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No. 617 Squadron Royal Air Force
No 617 Squadron was formed at Scampton on 21st March 1943. It included personnel from the RCAF, the RAAF and RNZAF and was formed specifically to attack three dams, the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe, on the Ruhr (Operation Chastise, 17th may 1943). The squadron developed tactics to use the bouncing bomb.
No 617 continued its target marking and precision bombing roles, including the use of ground-penetrating earthquake bombs on concrete U-boat shelters, bridges and canals. A staging base was established in Russia for No 9 and 617 to successfully attack the Tirpitz which was based in northern Norway and was damaging Arctic convoys. Several books have described No 617's operations including The Dambusters Raid by John Sweetman.
Airfields
No. 617 Squadron
flew from:
- RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire from 21st March 1943 (formed. Lancaster I, Lancaster III)
- RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire from 30th August 1943
- RAF Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire from 10th January 1944 (Mosquito VI)
- RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire from 17th June 1945
12th May 1943 Training
15th Jul 1943 Aircraft Lost
15th September 1943 Mosquios and Lancaster lost
13th Feb 1944 Crash
18th April 1944 Relocated
6th Jun 1944 Messages
8th June 1944 Targetted bombing
24th Jun 1944 617 Squadron Lancaster lost
12th November 1944 Ship Targeted
15th August 1945 Tiger Force
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Want to know more about No. 617 Squadron Royal Air Force? There are:2009 items tagged No. 617 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Sgt. Harold Mclenon "Nobby" Blundell MID. 463 Squadron      Nobby Blundell was born in Blundell's Cottage in Canberra in 1914. lthough a qualified mechanic he was also a wheat farmer at Weethalle (near West Wylaong) in New South Wales when he was called up in January 1940.
His preliminary training was at Richmond near Sydney and then Ascot Vale in Melbourne as a Fitter 2E after which he traveled to the UK and joined 456 RAAF Nightfighter Squadron on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales.
In September 1942 he was remustered as a Flight Sergeant but a plane
crash rendered him unfit for operational duties and he returned to 456 Squadron. In early 1943 he joined 617 Squadron for special duties. 617
Squadron were the Dam Busters and Nobby flew with the Lancasters during test drops of their bombs. On the night of 16/17 May 1943 617 Squadron attacked the Mohne and Eder dams causing considerable damage in Germany’s
industrial centres in the Ruhr valley. Nobby Blundell’s role was to redesign the undercarriage of the Lancaster so it was able to carry the drum type bombs.
In November 1943 he was posted to 463 Squadron which was based at Waddington in England as a Sergeant Engine Fitter. He was Mentioned in Despatches for his work during the D-Day operations in June 1944 and in October 1944 Blundell was sent to Russia to service Lancaster bombers attempting to sink the German raider, Tirpitz.
After the war he ran a motor engineering business in Sydney until he retired in 1974 to live in Dubbo. He self-published five books on 467
and 463 Squadrons and was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1995 for services to war veterans. He later moved to Cairns but
died in Hervey Bay, Queensland on 13 September 2003.
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Thomas "Trouble" Rushton 102 Squadron  Tom Rushton did over 30 ops during his time with bomber command, and survived. He was actually on leave when the dambusters flew having been told to take leave. Other raids he was on were Tirpitze, Pedamunda, Berlin and Cologne, and more.
He flew in Mk1 Halifax’s and on one raid with only three engines working coming back from a raid then only two over the UK based at Pocklington with all New Zealand crew bailed out at five hundred feet into a ploughed field and survived with two broken legs at Barmby Moor. Only three survived all the rest buried at Barmby Moor Church near York.
I visited Scampton a few years ago and went into the shop and bought a souvenir newspaper from the time and my Dad was on the front with his air crew. He started training on Ansons in Canada then Pocklington 102 Squadron then 57 Squadron at East Kirkby then Scampton with 617 Squadron. Finished on HCU.
That’s all I can remember except he got into the caterpillar club pin for bailing out.
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Sqd.Ldr. John Austin "Pimbo" Pimlott DFC. My grandfather, John Pimlott, was at RAF Scampton flying ops in the North Sea, he was then sent as a trainer to a gunnery school in Scotland. I got his service record but large chunks of it are redacted. He flew Lancasters in Dambuster bomb testing, flew planes around the country once repaired, went to South Africa to help train their Air Force, back to England to fly Lancasters over Europe. I got a copy of service medals, I've seen his original ones and there was a DFC amongst them. If anyone knows more about him I would be keen to know more
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F/Lt. Leslie Gordon Knight DSO MiD. 617 Squadron (d.16th September 1943) Flight Lieutenant Leslie Knight was the son of William Henry Harold and Nellie Marsom Knight of Camberwell, Victoria, Australia.
He was 22 when he was killed over Holland on 16th of September 1943.
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George Stephenson RAF Wyton We are trying to locate any one who knew a RAF Navigator named George Stephenson. We know he was stationed at Wyton in Huntingdonshire and also at Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire. It's possible he was with either 619, 617 or 83 Squadron. He finished his tour of ops and we believe he finished up as
a instructor of navigation in Canada before being demobbed.
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F/Sgt. Charles Smith "Chick" Cook 617 Sqdn. (d.27th Nov 1943) I am looking for any members of 617 and 619 Squadrons who remember my uncle, Charles Smith Cook. He was often called "Chick" or because of his
boxing, the "brown bomber". My father told me that that sometime between
1940 and 1943 there was a photo of Charlies' crew and the Lancaster printed in an Edinburgh newspaper. They were standing in front of the plane along with the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. I would love to hear from anyone that has memories of my uncle or any of the families of his fellow crew members listed below. If anyone could be kind enough to find the photo I have mentioned I would be so grateful. I'd like to be able to show it to my father, Charlies' brother.
DV381 619Sqdn Lancaster BI PG-B Took off ofr Berlin from Woodhall Spa at 17:22 on the 26th of November 1943. Believed to have crashed into the sea.
- Pilot F/Lt Ronald David Rayment 50657 V. Buried in Becklingen War Cemetery.
- F.Engr Sgt Martin John Lynch 904871 V. Buried in Becklingen War Cemetery.
- Nav F/O John Kellett 129552 V. Commemorated on the Royal Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede.
- B/Aim Sgt William Archibald 1344176 V. Commemorated on the Royal Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede.
- W/Op F/Sgt John Thomas Richards 1271196 V. Commemorated on the Royal Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede. Panel 138
- AG F/SgtCharles Smith Cook 1351535 V. Commemorated on the Royal Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede.Panel 135
- AG F/Sgt Joseph Arthur Fowler 1394170 V. Commemorated on the Royal Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede. Panel 136
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Wg. Cdr. Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO, DFC 627th Sqd. (d.19th Sept 1944) 109 Squadron is showing a Mosquito loss in 1944. In 1943 109 Sqn was merged to 627 Sqn. The loss of the Mosquito in 1944 you have is incorrect. The Mosquito loss in 1944 is one of the most famous and was September 18/19 1944. The Pilot Wing Commander Guy Gibson DFC DSO his navigator was Sqn Ldr Jim Warwick. They were on an operation as Pathfinder and Gibson was MASTER BOMBER when they crashed on the way home in Holland at Steenbergen where there is a memorial at the crash site and in a local park.
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George Stephenson 619 Sqdn. George Stephenson was a navigator who survived the war. He may have been with 619, 617 or 83 Squadrons. We know he was at Woodhall and at Wyton. He completed his service, we believe, as a navigator instructor, possibly in Canada. If you have any information about George please contact me.
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W/O. J. J. "Paddy" Blanche 227 Squadron Lancaster mid-upper gunner Paddy Blanche was from Northern Ireland. Having completed a tour of operations in N Africa, he joined 83 Pathfinder Squadron in 1944 before transferring in June 1944 to 617 (Dambusters) Squadron. Subsequently Paddy served in 227 squadron and was discharged on 12th December 1945. He died in London in the 1970s.
Part of his service is recorded by Clayton Moore in his book Lancaster Valour
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Flt.Sgt. Philip Moore 617 Sqd. (d.15th/16th Sep 1943) My uncle Philip Moore was the Flight Engineer who flew with pilot Ralph Allsebrook, DSO DFC in Lancaster EE130, which was shot down by flak on the Dortmund Ems canal raid in September 1943.
The crew had formerly been with 49 Squadron and had volunteered to join 617 in June 1943 to replace those lost on the Dams raid.
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Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
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Dambusters: A Landmark Oral HistoryMax Arthur
An event from WW2 that many will know about, however this book takes you into the very centre of the events as those who took part in or supported the mission whether air crew, ground crew, as well as Barnes Wallis. It also includes a chapter of accounts of those who were on the receiving end of the attack. The book is gripping from the start and was difficult to put down. Even more remarkable is the age of many who took part, the leaer Wing Co Gibson was in his mid 20's and others much younger. Yet without the modern gizzmo's we take for granted they showd a level of xommitment in the face of danger that is rarely seen in today's society. The mission was deemed a success, yet thios can overlook the fact that many paid the ultimate sacrifice. A book that you should have on your bookshelf.
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