Factacular : World War II Codenames World War II Codenames Your overall rating on World War II Codenames = 0% The Dambusters Raid on the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe Dams in Germany Conceived by Sir Barnes Wallis, British scientist, engineer and inventor to have Lancaster bombers deliver "bouncing bombs" that would skip like a stone up to the dam and then sink to blow up these Ruhr Valley strategic dams in Germany. The 1954 film "The Dam Busters" tells of 617 Squadron's low level raid on May 17, 1943 led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts. The Normandy Breakout Campaign July 25 - July 31, 1944. Generals Omar Bradley and George S. Patton drive a gap in the western section of the Normandy theater of battle and breakout of the Normandy region at Saint-Lô, Normandy, France. British General Bernard Montgomery commanding Twenty-first Army Group coordinated the Allies on east and west on the Normandy line to attack and tie up German forces.

Using the 4th, 9th and 30th infantry divisions of VII Corps to punch the whole in the German line, the Allies coordinated bombing and armor support to end the stalemate and force the German left flank to turn. The 1st Infantry Division with the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions composed the explotation force. This success caused the Falaise Pocket to be created which was composed dislodged German forces. A general fall back of German forces in Normandy ensued from there to September 1944. Pipe Lines Under The Ocean A World War II operation by British scientists, oil companies and armed forces to construct undersea oil pipelines under the English Channel between England and France. Conceived by Admiral Louis Mountbatten and developed by AC Hartley, chief engineer of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. First laid from the Isle of Wight for a length of 70 nautical miles to Cherbourg, France, the concept led to nearly 20 pipelines crossing the English Channel from Dungeness to the Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais. This assured the Allies in Europe a steady uninterrupted fuel supply and allowed tankers to be used elsewhere to supply fuel to other Allied operations.

Operation Chastise | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Prior to World War II , the British Air Ministry had identified Germany's heavily industrialised Ruhr Valley , and especially its dams, as important strategic targets: in addition to providing hydro-electric power and pure water for steel-making, they also supplied drinking water and water for the canal transport system. The methods used to attack the dams had been carefully worked out. Calculations indicated that repeated air strikes with large bombs could be effective, but required a degree of accuracy which Bomber Command had been unable to attain in the face of enemy defences. Concept Edit The mission grew out of a concept for a bomb designed by Barnes Wallis and developed by his team at Vickers . Wallis was Assistant Chief Designer at Vickers. He had worked on both the Vickers Wellesley and Vickers Wellington bombers. While working on the Vickers Windsor he had also begun work, with support of the Admiralty , on a bomb designed initially for attacking ships, although dam destruction was soon considered.

Wallis's initial idea was to drop a 10 t (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons) bomb from an altitude of about 40,000 ft (12,200 m). This idea was part of the earthquake bomb concept. However, at that time no bomber aircraft was capable of flying at that altitude with such a heavy payload. A much smaller explosive charge would suffice, if it could be exploded directly against the dam wall below the surface of the water, but the major German reservoir dams were protected by heavy torpedo nets to prevent such an attack. Wallis's breakthrough overcame this. A drum-shaped bomb — essentially a specially designed, heavy depth charge — spinning backwards at over 500 rpm, dropped at a sufficiently low altitude at the correct speed, would skip for a significant distance over the surface of the water in a series of bounces before reaching the dam wall. Its residual spin would run the bomb down the side of the dam to its underwater base. Using a hydrostatic fuse, an accurate drop could bypass the dam's defences and enable the bomb to explode against the dam.

Using two spotlights to adjust altitude, a modified Lancaster dropped a backspun drum-bomb which skipped over torpedo nets protecting the dam. After impact the bomb spun down to the dam's base and exploded. Initial testing of the concept included blowing up a plaster model dam at the Building Research Establishment , Watford in May 1942 and then the breaching of the disused Nant-y-Gro dam in Wales in July 1942. The first full-scale trials were at Chesil Beach in January 1943. This demonstrated that a bomb of sufficient size could be carried by an Avro Lancaster rather than waiting for a larger bomber such as the Windsor to be built. However Air Vice-Marshal Francis Linnell at the Ministry of Aircraft Production thought the work was diverting Wallis from the development of the Windsor. Pressure from Linnell via the chairman of Vickers, Sir Charles Worthington Craven, caused Wallis to resign. Sir Arthur Harris , head of RAF Bomber Command from a briefing by Linnell also opposed the allocation of his bombers. However Wallis had written to an influential intelligence officer, Group Captain Frederick Winterbotham .

Winterbotham ensured that the Chief of the Air Staff , Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal heard of the project. Portal saw the film of the Chesil Beach trials and was convinced. [2] Over-riding Harris, Portal ordered on 26 February 1943 that thirty Lancasters were to be allocated to the mission and the target date was set for May, when water levels would be at their highest and breaches in the dams would cause the most damage. With eight weeks to go, the larger bomb, code-named 'Upkeep', that was needed for the mission, and the modifications to the Lancasters had yet to be designed. Assignment Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane , Wing Commander Guy Gibson , King George VI and Group Captain John Whitworth discussing the Dambuster Raid in May 1943. The operation was given to No. 5 Group RAF which formed a new squadron to undertake the dams mission. It was initially called Squadron "X", as the speed of its formation outstripped the RAF process for naming squadrons.

Led by 24 year-old Wing Commander Guy Gibson , a veteran of over 170 bombing and night-fighter missions, twenty-one bomber crews were selected from existing squadrons in 5 Group. These crews included RAF personnel of several different nationalities, as well as members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), who were frequently attached to RAF squadrons under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan . The squadron was based at RAF Scampton , about 5 mi (8 km) north of Lincoln. The targets selected were the two key dams upstream from the Ruhr industrial area , the Möhne Dam and the Sorpe Dam , with the Eder Dam on the Eder River, which feeds into the Weser, as a secondary target. While the loss of hydroelectric power was important, the loss of water supply to industry, cities, and canals would have greater effect. Also, there was the potential for devastating flooding if the dams broke. The aircraft were modified Avro Lancaster Mk IIIs, known as B Mark III Special (Type 464 Provisioning).

[3] To reduce weight, much of the internal armour was removed, as was the mid-upper machine gun turret. The size of the bomb with its unusual shape meant that the bomb-bay doors had to be removed, and the bomb itself hung, in part, below the fuselage of the aircraft. It was mounted on two crutches, and before dropping it was spun up to speed by an auxiliary motor. [4] Preparations "Upkeep" bouncing bomb mounted under Lancaster B III (Special). Barnes Wallis and others watch a practice Upkeep bomb strike the shoreline at Reculver, Kent Bombing from an altitude of 60 ft (18 m), at an air speed of 240 mph (390 km/h), and at a pre-selected distance from the target called for expert crews. Intensive night-time and low-altitude flight training began. There were also technical problems to solve, the first one being to determine when the aircraft was at optimum distance from its target. Both the Möhne and Eder Dams had towers at each end.

A special targeting device with two prongs, making the same angle as the two towers at the correct distance from the dam, showed when to release the bomb. (The BBC documentary Dambusters Declassified (2010) stated that the pronged device was not used due to issues related to vibration and that other methods were employed, including a length of string tied in a loop and pulled back centrally to a fixed point in the manner of a catapult.) The second problem was determining the aircraft's altitude, as the barometric altimeters then in use lacked sufficient accuracy. Two spotlights were mounted, one under the aircraft's nose and the other under the fuselage, so that at the correct height their light beams would converge on the surface of the water. The crews practised at the Eyebrook Reservoir , near Uppingham , Rutland; Abberton Reservoir near Colchester; Derwent Reservoir ; and Fleet Lagoon on Chesil Beach . Wallis's bomb itself was first tested at the Elan Valley Reservoirs . The bombs were delivered to the squadron on 13 May, after the final tests on 29 April.

At 1800 on 15 May, at a meeting in Whitworth's house, Gibson and Wallis briefed four key officers: the squadron's two flight commanders, Squadron Leader Henry Maudslay and Sqn Ldr H. M. "Dinghy" Young ; Gibson's deputy for the Möhne attack, Fl.Lt. John V.Hopgood and; the squadron bombing leader, Flight Lieutenant Bob Hay. The rest of the crews were told at a series of briefings the following day, which began with a briefing of pilots, navigators and bomb-aimers at about midday. Organisation Edit The squadron was divided into three groups. Formation No. 1 was composed of nine aircraft in three groups: (listed by pilot) Gibson, Hopgood and Flt Lt H. B. "Micky" Martin (an Australian serving in the RAF); Young, Flt Lt David Maltby and Flt Lt Dave Shannon (RAAF), and; Maudslay, Flt Lt Bill Astell and Flying Officer Les Knight (RAAF). Its mission was to attack the Möhne; any aircraft with bombs remaining would then attack the Eder. Formation No.

2, numbering five aircraft, piloted by Flt Lt Joe McCarthy (an American serving in the RCAF), Pilot Officer Vernon Byers, Flt Lt Bob Barlow (RAAF), P/O Geoff Rice and Flt Lt Les Munro (RNZAF), was to attack the Sorpe. Formation No. 3 was a mobile reserve consisting of aircraft piloted by Flight Sergeant Cyril Anderson, Flt Sgt Bill Townsend, Flt Sgt Ken Brown (RCAF), P/O Warner Ottley and P/O Lewis Burpee (RCAF), taking off two hours later on 17 May, either to bomb the main dams or to attack three smaller secondary target dams: the Lister, the Ennepe and the Diemel. Two crews were unable to make the mission owing to illness. The Operations Room for the mission was at 5 Group Headquarters in St Vincents Hall , Grantham, Lincolnshire. The mission codes (transmitted in morse ) were: Goner, meaning "bomb dropped"; Nigger , meaning that the Möhne was breached and; Dinghy meaning that the Eder was breached.

"Nigger" was the name of Gibson's dog, a black labrador retriever that had been run over and killed on the morning of the attack. [5] "Dinghy" was Young's nickname, a reference to the fact that he had twice survived crash landings at sea and he and his crew rescued from the aircraft's inflatable rubber dinghy . The attacks Edit The aircraft used two routes, carefully avoiding known concentrations of German anti-aircraft flak , and were timed to cross the enemy coast simultaneously. The first aircraft, those of Formation No. 2 and heading for the longer, northern route, took off at 21:28. [6] McCarthy's bomber developed a coolant leak and he took off in the reserve aircraft 34 minutes late. [7] Formation No. 1 took off in groups of three at 10 minute intervals beginning at 21:39. [6] The reserve formation did not begin taking off until 00:09 on 17 May. [6] Formation No.

1 entered continental Europe between Walcheren and Schouwen , flew over the Netherlands, skirted the airbases at Gilze-Rijen and Eindhoven, curved around the Ruhr defences, and turned north to avoid Hamm before turning south to head for the Möhne River. Formation No. 2 flew further north, cutting over Vlieland and crossing the IJsselmeer before joining the first route near Wesel and then flying south beyond the Möhne to the Sorpe River. [8] The bombers flew low, at about 100 ft (30 m) altitude, to avoid radar detection. Flight Sergeant George Chalmers, radio operator on "O for Orange" , looked out through the astrodome and was astonished to see that his pilot was flying towards the target along a forest's firebreak , below treetop level. [9] First casualties Edit The first casualties were suffered soon after reaching the Dutch coast. Formation No. 2 did not fare well: Munro's aircraft lost its radio to flak and turned back over the IJsselmeer , while Rice flew too low and struck the sea, losing his bomb in the water; he recovered and returned to base.

Both Barlow's and Byers' Lancasters crossed over the coast around the island of Texel. Byers' bomber was shot down by flak shortly afterwards, crashing into the Waddenzee . Barlow's aircraft hit electricity pylons and crashed 5 km east of Rees , near Haldern. The bomb was thrown clear of the crash and was examined intact by Heinz Schweizer . [10] Only the delayed bomber piloted by McCarthy survived to cross the Netherlands. In addition, Formation No. 1 lost Astell's bomber near the German hamlet of Marbeck when he flew his Lancaster into high voltage electrical cables and crashed into a field. [6] Attack on the Möhne Dam Edit Möhne Dam after the attack. Formation No. 1 arrived over the Möhne lake and Gibson's aircraft (G for George) made the first run, followed by Hopgood (M for Mother). Hopgood's aircraft was hit by flak as it made its low-level run and was caught in the blast of its own bomb, crashing shortly afterwards when a wing disintegrated. Three crew members successfully left the aircraft, but only two survived.

Subsequently Gibson flew his aircraft across the dam to draw the flak away from Martin's run. Martin (P for Popsie) bombed third; his aircraft was damaged but made a successful attack. Next, Young (A for Apple) made a successful run and after him Maltby (J for Johnny) when, finally, the dam was breached. Gibson, with Young accompanying, led Shannon, Maudslay and Knight to the Eder. [6] In the attack on the Möhne one of the bombers made a running commentary on the attack, relayed to base by an airborne TR. 1142 (Transmitter Receiver) manufactured by GEC , the distance being too great for direct VHF transmission. [11] Attack on the Eder Dam Edit Eder Dam on 17 May 1943 Eder Dam in 2004: note missing sluice-gate channels on the left, which were not replaced after the attack. The Eder Valley was covered by heavy fog but not defended. The tricky topography of the surrounding hills made the approach difficult and the first aircraft, Shannon's, made six runs before taking a break.

Maudslay (Z for Zebra) then attempted a run but the bomb struck the top of the dam and the aircraft was severely damaged in the blast. Shannon made another run and successfully dropped his bomb. The final bomb of the formation, from Knight's aircraft (N for Nut), breached the dam. [12] Attacks on the Sorpe and Ennepe Dams Edit The Sorpe dam was the one least likely to be breached. It was a huge earthen dam, unlike the two concrete-and-steel gravity dams that were attacked successfully. Due to various problems, only three Lancasters reached the Sorpe Dam: Joe McCarthy (in "T for Tommy", a delayed aircraft from the second wave) and later Brown ("F for Freddie") and Anderson ("Y for York"), both from the third formation. This attack differed from the previous ones in two ways: the "Upkeep" bomb was not spun, and the approach was made along the length of the dam, not at right angles over the reservoir, due to the topography of the valley.

McCarthy's plane was on its own when it arrived over the Sorpe Dam at 00:15 hours, and realised the approach was even more difficult than expected: the flight path led over a church steeple in the village of Langscheid , located on the hillcrest overlooking the dam. With only seconds to go before the bomber had to pull up, to avoid hitting the hillside at the other end of the dam, the bombardier George Johnson had no time to correct the bomb's height and heading. The crew of "T for Tommy" McCarthy made nine attempted bombing runs before Johnson was satisfied. The 'Upkeep' bomb was dropped on the tenth run. The bomb exploded, but when he turned his Lancaster to assess the damage it turned out that only a section of the crest of the dam had been blown off; the main body of the dam itself was still functional. Meanwhile, three of the reserve aircraft had been directed to the Sorpe Dam. Burpee ("S for Sugar") never arrived, and it was later determined that the plane had been shot down while skirting the Gilze-Rijen airfield.

Brown ("F for Freddy") reached the Sorpe Dam: in the increasingly dense fog the bomb was dropped hastily and also failed to breach the dam. Anderson ("Y for York") arrived last, but by then the fog had become too dense for him even to attempt a bombing run. The remaining two bombers were then sent to secondary targets, with Ottley ("C for Charlie") being shot down en route to the Lister Dam. Townsend ("O for Orange") eventually dropped his bomb at the Ennepe Dam without harming it. [6] Possible attack on Bever Dam Edit There is some evidence that Townsend might have attacked the Bever Dam by mistake rather than the Ennepe Dam. [13] Townsend reported difficulty in finding his dam, and in his post-raid report he complained that the map of the Ennepe Dam was incorrect. The Bever Dam is located only about 5 mi (8 km) southwest of the Ennepe Dam, and its reservoir has a similar topography. However, the Bever Dam is located on the southern edge of the reservoir while the Ennepe is located on the northern edge of its reservoir.

With the foggy mists filling the valleys during the early morning hours, it would be understandable for him to have mistaken the two lakes. The War Diary of the German Naval Staff reported that the Bever Dam had been attacked at nearly the same time that the Sorpe Dam was. In addition, the Wupperverband authority responsible for the Bever Dam is said to have recovered the remains of a "mine". Paul Keiser, a 19-year-old soldier on leave at his home close to the Bever Dam, also reported a bomber making several approaches to the dam and then dropping a bomb that caused a large explosion and a great pillar of flame. John Sweetman, author of the book The Dambusters' Raid, suggests Townsend's report of the moon's reflecting on the mist and water is consistent with an attack that was heading to the Bever Dam rather than to the Ennepe Dam, given the moon's azimuth and altitude during the bombing attacks. Sweetman also points out that the Ennepe-Wasserverband authority was adamant that only a single bomb was dropped near the Ennepe Dam during the entire war, and that this bomb fell into the woods by the side of the dam, not in the water, as in Townsend's report.

Finally, members of Townsend's crew independently reported seeing a manor house and attacking an earthen dam, which is consistent with the Bever Dam rather than the Ennepe Dam. The main evidence supporting the hypothesis of an attack of the Ennepe Dam is Townsend's post-flight report that he attacked the Ennepe Dam on a heading of 355 degrees magnetic. Assuming that the heading was incorrect, all other evidence points toward an attack on the Bever Dam. [13] Return flight Edit On the way back, flying again at treetop level, two more Lancasters were lost. The damaged aircraft of Maudslay was struck by flak near Netterden and Young's "A for Apple" was flayed by flak north of IJmuiden . That bomber crashed into the North Sea just off the coast of the Netherlands. [6] On the return flight over the Dutch coast, some German flak targeting the planes was aimed so low that shells were seen to bounce off the sea. [14] The nine surviving bombers began landing at Scampton at 03:11 hours, with Gibson returning at 04:15.

The last of the survivors, Townsend's bomber, put its wheels on the ground at 06:15. [6] Flying downwind and into the sun, they had a rather bumpy landing as one of their engines had been badly damaged.[ citation needed ] List of aircraft involved Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action.

The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992.

See our aviation history timeline for all today's historical aviation events - air victories, aircraft losses and pilot details. RECENT UPDATES TO OUR AVIATION HISTORY DATABASES Updates made to Aircrew database for : Flight Lieutenant P M H S Hunt : Squadrons updated (added No.12 Sqn RAAF), Squadron service dates updated Flight Lieutenant Robert Charles Platt added to aircrew database : Killed aged 29 on 4th July 1943 when his Stirling BK718 WP-M of No.90 Sqn was shot down and crashed near Cologne. He is buried in Overloon War Cemetery. Son of James Francis and Amelia Louisa Minnie Platt, of Teddington, Middlesex. Flying Fortress Mk.F-85-BO 42-30046 of 546th Bomb Squadron added to the airframes database. New victory claim added : Fw190 claimed on 25th April 1942 by Stanislaw Brzeski of No.317 Sqn RAF Campbell added to aircrew database.

Updates made to Aircrew database for : Sergeant P E Wilks : Squadron service dates updated Updates made to Airframes database for : Flying Fortress 42-30047 : Squadrons updated (added 100th Bomb Group) Douglas added to aircrew database. Sergeant Oliver Beard added to aircrew database : Killed aged 21 on 4th July 1943 when his Stirling BK718 WP-M of No.90 Sqn was shot down and crashed near Cologne. He is buried in Overloon War Cemetery. Son of John Oliver Beard and Margaret Beard, of Rock Ferry, Cheshire. Updates made to Airframes database for : Wellington R1244 : About: Operation Chastise About: Operation Chastise An Entity of Type : military conflict , from Named Graph : , within Data Space : dbpedia.org Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently publicised as the "Dam Busters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Sir Barnes Wallis.

The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians drowned: about 600 Germans and 1,000 mainly Soviet forced-labourers. The damage was mitigated by rapid repairs by the Germans, with production returning to normal in September. Property abstract Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently publicised as the "Dam Busters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Sir Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed.

An estimated 1,600 civilians drowned: about 600 Germans and 1,000 mainly Soviet forced-labourers. The damage was mitigated by rapid repairs by the Germans, with production returning to normal in September. (en) L'opération Chastise est le nom de code des attaques menées le 17 mai 1943 sur les barrages allemands au cours de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Cette opération fut menée par le No. 617 Squadron (en) de la Royal Air Force, qui fut par la suite renommé les Dam-Busters (Les Briseurs de barrages). Pour réussir l'opération, il fallut utiliser une bombe tout spécialement conçue par l'ingénieur Barnes Wallis et développée par l'équipe Vickers. (fr) Die Operation Chastise (englisch für Züchtigung) war eine in der Nacht vom 16. auf den 17.

Mai 1943 durchgeführte militärische Operation mit dem Ziel, die Staumauern von sechs Talsperren im heutigen Nordrhein-Westfalen und in Hessen zu zerstören. Das Unternehmen mit 19 umgebauten Lancaster-Bombern wurde von der 617. Staffel der Royal Air Force ausgeführt. Zum Einsatz kamen speziell entwickelte Rollbomben, welche die Mauern von Eder- und Möhnetalsperre zerstörten. Die Angriffe auf die Lister-, Sorpe- und Ennepetalsperre waren ohne Erfolg. In den von den auslaufenden Stauseen von Eder und Möhne verursachten Flutwellen kamen zwischen 1300 und mehr als 2400 Menschen ums Leben (), davon ein erheblicher Anteil Zwangsarbeiterinnen und alliierte Soldaten in Kriegsgefangenenlagern. Der militärische Nutzen der Operation war innerhalb des britischen Militärs umstritten.

53 der 133 beteiligten britischen Soldaten starben bei dem Einsatz. (de) L'operazione Chastise (castigo) fu un attacco aereo pianificato dal Bomber Command della RAF durante la seconda guerra mondiale. Svoltosi nell'ambito della battaglia della Ruhr e condotto dal 617º squadrone, l'obiettivo della missione era la demolizione delle dighe tedesche sui fiumi Eder, Sorpe e Möhne al fine di inondare le zone circostanti, ricche di impianti industriali. (it) La Operación Chastise (Castigo) fue un ataque aéreo de bombardeo de precisión organizado por los aliados a las represas de la cuenca de Ruhr ocurrido entre el 16 y 17 de mayo de 1943, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial sobre territorio de la Alemania nazi.

(es) チャスタイズ作戦（-さくせん、Operation Chastise）は、第二次世界大戦中の1943年5月17日に実行された（作戦自体は同年3月10日より始まる）、イギリス空軍第617飛行中隊による、ドイツ工業地帯のダムの破壊を目的とした作戦。この作戦には「反跳爆弾(Bouncing bomb)」が使用された。作戦後、同中隊は「ダムバスターズ（ダム攻撃隊）」として知られるようになる。 (ja) Operação Chastise é o nome oficial dos ataques a barragens Alemãs a 17 de Maio, 1943, durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, com a utilização de uma bomba especial - uma bomba saltitante. O ataque foi levado a cabo pelo Esquadrão #617 da Royal Air Force, subsequentemente conhecidos como Dam Busters.

(pt) Operatie Chastise was de officiële naam voor de aanvallen op Duitse dammen tussen 16 mei en 17 mei 1943. Het was een operatie van de geallieerden tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Er werd gebruikgemaakt van een speciaal ontwikkelde stuiterbom. De aanval werd uitgevoerd door het RAF No. 617 Squadron, beter bekend onder de naam Dam Busters. De operatie werd geleid door Guy Gibson.

(nl) Operacja Chastise (dosłownie "wychłostać") – kryptonim akcji zbombardowania w nocy z 16 na 17 maja 1943 roku niemieckich zapór na rzekach w Zagłębiu Ruhry przez 617 Dywizjon Bombowy RAF-u nazywany od tego czasu Dambusters (dosłownie - "Niszczycielami Tam"), który dokonał tego przy użyciu specjalnie w tym celu skonstruowanych "skaczących bomb" wynalezionych i zbudowanych przez brytyjskiego inżyniera Barnesa Wallisa. W wyniku bombardowania zapory na zbiornikach Möhne i Edersee zostały przerwane, powodując katastrofalne zniszczenia w dolinie rzeki Ruhry. Ziemna tama na rzece Sorpe została jedynie nieznacznie uszkodzona. (pl) Операция Chastise (англ.

Chastise — «наказание», «порка») — кодовое название авиационного удара по плотинам в Германии 17 мая 1943 года с использованием специально разработанных «прыгающих бомб». Авианалёт был совершён 617-й эскадрильей Королевских ВВС, впоследствии известной как разрушители плотин (англ. Dambusters). В результате налёта плотины на Мёне и Эдере были частично разрушены, что вызвало затопление Рурской долины и деревень в долине Эдера, тогда как плотина в Зорпе получила незначительные повреждения.В результате затопления Рурской долины погибло от 1200 до 1600 гражданских лиц, значительную часть которых составляли женщины, угнанные на работу в Германию с Украины.

(ru) Eder, Möhne and Sorpe (Röhr) rivers, Germany (en) Major British success from long term effects (en) comment Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently publicised as the "Dam Busters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Sir Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians drowned: about 600 Germans and 1,000 mainly Soviet forced-labourers. The damage was mitigated by rapid repairs by the Germans, with production returning to normal in September.

(en) L'opération Chastise est le nom de code des attaques menées le 17 mai 1943 sur les barrages allemands au cours de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Cette opération fut menée par le No. 617 Squadron (en) de la Royal Air Force, qui fut par la suite renommé les Dam-Busters (Les Briseurs de barrages). Pour réussir l'opération, il fallut utiliser une bombe tout spécialement conçue par l'ingénieur Barnes Wallis et développée par l'équipe Vickers. (fr) L'operazione Chastise (castigo) fu un attacco aereo pianificato dal Bomber Command della RAF durante la seconda guerra mondiale. Svoltosi nell'ambito della battaglia della Ruhr e condotto dal 617º squadrone, l'obiettivo della missione era la demolizione delle dighe tedesche sui fiumi Eder, Sorpe e Möhne al fine di inondare le zone circostanti, ricche di impianti industriali.

(it) La Operación Chastise (Castigo) fue un ataque aéreo de bombardeo de precisión organizado por los aliados a las represas de la cuenca de Ruhr ocurrido entre el 16 y 17 de mayo de 1943, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial sobre territorio de la Alemania nazi.

(es) チャスタイズ作戦（-さくせん、Operation Chastise）は、第二次世界大戦中の1943年5月17日に実行された（作戦自体は同年3月10日より始まる）、イギリス空軍第617飛行中隊による、ドイツ工業地帯のダムの破壊を目的とした作戦。この作戦には「反跳爆弾(Bouncing bomb)」が使用された。作戦後、同中隊は「ダムバスターズ（ダム攻撃隊）」として知られるようになる。 (ja) Operação Chastise é o nome oficial dos ataques a barragens Alemãs a 17 de Maio, 1943, durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, com a utilização de uma bomba especial - uma bomba saltitante. O ataque foi levado a cabo pelo Esquadrão #617 da Royal Air Force, subsequentemente conhecidos como Dam Busters.

(pt) Operatie Chastise was de officiële naam voor de aanvallen op Duitse dammen tussen 16 mei en 17 mei 1943. Het was een operatie van de geallieerden tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Er werd gebruikgemaakt van een speciaal ontwikkelde stuiterbom. De aanval werd uitgevoerd door het RAF No. 617 Squadron, beter bekend onder de naam Dam Busters. De operatie werd geleid door Guy Gibson.

(nl) Operacja Chastise (dosłownie "wychłostać") – kryptonim akcji zbombardowania w nocy z 16 na 17 maja 1943 roku niemieckich zapór na rzekach w Zagłębiu Ruhry przez 617 Dywizjon Bombowy RAF-u nazywany od tego czasu Dambusters (dosłownie - "Niszczycielami Tam"), który dokonał tego przy użyciu specjalnie w tym celu skonstruowanych "skaczących bomb" wynalezionych i zbudowanych przez brytyjskiego inżyniera Barnesa Wallisa. W wyniku bombardowania zapory na zbiornikach Möhne i Edersee zostały przerwane, powodując katastrofalne zniszczenia w dolinie rzeki Ruhry. Ziemna tama na rzece Sorpe została jedynie nieznacznie uszkodzona.

(pl) Die Operation Chastise (englisch für Züchtigung) war eine in der Nacht vom 16. auf den 17. Mai 1943 durchgeführte militärische Operation mit dem Ziel, die Staumauern von sechs Talsperren im heutigen Nordrhein-Westfalen und in Hessen zu zerstören. Das Unternehmen mit 19 umgebauten Lancaster-Bombern wurde von der 617. Staffel der Royal Air Force ausgeführt. Zum Einsatz kamen speziell entwickelte Rollbomben, welche die Mauern von Eder- und Möhnetalsperre zerstörten. Die Angriffe auf die Lister-, Sorpe- und Ennepetalsperre waren ohne Erfolg. In den von den auslaufenden Stauseen von Eder und Möhne verursachten Flutwellen kamen zwischen 1300 und mehr als 2400 Menschen ums Leben (), davon ein erheblicher Anteil Zwangsarbeiterinnen und alliierte Soldaten in Kriegsgefangenenlagern.

Der militärische (de) Операция Chastise (англ. Chastise — «наказание», «порка») — кодовое название авиационного удара по плотинам в Германии 17 мая 1943 года с использованием специально разработанных «прыгающих бомб». Авианалёт был совершён 617-й эскадрильей Королевских ВВС, впоследствии известной как разрушители плотин (англ. Dambusters). (ru) WW II: The World at War 1943 Day raid on St.Nazaire. Beginning of series of raids on Ruhr. 6 January, Opening of 4-day air attack on Japanese convoy off New Guinea. 10 January 1943, Russia requires surrender German 6th Army. Begin of the liquidation of German troops in Stalingrad of troops from Armygroup "Don front", General Rokossowky. Fighting during the battle of Stalingrad was bitter and exhausting. German tanks to the Russian front Panzer battles!

10 January 1943, The 25th Infantry Division begins the largest and final offensive on Guadalcanal; the Americans outnumber the Japanese by more than 3 to 1. Desperate attempts to resupply the Japanese by surface ships are hampered by US PT boats. 11 January 1943, America produces in 1942; more then 48.000 planes, 56.000 tanks and the American Army count more then 7.000.000 men. A small U.S. Army force lands unopposed on Amchitka Island, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. 14 January 1943, (till 24 January). Allied leaders hold a Conference in Casablanca, Marocco. 18 January, The German Tiger tank makes its first appearance in Tunisia. 19 January 1943, Battle of Leningrad , by Dmitriy Yegorov 23 January 1943, Allies capture Tripoli.

27 January 1943, First attack against a German target by US bombers, 64 B-17 and B-24, on Wilhelmshaven, which had also been the target for the first British daylight raid in 1939. Day raid on Copenhagen, night raid on Duesseldorf. 30 January 1943, General Vittorio Ambrosio named as Benito Mussolini's Chief of Staff. 8th American Army B-17 (55) bombers make their first day-light raid on Germany, Wilhelmshafen, without air support!. Martin B-26 Marauder - Chapter 18-I 28 February 1943, Norsk Hydro 'heavy water' plant raid. Norwegian soldiers, trained in the UK and dropped by the RAF, inflicts damage to the 'heavy water' plant at the Norsk Hydro power station near Ryukan. Atomic Bomb Research. Although German nuclear physicists had been early leaders in research, Nazi Gennany made no real progress towards the creation of an atomic bomb. It was a German scientist who had discovered atomic fission and Germans had first published the theory of the chain-reacting pile.

When the Anglo-American atomic homb was being developed during WW II, it was feared that the Gemans were conducting parallel research. A 'heavy water' plant was attacked and destroyed in Norway by a Norwegian resistance group in the hope that this would delay German production. But it not until November 1944 that the Allies were sure that German research not progressed beyond a comparatively primitive stage, and that atomic physists had not been given any significant priority for their work. Once again, Hitler's production planning relied on conventional weaponry, while Himmler tried to divert the scientists to projects that he favoured ideologically. Furthermore, the early purging from the universities of suspected intellectuals and Jews had seriously weakened the research teams, many members of which had chosen to emigrate to the USA. Heavy water is used in certain types of nuclear reactors where it acts as a neutron moderator to slow down neutrons so that they can react with the uranium in the reactor. 2 March 1943, Royal Air Force bomber heavily attack Berlin, Germany. RAF- planes (Wellingtons) on mine-laying trips. The Air War 2 March 1943, (till 4 March).

Japanese navy forces suffer heavy loses at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea off the coast of New Guinea. In the Pacific a Japanese troop convoy bound for New Guinea is attacked by aircraft of US Fifth Air Force. During the next three days all 8 transports and half of the 7.000 men aboard will be lost, as well as 4 destroyers and 25 aircraft and this sea-fight ruins the Japanese plans for New Guinea. General von Arnim Commander-in-chief in North-Africa instead of Rommel, he became ill. 13 March 1943, Failure attempt murder on Hitler. Von Tresckow places a bomb in Hitlers plane flying from Smolensk to his headquaters; bomb did not explode! 16 March 1943, The Convoy SC-122 of 58 ships from Nova Scotia and the Convoy HX-229 of 40 ships from New York are attacked by 37 U-boats in 3 groups. 21 ships are lost in return for 1 U-boat.

The first 3 weeks of March signal a turning-point: from now on carrier support groups and long-range reconnaissance aircraft will take their toll of the U-boats. There will no longer be substantial gaps in Allied coverage of the Atlantic, no areas where U-boats can operate freely. 7 April 1943, Bolivia declares war on Germany, Italy and Japan. 10 April 1943, The Italian heavy cruiser Trieste is sunk at La Maddalena, Sardinia, by attacks from 84 B-24 Liberators bombers. Other Allied aircraft continue to disrupt all attempts to fly in adequate supplies to Axis forces in Tunisia. B-24 Best Web 14 April 1943, Sauckel publish: at 31 march 1943 3.638.056 foreign workers working in the German industry, besides 1.622.829 prisoners of war engage. 17 April 1943, The aircraft factories at Bremen are bombed by 115 B-17 bombers of the US Eighth Army; most returned unscathed and German aviation suffers another blow.

18 April 1943, A convoy of aircraft leave Sicily to resupply the Axis forces in Tunesia. More than half of the aircrafts are shot down by Allied fighters and those who arrive are short of requirements. Hitler agrees to Mussolini's plea for Italian II Corps to returned from the Russian front. American P-38s from the 13th Air Force launched from Guadalcanal, flew to Bougainvillea and shot down Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto plane and killing him. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto Admiral Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by US P-38 Lightnings over Bougainville. On 13 April the Americans had intercepted a coded message giving details of flight. The US aircraft fly from Guadalcanal and engage Yamamoto's G4M bomber for no more than thirty seconds before sending it into the jungle below. The loss of their master strategist and national hero is a severe blow to the Japanese there is no official announcement of his death for month, and his state funeral is only the twelfth in Japan's long history.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto 19 April 1943, The second rising of the Jews in the Gettho of Warsaw. SS-General Stroop choke the revolte in blood; 56.065 Jews killed. Illness and starvation were rife in the ghetto. A view of the Warsaw ghetto, note the barbed wire which is to keep people in, not out. 26 April 1943, Stalin breaks-off relations between the Soviet Union and the Polish Government-in-exile. 28 April 1943, The Germans are fighting hard in Tunisia, with a counter-attack in responding to the loss of Djebel Bou Aoukaz. 30 April 1943, Battle for Hill 609: The Germans retake Djebel Bou Aoukaz but lose much material. US forces, fighting for control of Hill 609, gain footholds. 30 April 1943, Operation Mincemeat was a highly successful Allied deception plan against Axis Forces when planning the invasion of Sicily. The operation involved releasing a dead man in a life jacket off the coast of Spain.

A briefcase attached to the body contained fake documents identifying the man as a Major William Martin and copies of fake Allied war plans which stated that the Allies were planning an invasion of Sardinia, rather than Sicily. Local fishermen pulled out the corpse and intelligence materials. The documents were sent to Axis commanders and who were fooled by them. This information quickly reached Hitler who, on 12 May, demanded that "measures regarding Sardinia and the Peloponnese take precedence over everything else". Operation Husky commenced on 9 July, with the Allies attacking the southern tip of Sicily. The island was taken by the Allies by 7 August. Mussolini had been stripped of his power on 25 July. 4 May 1943, East-bound Convoy ONS-5, protected by eighteen escorts, is threatened by 60 U-boats in four groups. During a battle which extended over 3 nights 13 merchantmen are lost and one is damaged, but the escorts sink 6 U-boats and badly damage 4 more. Another two collide are lost. This result is achieved without the normal level of air support.

5 May 1943, After another British attack on the Germans positions, Djebel Bou Aoukaz, in Tunisia, returns in Allied hands. 6 May 1943, Using their full advantage of air supremacy and artillery fire power, V Corps calls in a massive bombardment to decimate 15th Panzer Division formations and break through Axis defences to move towards Tunis. The Americans are advancing on Bizerte in the north and the French are closing on Pont du Fahs in the south-west. 7 May 1943, End of the war in North-Africa. Bizerta and Tunis capture by the Allied, all Germans dislogde or capture in North-Africa; 252.000 Germans and Italian prisoners of war. After the British victory at the battle of El Alamein in November 1942, General Rommel's army retreated across north Africa to a defensive position in Tunisia. The Allies brought in enormous new forces by landing on the coasts of Morocco and Algeria. Rommel's attempt at fresh offensives failed and General Montgomery broke through his positions in early April 1943.

Forced to retreat again, Rommel's forces were deprived of food and supplies by the Allies. They surrendered on 13 May 1943. 12 May 1943, Axis forces are completed defeat in North Africa. Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel flees to Germany. Thousands of German and Italian prisoners, including men from the crack German Afrika Korps, wait in the North African sunlight for transportation to permanent POW enclosures World War II Memoirs-3rd Infantry Division , by Richard Heller. 12 May 1943, (till 25 May). "Trident Conference", Washington, D.C. Roosevelt and Churchill meet to discuss a cross-Channel invasion into France. British views differ from U.S. on timeframe and early commitment to invasion of France, and also on the strategic grounds for the invasion of Sicily. Differences threaten the agreement on Normandy because of Britain's insistence on its rights to exploit successes on Sicily and Italy, and also because it feels that the U.S. is more committed to the Pacific. Compromises are eventually reached on all issues.

Target date for the invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord) is set for 1 May 1944, and British General Sir Frederick Morgan is appointed as chief planner, given the title Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSACK). 17 May 1943, The R.A.F destroys the Dams in the Möhnesee and Edersee. The Dambusters raid (Operation Chastise) In a special operation, using a specially developed "bouncing bomb", in the night of 16-17 May 1943, the Bomber Command carried out an attack, by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, on the reservoirs in the Sauerland, the hilly country to the south of the Valley of the Ruhr - the Dambuster sraid (Operation Chastise). The main targets were the dams of the M�hne, Sorpe and Eder as well as the Ennepe and Lister. In the course of this mission the important M�hne and Eder dams were destroyed.

The gigantic flood in the Ruhr valley killed over 1.600 people in that night, mostly slave worker from Russia in the town of Neheim-Husten in the near the confluence of the M�hne into the Ruhr. By the destruction of the Eder dam about 70 persons were killed. The destroyed dam of the M�hne, 17 May 1943, on the day after the attacks on the Eder river. 19 May 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress. 21 May 1943, Joseph Stalin declares an end to the Communist International (Comintern). 21 May 1943, (till 13 June). Japan begin with the last stage of the expedition to Middle-China. 24 May 1943, Commander-in-chief of the U-boats decision to stop the attacks on convoys at the Atlantic, after heavy losses.

Doenitz, Grossadmiral Karl (1891-1980) Doenitz specialised in submarine warfare from 1916 and in the 1936-39 period built up the German U-Boat fleet. He played a key role in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War, devising the tactic of hunting allied vessels in packs. He replaced Admiral Raeder as Commander in Chief of the German Navy in 1943 and retained the position until 1945. Hitler's final testament appointed Doenitz as President of the German Reich. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment at the Nuremberg Trials and released from Spandau in 1956. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder's Kriegsmarine 4 June 1943, The Island of Pantelleria, equidistant between Tunisia and Sicily, has been bombarded by air and sea and will continue to be so for some days.

10 June 1943, This day sees the first of the combined bombing offensives agreed at the Casablanca Conference whereby the US deploy their aircraft on daylight precision raids (Wilhelmshaven and Cuxhaven) while the British stay with their night deployments (Dusseldorf and Munster). Losses of the British Commonwealth till now on; dead, wounded, capture and missing: England Operation "Husk"; the Italian islands Pantellaria and Lampedusa capture by Allied troops. 12 June 1943, Dusseldorf suffers its heaviest air raid of the war. A Pathfinder force has led 693 bombers to their target where close to 2.000 tons of bombs have been dropped inside 45 minutes. German fighters have pursued the attackers home and shot down twenty-seven. 23 June 1943, British aerial reconnaissance has now secured photographs of Peenemunde research base showing rockets available for firing. 28 June 1943, Heinrich Himmler visits Peenemunde to witness the first take-off of the A-4 rocket.

It crash lands nearby and destroys three aircraft, but a later firing is successful, this second rocket travelling 142 miles into the Baltic Sea. 5 July 1943, (till 15 July)."Unternehmen Zitadelle"; Germany started the last offensive in the East, the Tank offensive at Kursk. Relative strength on the eve of the battle. Germany Panzer battles! 9 July 1943, At Kursk, additional Soviet tank power arrives to bring setbacks to the Germans who have already committed most of their armour. They are spending much energy and ammunition in numerous attempts to break small pockets of resistance for little or no gain. 9+10 July 1943, (till 7 August).Operation "Husky": Allied forces invade Sicily, Italy. This Operation was the greatest Airborne-Amphibious Operation of WWII; 3.000 ships and landing-craft with 160.000 men (8 Divisions), 14.000 vehicles, 600 tanks and 1800 guns.

Army of occupations (As-troops): 315.000 Italians and 90.000 Germans. Sicily and Italy 1943-1945 Sicily was invaded on 10 July 1943 and by August had been completely captured. The Allies moved on to invade Italy in September and gained their first foothold on the continental mainland since 1940. German forces occupied the peninsula when Italy agreed to an armistice. The Allied advance was slow and costly and hindered not only by very strong defences but also by the withdrawal of resources in preparation for the landings in northern France. The landings at Anzio in January 1944, intended to clear the path to Rome, faced heavy German counter-attack, and the effort to clear Cassino on the way to Rome took five months of bitter fighting. Rome did not fall to the Allies until 4 June 1944. However, by spring 1945 the Allies had reached the North Italian plains. The Germans surrendered unconditionally on 2 May. Leader General Alexander with the British 8th Army and the American 7th Army.

The Allied invasion of Sicily, shows British troops wading ashore from a landing craft. U.S. 3rd Division WWII Reenacting 9 July 1943, The British Piat entered service in 1943, and was first used during the Allied invasion of Sicily. The British make use of the Piat in World War II. This was a mortar, a simple, short-range infantry anti-tank weapon made possible by the development of hollow- or shaped-charge projectiles, that could be recharged and by the infantry brought to the front. The Piat had a very heavy recoil. The Americans made use of the Bazooka. This weapon was effective to use and consisted of a fire tube about 137 cm length. It was missiles with firing head hollow load of 1.5 pounds. The Bazooka was a very effective against tanks and other armored vehicles. After World War II the Bazooka was used for years by the U.S. The PIAT Mk I (or Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank Mk I) system was the principle anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher for the British throughout World War 2.

The system was highly respected for it's armor-defeating capabilities but suffered from being excessively heavy and needing a two man crew to operate effectively. Nevertheless, the PIAT proved to be more effective than her American (Bazooka series) and German (Panzerfaust series) counterparts, with the PIAT sporting a grenade capable of defeating contemporary armor of the time and a launcher capable of launching multiple munition types. Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT) 12 July 1943, (13 July). Rear Admiral Walden Ainsworth leads three cruisers and five destroyers on a combat mission up the Slot, the channel that divides the Solomon Islands in two. 17 July 1943, Begin of the American offensive at Bougainville, South-Pacific. 18 July 1943, The US Army have a new battlefield weapon named "bazooka", a portable anti-tank rocket. 19 July 1943, American aircraft bomb Japanese bases on Paramushiru, the Kurile Islands. Allied bomb Rome. B-24 Best Web 24 July 1943, (till 28 July).

Operation 'Gomorrah'; the first of 4 major Allied air raids on Hamburg plan to destroy the city. The Allies began a intensified bombing (3.010 bombers, 87 of them didn't return) effort that resulted in the famous bombings of Hamburg, using millions strips of tinfoil to disturb the German radarsystem, to produce false echoes and confuse the defences. The US Army Air Force makes 2 raids by day with 280 aircraft, losing 21 machines. Hamburg is devastated and some 40.000 civilians were killed, most of them from the firestorm that bas been created. Mussolini with disciples are outvoted at the Fascist Grand Council after a debate. 381st Bomb Group 24-25 July, The Italian Fascist Grand Council passes a vote of censure against Benito Mussolini.Field Marshall Pietro Badoglio is appointed the Prime Minister of Italy. Mussolini is imprisoned in the Grand Sasso Hotel on the Grand Sasso plateau in the Abruzzi mountains. Fall of Mussolini Marshal Badoglio is asked to fotm a new government after King Victor Emmanuel III relieves Mussolini of his office.

The ambitious dictator, who has lacked any organisational or leadership attributes is arrested as he leaves the meeting. 1 August 1943, Operation "Tidelwave"; U.S. air forces, 175 B-24's from Benghazi, bomb the oil fields of Ploesti, Romania, 92 B-24's returned. 13 August 1943, (till 24 August).Roosevelt and Churchill meet in Quebec to discuss plans for the invasion of Normandy ( Operation Overlord ). Supreme Commander for the invasion is agreed to be an American. U.S. will remain in command of Pacific operations. Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten is chosen to serve as chief for the new Southeast Asia Command ( SEAC ). Attack by day by 61 B-24 'Liberators' of the 9th U.S.A.F at Vienna, Austria. American troops land on Kiska, Aleoeten. 17 August 1943, Allied troops reach Messina and occupy all of Sicily, Italy. 8th Army enters Messina: sunken ferryboat at the landing stage.

The first troops had reached the city on 16 August 1944. 17 August 1943, Operation 'Double Strike': First U.S. daylight air raid, with 229 B17's (36 shot down), on Schweinfurt (and Regensburg) in Germany, 320 km; the Americans attempting a daylight raid without fighter escort. Schweinfurt was the location of huge ball-bearing factories that supplied most of the ball-bearings for the entire German military. The second raid on 14 Octobre, 291 B17's now with 60 loses. 17 August 1943, 597 RAF bombers bomb German Rocket Launching Site Peenemünde. The production of the V1 Flying Bomb began in Germany in 1942, but the actual launch was delayed until 1944 because of successful Allied bombing of bomb sites. Wernher von Braun(1912-1977), Braun was made technical director of the rocket research station at Peenemunde in 1936.

In the 1940s he developed the V-2 (Vergeltungswaffe or reprisal) weapon. These rockets were capable of carrying a ton of explosives for 200 miles and were used on Britain in 1944-45. Braun surrendered to US forces in 1945 and was taken to the USA. He took American citizenship and became director of the US Ballistic Missile Agency, developing the rocket which launched the US space satellite from Cape Canaveral in 1958 and the Saturn rockets used in the Apollo missions. 25 August, Germany use for the first time a new type plane, the He 177, with dirigible bombs. 3 September 1943, Allied forces invade southern Italy. 6 September 1943, (Till 27 Octobre).American and Australia troops on Lae (Nw.-Guinea) and Mono-island (Salomomsislands). 8 September 1943, "Fall Achse": Disarming of the Italian Army. Italy surrenders to Allied forces, by Marshall Badoglio.

9 September 1943, Battleships Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio sail from Taranto. The American 5th Army land at the Gulf of Salerno. The Italian Fleet escape from La Spezia to Malta. 10 September 1943, Comando Supremo: Italy at War 1940-1943 , by Jim Heddlesten. 12 September 1943, Ninety Nazi German paratroopers lead by Lieutenant Colonel Otto Skorzeny "liberate" Benito Mussolini from the Grand Sasso Hotel. 13 September 1943, (till 26 September). Fight between German and Italian troops at Korpoe, the whole Italian Army 7.000 men killed by the Germans. 17 September 1943, In Italy in the wake of Kesselring's withdrawal, US Fifth Army is able to move out from the beachhead. Churchill sends Brigadier Fitzroy Maclean to visit Tito. He seeks to establish Tito's loyalty to the Allied cause and quantify his resources.

17+18 September 1943, Tarawa bombed In the Pacific the island of Tarawa is attacked by B-24 Liberator bombers. The US carriers Lexington, Princeton and Belleau Wood deploy their aircraft in the raids on Tarawa. 20 September 1943, Convoy ON-202 and ONS-18 in the North Atlantic was attacked by U-boats with new acoustic homing torpedoes and account for 3 escort vessels and 6 ships. 21 September 1943, In Italy the Allies' advance north gathers pace and will meet little opposition except en route to Naples. In the Solomons, Japanese evacuations of Arundel and Sagekarassa leave them clear for the Americans. 22 September 1943, British X Corps is given the task of clearing the way into Naples. British 78th and 8th Indian Divisions land at Bari and Brindisi to join the advance. More than 650 RAF bombers drop more than 2.300 tons of bombs on Hanover.

In Altafiord the midget submarines X6 and X7 penetrate the torpedonets around Tirpitz and attach mines to her hull. The resultant explosion cripples the ship for six months. 23 September 1943, Vigorous German defence stops X Corps' progress to Naples. The British have superior numbers but the Germans have prepared well-sited positions in difficult terrain. Mussolini announces the formation of the Italian Social Republic which immediately concedes huge sectors of northern Italy to German administration. 24 September 1943, The Soviets are just east of Kiev. Their forward push has seen them move close to Smolensk in the north and towards the western shore of the Sea of Azov in the south. Soviets take Smolensk. 25 September 1943, The Soviets take Smolensk and Roslavl. Hitler has ordered the German forces to make a stand at the Dnieper, but the hurried nature of their retreat, as opposed to the more orderly one which von Manstein had urged, has not given them time to prepare a worthwhile counter. In most instances they have no time to build any defences before having to withdraw again.

1 October 1943, The U.S. Fifth Army captures Naples, Italy. 4 October 1943, French troops captures Corsica with the help of local guerillas and the Germans evacuate Sardenia. Commander of the 5th Allied Army. 6 October 1943, Allies, US 5th Army takes Caserta and Capua and the British Army advance up the east coast of Italy. The German retreat continues and the Allies progress with little opposition. For the island of Kos a German convoy is attacked by British cruisers and destroyers; 7 transports and an escort are sunk. 11 October 1943, Admiral Andrew Cunningham his appointment to be Commander-in-chief of the British Fleet. 13 October 1943, Marshal Badoglio announce: "Italy declares war on Germany" (in the presence of General Maxwell Taylor). 14 October 1943, "Black Thursday" for USA forces when, a 8th Army Air Force raid on Schweinfurt's ball-bearing works, 291 B-17's inflict much damage but 1 in 5 of their aircrafts lose. These losses caused end of unescorted daylight flights.

B-17 Combat Crewmen and Wingmen 15 October 1943, Volturno in Italy line breached, and the Germans make a fighting withdrawal to the defensive lines, the Barbara Line and the Bernhard Line, while creating subsantial defences on the Gustav Line behind rivers Garigliano, Rapido and Sangro. (till 7 December). Conference at Cairo between Roosevelt, Churchill and Tsijang-Kai sjek. 4 December 1943, In the Pacific 6 US carriers and 9 cruisers attack Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. 6 Japanese transports are sunk and other vessels damaged, and 55 Japanese aircraft are shot down. 15 December, Operation Dexterity, an American-Australian amphibious assault on the Japanese Army at Arawe, New-Brittania. 20 December 1943, About 1000 Allied aircraft dropped 2.000 tons bombs on Mannheim, Frankfurt and other industrial cities in South Germany and more raids in France on the V-1 ramps. .

24 December 1943, The Battle of Ortana ended; After 8 days heavy fighting, Ortona is taken, it was an intense close quarters fight which claimed the lives of a 1400 Canadian troops. Eisenhower is appointed the Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces. Begin of the Russian winter offensive.

Question: During World War 2 Operation Chastise was the code name for which event of 1943?
Answer: Dambusters Raid