BAZflyer: Heroes

Many inspirational heroes were born out of World War II. High among them stands the immortalised daring of the young men of Royal Air Force 617 Squadron, also referred to as the Dambusters Squadron.

Today as we shelter under the cover of a Covid-19 lockdown, we might remember that on the night of 16-17 May 1943, exactly seventy seven years ago, 617 Squadron carried out Operation Chastise, more popularly known as the Dambusters Raid, an audacious bombing mission attacking dams serving the Ruhr valley.

Thirteen Australian and twelve New Zealand airmen were scattered among the 133 crew aboard the nineteen Avro Lancaster aircraft that took off that night.

One of the airmen was South Australian born Dave Shannon DFC and Bar. At just 19 years of age Shannon joined the RAAF in 1941 before attaining his pilot wings the following year under the Empire Flight Training Scheme at Brandon, Manitoba in Canada. The Bazflyers paid homage to the many Kiwi and Australian aircrew who were trained under the scheme when they visited Brandon in the course of their 2019 round the world flight.

Already the veteran of thirty six sorties over occupied Germany, Shannon was only 21 years of age when with 617 Squadron he was flying a Lancaster at low level in the dark of night deep into hostile Germany. His aircraft payload was identical to each of the other Lancaster's, a single Barnes Wallis dam-busting bomb.

Flying at extremely low altitudes the operation required intense concentration from all involved, particularly by the human navigators, to steer clear of the principal threats to life: flak on the ground and power lines. Even a ‘split-second loss of concentration’ could be deadly. One of the Lancaster's hit power lines in Holland, killing all seven of the crew instantly.

Squadron Leader Dave Shannon was discharged from the Air Force at the end of 1945 and like so many brave young wartime airmen, he never flew an airplane again. Though "outwardly nerveless", according to military historian Patrick Bishop, Shannon was not immune to dread feelings. As they prepared to depart on one of their night missions, the famous Wing Commander Cheshire commented on the beautiful sunset, to which Shannon replied, "I don't give a fuck about that, I want to see the sunrise".

Then there was New Zealand Air Force Pilot, Squadron Leader Les Munro CNZM, DSO, QSO, DFC. Similarly youthful and a close friend of Shannon’s, Munro who died in 2015 was the last surviving pilot from the Dambusters Raid. Like Shannon he never flew an airplane again after being discharged from the Air Force in 1946.

Fast forward seventy-seven years....Royal Air Force 617 Squadron still lives on. Based nowadays at RAF Marham in England’s Norfolk countryside, the Squadron operates Lockheed Martin F35’s. Whilst it’s aircraft inventory has changed several times since World War II, the squadron’s badge has not. It proudly depicts the original Dambusters mission as an enduring tribute to those brave youthful heroes and an inspiration for those who follow.

Heroes