The Dambusters Run
£999

Our Dambusters Run flight experience is designed to give you an idea of the skill and bravery required by the aircrews who carried out Operation Chastise. We will fly over the training ground used by 617 Squadron and over Derwent Reservoir. A lot has changed over the 80+ years since 617 Squadron prepared here, so following precise flight paths is no longer possible. However, you will approach the dam low and at speed, passing low over the water before climbing again.

No. 617 Squadron was formed at RAF Scampton in March 1943 under Wing Commander Guy Gibson for the special operation that became Operation Chastise. Training was highly compressed and included intensive low-level cross-country flying, navigation at night, attack practice and development of the special techniques needed to deliver Barnes Wallis’s Upkeep weapon.

Derwent Reservoir was one of the reservoirs selected for preliminary training. Its dam, valley and twin-tower appearance made it useful for low-level approach work. Surviving RAF historical material records Gibson and other senior aircrew trying the required night low-level flying over Derwent early in the programme. Later training concentrated heavily on low altitude, precise speed control and repeatable approach geometry.

The familiar final attack technique used two downward-pointing spotlights whose beams met on the water when the Lancaster was at the required height, and a simple sight using the apparent spacing of the dam towers to judge release range. The famous figures commonly associated with the operational attack are about 60 ft above the water and roughly 220-230 mph, although training settings evolved during April and May.