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| Dambusters Derwent flypast on 70th anniversary of raid | Dambusters Derwent flypast on 70th anniversary of raid |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Lancaster bomber has performed a flypast over Derwent reservoir, 70 years on from the historic World War II raid on German dams. | |
| The reservoir was one of the sites where pilots practised dangerous low-flying ahead of their mission. | The reservoir was one of the sites where pilots practised dangerous low-flying ahead of their mission. |
| More than a third of the men never returned from the raids, which required them to fly 60ft above ground. | More than a third of the men never returned from the raids, which required them to fly 60ft above ground. |
| The RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and 617 Squadron flew over the dam in Derbyshire's Hope Valley. | |
| Only one of the 133 pilots - 96-year-old Les Munro - is still alive. | Only one of the 133 pilots - 96-year-old Les Munro - is still alive. |
| More than 1,300 people were killed when the bombs hit German dams and flooded the Ruhr valley. | |
| 'Very successful' | 'Very successful' |
| The flypast was one of a number of events taking place around England on Thursday to mark the raids of 16-17 May 1943. | |
| The Royal British Legion will create a Field of Messages at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. | |
| Over 10,500 cardboard crests with supporters' messages will be on display at the memorial throughout the day. | Over 10,500 cardboard crests with supporters' messages will be on display at the memorial throughout the day. |
| And at RAF Scampton near Lincoln, where 70 years ago the bomber pilots took off on their mission, there will be a sunset ceremony and another memorial flypast, to be broadcast on BBC2 at 19:00 BST. The RAF is live tweeting the original wireless telegraphy signals from the raid on Thursday, through its Twitter account. | |
| Events are also planned in Barry Island, Wales, and on Friday at the Eder Dam in Germany. | |
| The Dambusters raid was carried out by 133 airmen, flying 19 Lancaster bombers armed with the "bouncing bombs" designed by Dr Barnes Wallis. | |
| Compared to today's pilots, who must fly 250ft above ground, they flew incredibly low at 60ft. They also had to fly in the dark for the night-time raid. | Compared to today's pilots, who must fly 250ft above ground, they flew incredibly low at 60ft. They also had to fly in the dark for the night-time raid. |
| They flew so low, according to historian Dan Snow, that one hit the sea, tearing off the bomb carried by the plane. Another flew into high voltage electricity cables and was engulfed in flames. | |
| Codenamed Operation Chastise, 56 of the men who took off on the mission did not return. | Codenamed Operation Chastise, 56 of the men who took off on the mission did not return. |
| Out of 19 bombers, eight were shot down and 53 were killed. | |
| The military impact of the Dambusters raid, immortalised in a 1955 film starring Michael Redgrave, is disputed. | |
| "I believe from an operational point of view they were very successful," veteran Les Munro told the BBC. "They had achieved the two major primary targets." | |
| Writing for the BBC news website, Dan Snow said: "No raid mounted by so few aircraft had ever caused such extensive material damage. | Writing for the BBC news website, Dan Snow said: "No raid mounted by so few aircraft had ever caused such extensive material damage. |
| "It did not bring German war production to a permanent halt, but nobody had expected it to." | "It did not bring German war production to a permanent halt, but nobody had expected it to." |