07/06/2026
On this day, 83 years ago, May 16, 1943, 24-year-old Acting Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson led one of the most devastating and dangerous low-level bombing raids of World War II.
He was the commanding officer of No. 617 Squadron, a unit formed in absolute secrecy specifically for Operation Chastise to breach the heavily defended Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Germany's industrial Ruhr Valley.
Flying a specially modified Avro Lancaster bomber at night, Gibson flew deep into enemy territory at altitudes as low as 100 feet to avoid radar detection.
The mission relied on a radical, five-ton spinning cylinder called the "Upkeep" bouncing bomb, designed by Barnes Wallis to skip across the water's surface, sink against the dam wall, and detonate.
Upon reaching the Möhne dam, Gibson faced fierce anti-aircraft defenses, including active light flak batteries defending the structure from towers.
Gibson personally made the initial attack run on the Möhne dam, descending to within 60 feet of the water's surface while maintaining a precise ground speed of 240 mph.
Taking the full brunt of the enemy anti-aircraft fire, he delivered his bouncing bomb with great accuracy, though this first strike did not breach the structure.
To drop the weapon accurately, his crew had to use makeshift wooden triangulation sights and spotlight beams that converged on the water only at the exact 60-foot altitude required.
After releasing his weapon, Gibson spent the next 30 minutes circling the target area at a very low altitude.
He deliberately drew the enemy flak and searchlights onto his own aircraft to provide a safer, distraction-free run for the subsequent bombers in his formation.
When Flight Lieutenant Hopgood’s aircraft was hit and destroyed during the second run, Gibson adjusted his tactics for the remaining attacks.
As Flight Lieutenant Martin made his approach, Gibson flew his Lancaster parallel and slightly ahead of the attacking bomber, turning on his own landing lights to actively draw the defensive fire away from his squadron mate.
This combined effort eventually breached the Möhne dam, and Gibson transmitted the codename "Nigger"—the name of his beloved black Labrador retriever who had been killed by a car just hours before takeoff—to signal the success.
Gibson then immediately led the remainder of his force to the Eder dam, which was bordered by steep, hazardous hills and required extreme navigational precision.
At the Eder dam, Gibson repeated his dangerous tactics, flying low to guide and shield his remaining aircraft as they executed their difficult, diving bombing runs.
The Eder dam was successfully breached under his direct leadership before the surviving aircraft turned back for the journey home, having crippled German wartime production.
For his conspicuous bravery, leadership, and utter disregard for his own safety during this operation, Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross on May 28, 1943.
Guy Gibson did not survive the war.
On September 19, 1944, at the age of 26, he was killed in action alongside his navigator when their De Havilland Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands.
The exact cause of the crash remains a historical mystery, with theories ranging from a faulty fuel tank selector valve to a tragic instance of friendly fire by a British Lancaster crew who mistook his aircraft for a German fighter.
