Commemorated in literature and film throughout the decades, the mission – which was codenamed Operation ‘Chastise’ – has come to epitomise British ingenuity and courage throughout the war. Of all the air raids carried out during World War Two, none are as famous as the attack by Lancaster Bombers against the dams of Germany’s industrial heartland. ‘Already in April-May 1944 it became clear to us at the front, through the increase in enemy escort fighters, now also with much greater range, and thus also the expansion of the four-engined bomber attacks on the German motherland, that a definite change was approaching.’ Hauptmann Georg Schröder, Gruppenkommandeur II/JG 2 recalled: However, Luftwaffe defensive success in the second half of 1943 was only negated by American long range, high performance fighter escorts, led by the P-51 Mustang, which enabled adequate air superiority over the German heartland six months before D-Day. In a gradually intensifying battle of attrition, the Allied daylight aerial assault on the Continent culminated in the bombing of Germany on a massive scale. Luftwaffe reaction to the landing at Salerno, Italy in September 1943, where ground attack machines, supported by bomber aircraft armed with the new remote controlled glider bombs, had caused serious problems. The attainment of air superiority over the Normandy landing area and hinterland was an essential prerequisite for the Allied Invasion in June 1944.
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