14. A Special Squadron for a Special Air Raid
Arthur Harris, head of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, personally selected twenty-four-year-old Guy Gibson to lead the raid against the Ruhr dams. Gibson, a capable and courageous Wing Commander who showed great promise, was ordered to form and lead a special squadron for similar missions. The unit, No. 617 Squadron, was to essentially act as an outfit of specially trained elite aerial commandos, and they were to carry out some of the RAF’s most difficult tasks.
Gibson had his aircrews train in modified Lancaster heavy bombers, fitted with a motor in the bomb bay to spin Barnes Wallis’ explosive drum. In order to properly skip atop the water’s surface, the drum had to be released at a height of precisely 60 feet. In order to determine the correct height, an ingeniously simple technique was adopted. Two spotlights were placed on the bomber’s front and rear, and they were angled so that their lights would meet at the water’s surface when the bomber was at a height of exactly 60 feet.
