It was a beautifully clear moonlit night.  A shrill cry of an air-raid siren shattered the stillness……

Back in 1939, on the 29th August, Herr Dillgardt began a campaign of letter-writing from his office in the Ruhr.  He was the mayor and not a military man but his insight for danger was uncanny.  Over the next three years a formidable file of warnings would issue from his desk.  They concerned a specific threat, even predicting an attack in the month of May.  His warnings went unheeded. 

From RAF Scampton, nineteen Lancaster bombers had taken off, bound for Germany’s industrial heartland.  This was the night of the 16th May 1943.  Crossing the channel the sea had been calm; a full moon shone across it.

These planes flew very low each carrying a bomb of over four tonnes and five tonnes of fuel.  Now they headed for their objective.  Then enemy flak damaged one aircraft, which turned home. Another plane hit the sea, tearing away its bomb; it too headed for home.  Three more Lancasters were also shot down. 

Fourteen Lancasters now braved searchlight and flak as they turned to the Ruhr valley. 

Barnes Wallis had met a wall of scepticism as he promoted his plans for a secret weapon .Despite producing clear evidence demonstrated by experiments, people did not believe him. When it was almost too late he got approval for his secret design. A new squadron was raised which would carry it to the target.  Their name-617 Squadron. Their weapon -“Upkeep,” a revolving aerial depth-charge.

Wing commander Guy Gibson led the raid to attack the dams of the Ruhr, the first target being the Mohne dam.  In the words of Gibson, the Mohne Lake was “silent, black and deep”.  As they rocketed across the water, with pools of light from the twin spotlights merging in a figure eight on the water’s surface, they knew they had the precise height of sixty feet. The converging spotlights, fitted to the underside of the planes, were designed to do this exactly. Their depth-charge (the bouncing bomb) was now back- spun at 500rpm as this would help the bomb to skim across the surface.  More importantly it would “hug” the dam wall and “trundle” down to the base of the dam because of backward momentum, rather than rebounding.  The pressure of water would cause the bomb to trigger its hydrostatic fuses when the correct depth was reached.  The resulting shockwave would be devastating.

As their spotlights were turned on, the Germans saw them. Flak guns opened up from the twin towers of the dam. The flak gave the appearance of coming slowly out of the darkness, yet as it came close it shot furiously past.

Franz-Josef Cloer heard the distant drone of the bombers. “Ah well, they are very far away”, he said to himself.

Gibson was coming in for the attack.  The flak came like fire-flies.  The taste of fear was in their mouths.  The bomb was rotating.  Deering was blazing at the Germans from the front turret.  Upon release the bomb fell unto the water, skimmed and bounced across the surface, skipping over two anti-torpedo nets.  The Lancaster roared between the towers as it passed over the dam.  Then German positions were raked by Trevor-Roper, the tail- gunner, as they passed.  They were firing 100% tracer so its effect on the Germans was magnified.  The bomb went spinning down the surface of the dam, hard to the wall, deep in the water.  Ten seconds later the bomb exploded at a depth of 30ft.

A massive sheet of water washed over the dam and a column of water rose high in the air.  Still the dam held!  Hopgood flew in on the second bomb run.  This time the gunners were waiting.  As “Hoppy” swept over the water he flew into a hail of fire, directed by Corporal Karl Schutte, defending the north tower.  Hoppy`s plane was hit; his bomb was released too late, falling on the dry side of the dam.  Their plane passed the towers in flames.  His bomb fell on a power station blowing it to bits.  Their plane crashed and continued burning throughout the raid.

The next attack was by Martin, with Gibson’s plane flying alongside drawing fire away from him.  Martin came screaming through low and fast, hit by flak but unstoppable.  He dropped his bomb.  There was a massive explosion – but still the dam held!  Young followed dropping his bomb precisely – still no result.

The fifth Lancaster piloted by Maltby, with supporting fire from Gibson’s and Martin’s Lancasters, was now attacking.  As Maltby was about to drop his bomb he noticed the top of the dam already crumbling.  His bomb was away: skimming, skipping, sinking, and exploding.

Franz – Josef Cloer saw a very bright light in the distance and heard a colossal explosion.  Shannon was being called for his bomb run when Gibson heard on his earphones, “It’s gone, it’s gone” – and so it had. 

A jet of water 200ft long split through the dam as masonry exploded from it.  The jet became a wave; the wave became a river gaining momentum by the second.  The raging torrent looked “like stirred porridge in the moonlight”.  On the same night the Eder dam was destroyed and the Sorpe lightly damaged but not breached. It was a catastrophe for Germany!

The impact on German industry was significant - 11 factories totally destroyed, 114 badly damaged, 25 road and rail bridges washed away, electricity, water and gas supplies disrupted.  To guard the dams the Germans had to redeploy 10,000 troops; in 48 hours 7000 workers were on their way to repair the dams, a further 20,000 would follow, withdrawn from important defences such as the Atlantic wall.

Before the bombers reached the Mohne dam a last warning was given. Engineer Kohler gave warnings by phone from the dam. A warning to Neheim`s inhabitants produced this response -“Don’t tell us fairytales”. They refused to believe the message, with catastrophic results. “They shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.”(1 Thessalonians 5:3). Neheim was in the narrowest point of the valley – it was smashed. “They knew not until the flood came and took them all away.” (Matthew 24:39).
It is heart-rending when people die needlessly; avoid the same mistake.&

The message of God’s love and His saving plan for the guilty is dismissed by some as a “fairytale”.  But “how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). Others listen, like a man referred to in the Bible who, “being warned of God of   things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared… (Hebrews 11:7).  We need to prepare for eternity.  The only way to prepare is, repentance from sin and faith in Christ: “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31)

The breaching of the dams was costly.  Barnes Wallis wept when he heard. Eleven aircraft lost, 53 men dead, 3 were POWs – out of a total of 133 men. Similarly the suffering of Christ upon the cross is indescribable. The Bible tells of Him, “stricken, smitten of God and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). You ask why? The answer is given –“He was wounded for our transgressions.” (Isaiah 53:5).  Mercy is offered to the undeserving - God purposed that “He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9).  Sinners are pointed to the cross.  “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3).  He was slain for “...our offences, and raised again for our justification.” (Romans 4:25). God’s satisfaction in Christ’s sacrificial death is demonstrated in Christ’s resurrection.
The Dambusters’ Raid took place in May when the dams were full. The volume of water determined the extent of ruin inflicted upon them. The biblical parallel is very clear; people accumulate judgement every time they sin, “treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath...of the righteous judgement of God.” (Romans 2:5). The idea in “treasuring up” is to store up like water in a dam. Our accumulating sins should trouble us. “I remembered God and was troubled.” (Psalm 77:3). Our hearts, like the Mohne, are deep and dark, because we are sinners. “The heart is deceitful above all things…
I the Lord search the heart.” (Jeremiah 17:9, 10). The Devil desires our heart and mind to remain dark; he “hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ…should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

When the dams were destroyed the source of power for the war industry was broken. The dams supplied the power that drove industry. Similarly, when God saves a man he removes the dominating power of sin in his life. The word of God is Heaven’s dynamite. “The word of God is  ...powerful.” (Hebrews 4:12). Many feel sin’s power and its hold upon them. God’s salvation is mightier still. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12).