imported>Howard C. Berkowitz |
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| | [[Image:617 Squadron Insignia.jpg|right|250px|thumb|617 Squadron insignia showing a breached dam.]] |
| '''617 Squadron,''' "Perhaps the most famous [[Royal Air Force]] squadron currently flying",<ref>{{citation | | '''617 Squadron''' of the [[Royal Air Force]] was formed on 21 March 1943 at RAF Scampton in [[Lincolnshire]] for the famous [[Dambusters Raid]]. |
| | url = http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/617squadron.cfm
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| | title = 617 Squadron
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| | publisher = [[Royal Air Force]] }}</ref> was formed for a special [[strategic bombing]] mission in the [[Second World War]], continuing in precision bombing and Pathfinder roles, and then in a variety of bombing and attack missions after the war. It remains in service, at RAF Marham, flying [[Panavia Tornado|Panavia Tornado GR4]] multirole fighters.
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| ==Second World War==
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| 617 Squadron, known as the '''Dambusters''', was formed at Scampton on 21 March 1943, originally for a single special mission: [[Operation Chastise]], the breaching of dams vital to the German war effort.
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| ===Operation Chastise===
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| The Squadron's Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, was given free reign to comb other Lancaster squadrons for the crews he thought could best undertake the mission. For weeks, not even Gibson was told of the unit's task, only that low-level flying over water was essential, and training was undertaken in around the dams and reservoirs of Derbyshire.
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| ===Precision bombing===
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| The unit was retained to carry out highly specialised attacks, many of which employed the 12,000lb (5,448kg) 'Tallboy' and 22,000lb (9,988kg) 'Grand Slam' [[earthquake bomb]]s.
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| ==Postwar==
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| It received Lincolns in September 1946 and [[English Electric Canberra]]s six years later with which the Squadron took part in Operation Firedog in Malaya before disbanding on 15 December 1955. On 1 May 1958, No 617 reformed at Scampton equipped with [[Vulcan]]s, a type that remained on strength until 31 December 1981 when the unit disbanded. The following year, the Squadron reformed with Tornado GR1s at Marham, initially in the strike role, but latterly in the maritime strike mission based at Lossiemouth.
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| ==Current operations==
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| Number 617 continued to fly the Tornado GR1 until it was replaced by the updated GR4 and it was with these that the squadron carried out the first attacks with the RAF's stand-off weapon - [[Storm Shadow]] - in RAF [[Operation Telic]] during the [[Iraq War]] in April 2003.
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| {{reflist}} | | {{reflist}} |
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| | [[Category:Reviewed Passed if Improved]] |
