Summary Operation Chastise bombed German dams to disrupt resources for the military-industrial complex. The bouncing bomb invented by Barnes Wallis successfully breached the dams. The Avro Lancaster bombers carried the mission, leading to a significant morale boost for Britain.
The Dambusters Raid, or to give it its official name, "Operation Chastise," was a daring raid by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command to destroy the Möhne and Edersee dams in the Ruhr valley. The reservoir behind the Möhne dam not only supplied water to the surrounding area but also generated electricity for Nazi Germany's military-industrial complex. The Germans were well aware of the dam's importance and fiercely defended it with anti-aircraft guns.
They even placed torpedo nets under the water to prevent the British from trying to destroy them by dropping torpedoes from an aircraft. For the British to succeed, they would need to develop a new weapon designed for the job. Barnes Wallis and the bouncing bomb At the time, English engineer and inventor Barnes Wallis worked as an assistant chief designer for British engineering conglomerate Vickers-Armstrongs Limited.
Wallis was responsible for helping to build the Vickers Wellesley and Vickers Wellington bombers. He was also working with the British Royal Navy to design an anti-ship bomb when the government asked him to create a bomb to destroy the dams. His first thought was to drop a 22,000-lb earthquake bomb from an altitude of 40,000 feet.
However, t.