I wouldn't resurrect the debate about whether the Dambusters Raids were worth the effort, but research appears to have shown that Sir Arthur Harris was among those who believed they achieved nothing. My immediate reaction to this is that it is fairly indisputable that they did not disrupt German industry to the extent that was hoped, but the stock response to this argument is that they were worth it for the national morale boost, and for the effort that the Germans then had to devote to rebuilding and protecting the dams. It seems that Harris felt that even these considerations did not justify the effort and the loss of aircraft and crews. Was he being realistic in exposing an "Emperor's New Clothes" mentality, or was he lacking in imagination? Certainly he has the reputation of being fixated on the idea of area-bombing (there is a debate as to what this achieved), so he had an axe to grind. His opinion has more weight in that he opposed the "Bouncing Bomb" concept even before the raids: he was certainly wrong in believing the technology would not work, but was he right to prophecy that the whole concept was a waste of resources? Bomber Harris thought the Dambusters' attacks on Germany 'achieved nothing' - Telegraph
I have said this before and it certainly is a very callous attitude indeed as I cannot see the difference in the loss of these crews over the dams or over a ball bearing factory. I believe the questioning of the raid belittles somewhat the sacrifice made by these crews. What were the ramifications of the dams raid to the Allies, Germany and their populations? The dams were (in most minds) thought to be impregnable - They were not! What did it show the Germans? That the allies could strike at any target at any time. The loss of aircraft and crews occur whenever aircraft take to the air. How many aircraft were actually lost over the dams? (Six of the aircraft were either lost outbound or on their return flight.) In reality, 54 of the 133 taking part were killed which is a high 40% however allowing for losses outbound and on the return, there was only one aircraft lost over the dams. Those with the benefit of hindsight have an advantage over the planners of the day.
Off the top of my head, the destruction of the dams resulted in about 6 weeks of lost work in the Ruhr Valley, thats 6 whole weeks the German war machine was crippled. Ok so it wasn't the 6 months they'd hoped for as the Sorpe didn't fall, but it is still an aamzing feat for just one squadron which was already down two bombers before the raid even took off. I also read that the impact upon the agriculture of the alley was an unforeseen major impact. The Ruhr was also one of the most fertile areas of Germany, providing much of its beef, milk and grain. A major loss as post war evaluations stated it would be 60 years before the soil fertility recovered after it was scoured from the bedrock by the water that was released. Thats an impact of 60 years from just 19 aircraft! I know the Millennium raids didn't have such a long term effect. So no the Dams raids weren't the hoped for major impact due to the failure to hit the Sorpe after its wing of bombers basically failed to make it, but the long term impacts that did happen were completely unforeseen.
I suspect Harris had made up his mind long before the raid took place; as I said, he had an axe to grind. And Leo McKinstry has to have an "angle" for his new book. If the effects of the dams raid on German industry lasted six weeks, that is probably longer than the effects of many of Harris' raids (though I don't doubt that the cumulative effect of all the raids contributed substantially to the defeat of Germany). Wasn't it eight aircraft that were lost, including two over the dams (Maudslay's over the Mohne, and another over the Eder)? I think they were always pessimistic about breaching the Sorpe. Because this was an earth-bank dam rather than a concrete wall, the use of the mines' in "bouncing" mode was impossible; all they could do was fly along the length of the dam and use the sheer size of the mines to try and knock chunks out of it. In the event they were unable to inflict serious damage.
unfortunately from without sounding obvious what i have read or watched only made a small dent for a short time ,but good for moral did get to see shannons medals in canberra but so dull pictures looked terriable in photos i took all medals are so dark yes the ribbons fade but there is a limit to how dark the VC hall well ??
