Lancaster Bomber to fly over Doncaster to mark Dambusters anniversary

The iconic aircraft will stage a flypast over the town on May 15 – nearly 80 years on from the famed ‘bouncing bomb’ raids on Germany in 1943.

The legendary plane will fly over the Hatfield at Hatfield Woodhouse areas at around 12.48pm as part of the RAF Bomber Command Remembrance flight.

Doncaster air crews played a large part in World War Two, with RAF Bawtry used as a bomber command centre while RAF Finningley and RAF Lindholme were also used for attacks in Europe.

The Dambusters raids, officially known as Operation Chastise were carried out on the night of 16 and 17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by Barnes Wallis.

The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley with two hydroelectric power stations destroyed along with factories and mines.

An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 53 aircrew killed and 3 captured, with 8 aircraft destroyed.

A 1955 film, The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, told the dramatic story of the raids which helped change the course of World War Two.