
here on the Derwent Dam.
Now you see, the incredible thing for me
is looking at this from the ground level for the first time,
is that this isn't as easy as I thought it would be.
It's not a straight run.
You can't just aim your plane,
fly low and drop your bombs and climb away.
This is a weaving, winding valley
just like the valleys over in Germany
where they did the real thing were.
And that's why they chose this part of the country
in order to do their practicing.
Now, flying high up, you think "That's not going to be too bad,
you could fly down that."
But these pilots were flying Lancaster bombers,
massive airplanes, just 50 feet above the water here.
Weaving their way down the Derwent Valley,
and then eventually, of course, the Ruhr Valley in Germany.
But they're doing 200-odd miles an hour
in Lancaster bombers.
They're not flying PA28s.
It's just incredible really,
the skill that these guys must've had.
I'm starting to see just being here
what it was like for them.
But I think when I get up there,
I'm going to see for myself just how hard
it must've been for those guys.
It was time to pick up the plane
to have a go at dam busting for myself.
What an absolutely beautiful morning it is
here at Gamston in Nottinghamshire.
This is the PA28 that I'm going to be taking over
to the Peak District to have a go
at flying down Derwent and Ladybower Reservoir,
My flight today then would take me first
across another former RAF base,
what's now Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
From there I'd head west, across to the Peak District,
to make a Southbound pass along with Derwent
and Ladybower Reservoirs, before heading back to Gamston.
Golf Alpha Lima Bravo, taking off runway, two-one.
- [Air Traffic Controller] 220 degrees one five knots.
- Let's go.
Ts and Ps are in the green, airspeed is increasing.
50 knots, 55, let's rotate at that.
65 knots.
So there's Doncaster Airport on the nose.
Used to be RAF Finningley.
It was an RAF base and it was open in World War II,
but they had different aircraft there.
It wasn't the Lancasters that went over to
do the raids on the Ruhr Valley.
But it still had a lot military history
in the Cold War with the Vulcan bombers based here,
the V bombers, so it was quite an important airport.
It shut down for many years
and then reopened in 2005, I think, as Doncaster Sheffield,
Robin Hood International Airport and currently sees
about as about half a dozen flights a day.
With Wizz Air mainly.
Jesus Christ, it's a bit bumpy, isn't it?
Let's go a bit more power.
I've got a feeling it's going to be even bumpier
over the Hills, to be honest.
Ground speed now still 88.
Air speed 100, so not a terrible head wind,
it's not quite as bad as it was.
I would say "bomb bay doors activate"
However, the Lancasters that did the Dambusters raid
over in the Ruhr Valley,
they didn't have bomb bay doors
because they've removed them so they could fit
the massive barrel bomb in,
that they'd drop in to bounce them off their reservoirs.
It's an absolutely stunning part of the world
over here in the Peak District.
I mean just look at the view down below.
Endless barren landscape.
It's hard to believe that we're sandwiched between
Sheffield and Manchester right now,
two of the biggest cities in the UK.
And this is the wilderness that sits between them
and it's bloody bumpy again.
Right, I can see Howden reservoir
just down there on the left.
So I'm going to turn in in a minute,
turning in, clear to the right, looking to the left.
So we can drop it to 1700 feet, which is 500 feet above.
However, we also need to make sure that if we,
the big spinney thing in front of us stops spinning
that we can land clear so I'm not going to go too low.
But as you can see, there's plenty of brown to land on
should we have an engine failure at this height.
I'm going to stick the carb heat on
'cause we're just coming back a little bit just to drop now.
And here we go, let's go for the run.
So we're 800 feet above the ground.
Ooh me head (laughs).
That was a little bit heavy.
You see, I have the utmost amount of respect
for everybody that served for our country over the years,
even before all this and to be honest,
having had a go at flying down the dams myself today.
It's just given me an entirely new level of respect for
those guys that did that.
My flight today was at 700 feet in a four-seater plane,
that weighs about a ton,
flies at about a 100 miles an hour.
These guys were doing it in a Lancaster bomber.
That's 16 tons of aircraft with a 30 meter wing span.
Not only that, they were doing it at 200 miles an hour
at just 50 to 60 feet above the water line,
at night and under the enemy fire.
It's just incredible.
Don't forget as well that the guys flying these
missions, some of them, were as young as 19 years old
who were on these aircraft,
I just have so much respect for the guys
that were able to do that, knowing how hard it was
in these relatively nice conditions
in the little four-seater plane.
And I can't even imagine what it would have been like
in a Lancaster, just phenomenal, really.
As I guided my PA28 home
across the now peaceful skies of the East Midlands,
I couldn't help but think of the men
who didn't make it back that night.
Of the 19 Lancaster bombers that took off
from Scampton that night, only 11 made it back.
53 airmen and were lost that night
and three were captured by the Germans.
The raid also caused the deaths
of an estimated 1600 civilians.
617 Squadron, however, lives on.
The Dambusters are now based out of Marham in Norfolk
flying F35 Lightnings.
The aircraft may be different,
but their motto gives a constant reminder of their history.
"Apres Moi Le Deluge", after me, the flood.
So I'd really like to end this video by saying
firstly a big thank you to all of the incredible
men and women who sacrificed their tomorrow so we can have our today.
For that reason I think it's only right that every single penny of ad revenue raised by this video
During the month of November will be going straight to the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.
I've also set up a Justgiving page for them as well
the link's on the screen now, it's justgiving.com/dambusters2020.
I know that they will appreciate every single penny you're able to donate, no matter how small
and it would go such a long way to helping them fulfil their role
in providing support to serving and ex-servicemen and women and their families
The link is once again on the screen now, it's justgiving.com/dambusters2020.
In the meantime then, as always thanks so much for watching this video.
I really do hope that coming out of this video you're getting an idea of how
I'm feeling coming out of this video as well
In just what an incredible job these guys did in the most adverse of circumstances.
It really is phenomenal what these guys were able to achieve.
Thanks so much for watching. Take care, and I'll see you next time.