Unit Used 'Bouncing Bombs' To Take Out German Dams

The last surviving pilot of the "Dambusters" RAF unit has Gone West at a New Zealand hospital. Les Munro was 96.

The Dambusters flew from RAF Scampton near Lincoln in England during WWII. Warhistory Online reports that they used a "bouncing bomb" called "Upkeep" to attack and destroy German dams.

With Munro's passing, only two surviving crewmembers of the Dambusters' missions remain alive.

While Munro was a member of the unit, Warhistory Online reports that the never had an opportunity to drop one of the specialized bombs. While flying over the Netherlands, his Lancaster bomber was hit by flack and damaged. The crew decided to return to England because the communications gear in the airplane was destroyed.

Munro was a volunteer for the secretive 617 Dambusters Squadron. Its mission was to attack German dams on the Ruhr River to cripple the German's industrial base. Of the 19 Lancasters that departed on the mission, only 11 returned.

Munro later was promoted to squadron leader, and took part in Operation Taxable in conjunction with the D-Day invasion.

He was a veteran of 58 combat sorties. He was awarded the DSO in March of 1943.

(RAF image via Wikipedia)

FMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise