Tornado tail art to commemorate 617 "Dambuster" Squadron unveiled by television presenter Dan Snow
Historian and television presenter Dan Snow has unveiled special tail art on an RAF Tornado jet to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the famous 617 “Dambuster” Squadron.
Mr Snow revealed the tail art at RAF Coningsby this morning and was also given the rare opportunity to fly in the Tornado and experience how today’s 617 Sqn undertakes precise modern day operational flying.
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Dan Snow in front of the commemorative tail art
He also revealed he may be going up in the BBMF Lancaster during the raid anniversary this May.
“For a massive history geek like me it is a huge honour to be here today and unveiling this tail art," he said.
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“What is so exciting is that 617 squadron is still fulfilling the mission they were set when they were first formed in 1943 – to concentrate on a specific target and be precise."
Mr Snow talked about the momentous day 70 years ago when 617 Squadron was formed, explaining their task represented a step-change in aerial bombing tactics towards strategic strikes that would disarm the German war machine.
He added that back in 1943 prior to this raid only a tiny proportion of bombs hit their target.
And he said that this raid helped to turn the tide of the Second World War in favour of the Allies.
2 Comments
by Pru_Freda
Thursday, March 21 2013, 9:06PM
“My father served with 617, working on the Vulcans before the Falklands conflict. I am proud of what he did.
The Dambuster raid was certainly a game changer in that it destroyed the Ruhr valley's industrial heart, but it also killed more than a thousand civilians. If it was truly about precision bombing, they would have targeted the factories, road and rail infrastructure, not the dams.
Can anybody point to any subsequent bombing raids by 617 where precision was the priority? The raid was a propaganda exercise more than a demonstration of precision bombing. The bouncing bombs would have been useless elsewhere.
Dresden, almost two years later, was about precision, and not something my father would have been proud to be associated with.
The Dambusters deserve massive respect, but not as a precision effort. Think about their bomb release system. Precision?”
by Listener
Thursday, March 21 2013, 5:32PM
“Well done that Man.”