Scenario 6: The Flight of the Diversionary Force
Five Lancasters take off from Scampton to act as a diversionary force for the main attack. Their primary target is the Sorpe Dam. The First Wave takes off without incident; temporarily led by Barlow, who is leading Rice, Byers and Munro.
McCarthy, who is supposed to lead this wave, is delayed on departure, changing aircraft at the last minute due to a mechanical failure. Without his compass adjustment card to compensate for the effect of the upkeep on their compass, his navigation will suffer.
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21:00 hours
In spite of his attempts to catch up with the First Wave, McCarthy remains significantly behind the rest of the Lancasters. Everyone successfully navigates their way over the English Coast, flying low to avoid detection. Rice struggles with a faulty Merlin engine, but sticks with the First Wave.
22:00 hours
Barlow drops a very light flare, allowing McCarthy to find the First Wave, resuming his intended position as Wave Leader. Flying over the North Sea, Munro discovers his crew has missed some of the training and several members are severely hung over. This is going to seriously effect his ability to complete the mission. Barlow becomes separated from the rest of the First Wave, falling behind due to some mechanical issues.
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23:00 hours
As the First Wave reaches the Dutch Coast, Barlow develops a faulty engine and his navigator discovers a map error; he is now missing over the North Sea.
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Rice and Munro encounter flak over the Dutch Coast; Rice takes serious damage.
00:00 hours
As the First Wave reaches Ruhr, Barlow is clearly lost over the North Sea. Rice's damaged Lancaster crashes while Munro's bomber (and his incompetent crew) is destroyed by balloons.
McCarthy and Byers, the remaining members of this diversionary force, successfully acquire their target. The Sorpe Dam is in sight.
McCarthy takes a run at the Dam, but his approach vector is terrible. He pulls up to take another run.
00:07 hours
McCarthy approachs the dam again, this time with a perfect speed of 220 mph and a little high at 65 ft. As he pulls up close to the dam, he adjusts his speed and altitude to near perfection (218 mph, 64 ft) but releases the upkeep late. The bomb skips over the dam and explodes harmlessly on the other side.
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00:16 hours
Byers approaches the dam, too low and too slow (212 mph, 54 ft).
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He continues to adjust his approach vector as he gets close to the dam. Finally releasing his upkeep at the last minute at 64 ft and 213 mph.
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In spite of the imperfect approach, the plucky Canadian scores a hit!
Byers and McCarthy peel off and begin their return to Scampton.
Morning Debrief:
McCarthy returns unharmed to Scampton, to find the lost Barlow had returned safely to base earlier that night. Byers became lost somewhere over the North Sea on his return flight, but returned with some damage later that day. Morning reconnaissance confirmed that the Sorpe Dam had been hit, but it had not been breached.
A memorable night for all, in spite of the failure to breach the target dam or draw nightfighters away from the main force.
Five members of Rice and Munro's crews survived their crashes and were rescued from German POW camps later in the war.
Five Lancasters take off from Scampton to act as a diversionary force for the main attack. Their primary target is the Sorpe Dam. The First Wave takes off without incident; temporarily led by Barlow, who is leading Rice, Byers and Munro.
McCarthy, who is supposed to lead this wave, is delayed on departure, changing aircraft at the last minute due to a mechanical failure. Without his compass adjustment card to compensate for the effect of the upkeep on their compass, his navigation will suffer.
21:00 hours
In spite of his attempts to catch up with the First Wave, McCarthy remains significantly behind the rest of the Lancasters. Everyone successfully navigates their way over the English Coast, flying low to avoid detection. Rice struggles with a faulty Merlin engine, but sticks with the First Wave.
22:00 hours
Barlow drops a very light flare, allowing McCarthy to find the First Wave, resuming his intended position as Wave Leader. Flying over the North Sea, Munro discovers his crew has missed some of the training and several members are severely hung over. This is going to seriously effect his ability to complete the mission. Barlow becomes separated from the rest of the First Wave, falling behind due to some mechanical issues.
23:00 hours
As the First Wave reaches the Dutch Coast, Barlow develops a faulty engine and his navigator discovers a map error; he is now missing over the North Sea.
Rice and Munro encounter flak over the Dutch Coast; Rice takes serious damage.
00:00 hours
As the First Wave reaches Ruhr, Barlow is clearly lost over the North Sea. Rice's damaged Lancaster crashes while Munro's bomber (and his incompetent crew) is destroyed by balloons.
McCarthy and Byers, the remaining members of this diversionary force, successfully acquire their target. The Sorpe Dam is in sight.
McCarthy takes a run at the Dam, but his approach vector is terrible. He pulls up to take another run.
00:07 hours
McCarthy approachs the dam again, this time with a perfect speed of 220 mph and a little high at 65 ft. As he pulls up close to the dam, he adjusts his speed and altitude to near perfection (218 mph, 64 ft) but releases the upkeep late. The bomb skips over the dam and explodes harmlessly on the other side.
00:16 hours
Byers approaches the dam, too low and too slow (212 mph, 54 ft).
He continues to adjust his approach vector as he gets close to the dam. Finally releasing his upkeep at the last minute at 64 ft and 213 mph.
In spite of the imperfect approach, the plucky Canadian scores a hit!
Byers and McCarthy peel off and begin their return to Scampton.
Morning Debrief:
McCarthy returns unharmed to Scampton, to find the lost Barlow had returned safely to base earlier that night. Byers became lost somewhere over the North Sea on his return flight, but returned with some damage later that day. Morning reconnaissance confirmed that the Sorpe Dam had been hit, but it had not been breached.
A memorable night for all, in spite of the failure to breach the target dam or draw nightfighters away from the main force.
Five members of Rice and Munro's crews survived their crashes and were rescued from German POW camps later in the war.