The Dambuster story has been told many times in books and on film. My web pages ( A Brief History of the RAF in Lincolnshire ) touched on the subject through 617 Squadron's associations with RAF Scampton in the county.
I had intended to leave the story to other sites, as the telling requires far more knowledge and accuracy of detail than I believe I could supply. However, I had an e-mail out of the blue from Australia one day which deserves a page to itself. Mr. J. Appleby was tracing some information about relatives serving in the Grimsby Chums, and my web site had drawn his attention. Having found his information I thought that might be the last I heard from him..................................................
He sent another e-mail some weeks later having found my pages whilst looking for RAF information relating to 617 Squadron and the Woodall Spa memorial. It turns out that Mr. Appleby had flown during the 1950's with a survivor of the raid. The survivors name was A.F.Burcher , who was a rear- gunner of the RAAF in Lancaster 'AJ-M' flown by Flight/L J.V Hopgood. An Army Major friend of A.F.Burcher dug up some pieces of the 'AJ-M' aircraft and presented them to him.
Sadly, A.F.Burcher died in 1995. A piece of the aircraft, however is now in Mr. Appleby's possesion. A larger piece is on show in the RAF Museum, Duxford, Cambridgshire. Mr.Appleby was kind enough to send me a scan of the piece of wreckage, and a copy of the inscription.
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Avro Lancaster
BIll "AJ-M" (ED925) Crew Pilot - F/Lt J.V. Hopgood DFC & Bar RAF Navigator - F/O K.Eamshaw RCAF Flt Eng - Sgt C. Brennen RAF Wirless OP - Sgt. J.W.Minchin RAF Bomb Aimer - F/Sgt .J.W.Fraser RCAF Front Gunner - P/O G.H.F.G. Gregory DFM RAF Rear Gunner - P/O A.F.Burcher IDFM RAAF This fragment of "AJ-M" was recovered from the crash site in 1986 or 1987 and presented to Tony Burcher who was, by then, the sole surviving member of the crew. A larger part, which was found at the same time, is now in the RAF Museum Duxford. The paint on this piece, camouflage on one side and matt green on the other, probably indicates that it is from the upper part of the fuselage. |
Inscription -
This aircraft took part in the raid carried out by 617 Squadron RAF against the Ruhr Valley dams on the night of 16/17 May 1943. It was the second aircraft to attack the Moehne dam, after "AJ-G" flown by the squadron's commanding officer WIC G.P.Gibson. Having been damaged by flak en-route to the target, the pilot wounded and front gunner probably dead, "M" for Mother commenced its bombing run at 00.30 hrs on 17 May. The aircraft flew at a height of 60 ft above the reservoir and the ground defences, having been alerted by the first aircraft's attack, hit "AJ-M" several times and it caught fire. After dropping its mine the aircraft climbed away and reached a height of somewhere between 300 and 500 ft before exploding. It carshed in fields about 4 miles northwest of the dam at 00.34 hrs.
Miraculously, Burcher, Fraser and Minchin all managed to bail out of the crippled aircraft. Minchin did not survive and Burcher was seriously injured but Fraser escaped unharmed.
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