10. The British Got a Huge Morale Boost From the “Dambusters” Raid
On the way back home after the raid, two more Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron were shot down by German antiaircraft fire. Of the nineteen bombers that had taken off on the night of May 16th, 1943, eleven began to land at RAF Scampton in the early hours of the 17th. As soon as it was light enough outside, reconnaissance airplanes took off to fly over and photograph the damage. They brought back film of breached dams and massive floods. The damage inflicted by Operation Chastise killed about 1,700 civilians, of whom roughly 1,000 were forced laborers.
The greatest impact was the loss of hydroelectric power to factories and residences in the Ruhr for a fortnight, as two power stations were destroyed and seven more were damaged. The Ruhr’s steel production in the month before the raid was 1 million tons, but it dropped to a quarter of that in the month after the raid. Coal production also declined by 400,000 tons in the month after the attack. The damage was not permanent, however, and within two months Ruhr Valley production was back to normal. The raid nonetheless boosted British morale as an impressive feat of derring-do. Guy Gibson was awarded a Victoria Cross, and No. 617 Squadron, known thereafter as the “Dam Busters”, went on to fly further successful special raids.
