- Title: FILE-DAMBUSTERS/DEATH Last Dambusters pilot dies aged 96
- Date: 4th August 2015
- Summary: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ARCHIVE GAUMONT BRITISH NEWSREEL OF MEMBERS OF 617 SQUADRON MEETING KING GEORGE VI AFTER RAID VARIOUS OF ARCHIVE NEWSREEL OF KING AND QUEEN MEETING PILOTS VARIOUS OF KING SHAKING HANDS WITH GROUND CREWS KING / PILOTS WALKING WITH LANCASTER BOMBER IN THE BACKGROUND KING / PILOTS WALKING VARIOUS OF PILOTS INCLUDING COMMANDER
- Embargoed: 19th August 2015 13:00
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- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABNJ9V9WMOI6C515E4GHK17TXW
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
The last surviving pilot of the World War Two Dambusters operation, John Leslie Munro, died at the age of 96 on Tuesday (August 4), the New Zealand Bomber Command Association said.
Squadron Leader Munro piloted one of the Lancaster bombers from the RAF's 617 Squadron during the raid. Known as Les, he died in hospital in his native New Zealand following heart problems, the association said.
The top secret operation flew from Royal Air Force Scampton near the English town of Lincoln in May 1943 and successfully used bouncing bombs to attack German fortified dams.
Two of the three targeted dams were destroyed in the mission, causing catastrophic flooding in the Ruhr valley, destroying hydroelectric power stations and factories.
During the raid, Munro was tasked with taking out the Sorpe dam, but his aircraft was damaged over the Netherlands and forced to turn back to England.
Munro attended anniversary memorials at the Derwent Reservoir in northeast England, which was used by the airmen for practice runs in the weeks leading up to the daring raids of 16- 17 May, 1943.
Fifty-six of the men did not return from the mission, which required them to fly the Lancaster bombers at just 60ft above the ground - incredibly low when compared with the 250ft aircraft must fly at nowadays - in the dark across northern Europe.
"When we walked into the officer's room and saw where the targets were, it wasn't the fact... the targets didn't worry us, it was the route to the target through the Ruhr Valley which was I recognised a very heavily defended area and I think that was more of a concern than the fact we were going to take the dams," Munro said in 2008.
The mission flew out of RAF Scampton, and was led by wing commander Guy Gibson. It was credited with boosting morale across Britain.
"It was a tremendous boost to the English people as a whole and I maintain that even that factor alone justified the losses that we incurred," Munro said in an interview in 2013.
There are now only two surviving crew members of the Dambusters missions.
Out of 133 crew, only 77 returned.
The raid was carried out by 133 airmen in 19 Lancaster bombers.
It was an attempt to cripple a major part of the Nazi war economy by carrying out attacks on three dams in the industrial heartland of Germany. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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