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| CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL IVAN BERRYMAN PRINTS BY TITLE |
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No.617 Sqn
Country : UK
Founded : 23rd March 1943
Codes : , AJ, YZ, KC,
Apres mois, le deluge - After me, the flood
| Ivan Berryman No.617 Sqn Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Art |
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Dambusters - Moment of Truth by Ivan Berryman. This was the moment when the massive Möhne dam was finally breached on the night of 16th-17th May 1943 during the top secret Operation Chastise. The specially-converted Lancaster B MkIII of Fl/Lt David Maltby ED906(G) AJ-J roars between the towers of the dam, having released the Upkeep bouncing bomb that would ultimately cause a cascade of water to flood into the valley below. Fl/Lt Harold Martin's identical aircraft, ED909(G) AJ-P can be seen off Maltby's port wing with all of its light ablaze, drawing enemy fire from the attacking bomber. |
Undetected by Ivan Berryman. En route to the Ruhr Dams on the night of 16/17 May 1943, P/O W C Townsend, demonstrating great skill, flew his aircraft, ED886(G) 'O'- Orange below tree-top height through a forest firetrap on his way to the Ennepe Dam, a feat carried out by moonlight alone. AJ-O made it successfully to its target where the Upkeep bomb was observed to hit the dam, but with no effect, before returning safely to base the following morning. |
Not This Time by Ivan Berryman. Having arrived at the Eder dam, following the successful breaching of the Mohne on the night of 16th/17th May 1943, Wing Commander Guy Gibson put Flight Lieutenant D J Shannon, flying ED929G, to the task of making the first attack, but he had great difficulty achieving the correct height and approach and had to make a number of abortive runs before finally releasing his Upkeep bomb. AJ-L is shown here making his penultimate pass over the Eder wall, his mine still attached. This dam was eventually breached by Pilot Officer Les Knight, flying ED912(G) whose perfectly placed mine caused a massive breach in the south end of the dam. |
Determined to the Last by Ivan Berryman. (GS) The Lancaster B MkIII of Flt Lt J V Hopgood was the second aircraft to make an attempt at breaching the Mohne Dam on the night of 16/17th of May 1943, ED925(G) (AJ-M) encountering intense flak and 20mm fire from the shore and from the towers of the dam itself. Just moments from the release of the Upkeep bomb, both of Hopgood's port engines took direct hits and burst into flames as other rounds ripped through the starboard wing. Despite these fatal strikes, the brave crew pressed home their attack, but released their bomb just seconds too late to be effective. The bomb bounced over the dam wall, landing on the power station below where it exploded with devastating results. With blazing fuel now engulfing the wing of his crippled aircraft, Hopgood climbed to about 500ft where the wing failed, sending ED925 into a dive from which it would never recover. By jumping clear just moments before impact, two of her crew survived to become prisoners of war. |
'O' Safe Home by Ivan Berryman. Bill Townsend's Lancaster O for Orange, returns safely on the morning of 17th May 1943 after the success of the daring raids on the dams of the Ruhr Valley. |
The Night They Broke the Dams - Operation Chastise by Ivan Berryman. Guy Gibsons Lancaster having unsuccessfully dropped its bomb, draws enemy fire from the aircraft of Sqn Ldr Young as his bomb explodes spectacularly on the Mohne Dam during the audacious Dams Raids of 16th/17th May 1943. |
The Eder Breaks by Ivan Berryman. The success of the attack on the Möhne dam on the night of 16th/17th May 1943 meant that the remaining three 617 Sqn Lancasters of the First Wave could turn their attention to the Eder, some twelve minutes flying time away. Wing Commander Guy Gibson first called in Flight Lieutenant D J Shannon, flying AJ-L (ED929G) to make the initial run, but he had great difficulty achieving the correct height and approach, so Gibson now ordered Squadron Leader H E Maudslay in AJ-Z (ED937G) to make his run. Again, the aircraft struggled to find the correct height and direction, so Shannon was again brought in, AJ-L finally releasing its Upkeep on the third attempt. The bomb bounced twice before exploding with no visible effect on the dam. Now Maudslay made another attempt, but released his bomb too late. The mine bounced off of the dam wall and exploded in mid air right behind AJ-Z, the Lancaster limping away, damaged, from the scene, only to be shot down on the way home with the loss of all crew. Finally, Pilot Officer Les Knight was called in for one final attempt. AJ-N (ED912G) released its Upkeep perfectly, the mine bouncing three times before striking the dam slightly to the south. In the ensuing explosion, the dam was seen to shake visibly before the masonry began to crumble and a massive breach appeared. With the Möhne and Eder dams both destroyed and the Sorpe demonstrated to be equally vulnerable, Operation Chastise had been a remarkable success and will stand forever as one of the most heroic and audacious attacks in the history of aerial warfare. |
The Horror and the Glory by Ivan Berryman. The flight to the Ruhr dams on the night of 16th/17th May 1943 as part of Operation Chastise was fraught with peril as each wave of three aircraft hugged the ground across Holland and into Germany to avoid detection. Having flown particularly low to avoid the flak and searchlights near Dulmen, ED864 (AJ-B) piloted by Flt Lt W Astell sadly hit high tension wires and immediately burst into flames, the aircraft rearing into the air before hitting the ground, it's Upkeep mine exploding moments later, killing all the crew instantly. These were the first victims of the Dambuster raids, the first of eight aircraft that failed to return of the nineteen that took off on this heroic mission. |
A Wing and a Prayer by Ivan Berryman. The Dams raids on the night of 16/17 May 1943 were notable not least for the incredible ingenuity shown by the Lancaster crews in their efforts to avoid detection by the enemy en route to their targets. P/O W C Townsend elected to fly his aircraft, ED886(G) O for Orange below tree-top height through a forest firetrap on his way to the Ennepe Dam, a feat carried out by moonlight alone. AJ-O made it successfully to its target where the Upkeep bomb was observed to hit the dam, but with no effect. Townsend returned to base at this perilous altitude, the crew observing that flak shells were bouncing off the sea in the German gunners' efforts to prevent the Lancaster's escape across the North Sea. AJ-O was one of eleven aircraft to return safely out of a total of nineteen that took part in the heroic raids under the codename Operation Chastise. |
Moment of Truth by Ivan Berryman. (P) The 617 Sqn Lancaster of Guy Gibson (G for George) thunders over the Mohne Dam on the first attack run of the Dambusters raid, 16th - 17th May 1943. After several attacks on the dam, it was finally breached by the innovative bouncing bomb designed by Barnes-Wallis. |
Attack on the Sorpe by Ivan Berryman. McCarthy's aircraft, ED825(G) AJ-T attacking the undefended Sorpe Dam with the village in the background and the church with the steeple that they had to avoid on the hilltop. Such was the difficulty of the approach to this dam - attacked along its length in contrast to the other dams which were attacked perpendicular to the dam - McCarthy needed to make a total of ten runs before the bomb was dropped accurately. Despite such determination, the bomb failed to cause any significant damage to the massive earth dam. |
| No.617 Sqn RAF Aircraft details |
 Lancaster Manufacturer : Avro Built : 7377 | Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
 Mosquito Manufacturer : De Havilland Built : 7781 | Mosquito Used as a night fighter, fighter bomber, bomber and Photo-reconnaissance, with a crew of two, Maximum speed was 425 mph, at 30,300 feet, 380mph at 17,000ft. and a ceiling of 36,000feet, maximum range 3,500 miles. the Mosquito was armed with four 20mm Hospano cannon in belly and four .303 inch browning machine guns in nose. Coastal strike aircraft had eight 3-inch Rockets under the wings, and one 57mm shell gun in belly. The Mossie at it was known made its first flight on 25th November 1940, and the mosquito made its first operational flight for the Royal Air Force as a reconnaissance unit based at Benson. In early 1942, a modified version (mark II) operated as a night fighter with 157 and 23 squadron's. In April 1943 the first De Haviland Mosquito saw service in the Far east and in 1944 The Mosquito was used at Coastal Command in its strike wings. Bomber Commands offensive against Germany saw many Mosquitos, used as photo Reconnaissance aircraft, Fighter Escorts, and Path Finders. The Mosquito stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1955. and a total of 7781 mosquito's were built. |
| No.617 Sqn RAF Pilot and aircrew signature details |
  Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO** DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £75 Died : 1992 | Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO** DFC* One of the most courageous and determined bomber leaders of World War II, Leonard Cheshire flew four operational tours, starting in June 1940 with 102 Squadron on Whitley bombers at RAF Driffield. In November 1940, he was awarded the DSO for getting his badly damaged aircraft back to base. He completed his first tour in January 1941, but immediately volunteered for a second tour, this time flying Halifaxes with 35 Squadron. He became Squadron Leader in 1942, and was appointed commanding officer of 76 Squadron later that year. Leonard Cheshire ordered that non-essential weight be removed from the Halifax bombers in a bid to increase speed and altitude, hoping to reduce the high casualty rates for this squadron. Mid-upper and nose turrets were removed, and exhaust covers taken off, successfully reducing the loss rate. In July 1943 he took command of 617 Squadron. During this time he led the squadron personally on every occasion. In September he was awarded the Victoria Cross for four and a half years of sustained bravery during a total of 102 operations, leading his crews with careful planning, brilliant execution and contempt for danger, which gained him a reputation second to none in Bomber Command. Sadly, Leonard Cheshire died of motor neuron disease on 31st July 1992, aged 74. |
  Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2013 | Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC Tony Iveson fought in the Battle of Britain with RAF Fighter Command, as a Sergeant pilot, joining 616 Squadron at Kenley flying Spitfires on 2 September 1940. On the 16th of September, he was forced to ditch into the sea after running out of fuel following a pursuit of a Ju88 bomber. His Spitfire L1036 ditched 20 miles off Cromer in Norfolk, and he was picked up by an MTB. He joined No.92 Sqn the following month. Commissioned in 1942, Tony undertook his second tour transferring to RAF Bomber Command, where he was selected to join the famous 617 Squadron, flying Lancasters. He took part in most of 617 Squadrons high precision operations, including all three sorties against the German battleship Tirpitz, and went on to become one of the most respected pilots in the squadron. He died on 5th November 2013. |
  Squadron Leader George L. Johnson DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2022 | Squadron Leader George L. Johnson DFM Joining the RAF in 1940, George Johnson served with 97 Squadron before joining 617 Squadron. Bomb aimer on American Joe McCarthys Lancaster AJ-T, they attacked the Sorpe Dam, for which he was awarded the DFM. Commissioned a few months later, George retired from the RAF in 1962. The last surviving Dambuster, he died aged 101 on 7th December 2022. |
Corporal Kenneth Lucas Our estimated value of this signature : £30 Died : 2011 | Corporal Kenneth Lucas Ken Lucas joined the RAF in June 1940, and trained as ground crew for bomber Command. He was sent first to 49 Squadron at RAF Scampton, before transferring to 617 Squadron upon its formation, Involved in all the major servicing of the aircraft before the raid including fitting the motors that drove the belt that spun the bomb, and attaching the critical lamps to the underside of the aircraft. Sadly, Ken Lucas passed away in January 2011. |
  Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2012 | Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF Grant McDonald was the rear gunner on Lancaster AJ-F flown by Ken Brown. On the way to the Ruhr, the gunners shot up and damaged three trains in an eventful trip before reaching the Sorpe Dam. Sadly, we have learned that Grant S McDonald passed away in May 2012. |
  Flight Lieutenant Bill Reid VC Our estimated value of this signature : £80 Died : 2001 | Flight Lieutenant Bill Reid VC Volunteering for RAF aircrew in 1940, Bill Reid learned to fly in California, training on the Stearman, Vultee and Harvard. After gaining his pilots wings back in England he flew Wellingtons before moving on to Lancasters in 1943. On the night of Nov 3rd 1943, his Lancaster suffered two severe attacks from Luftwaffe night fighters, badly wounding Reid, killing his navigator and radio operator, and severely damaging the aircraft. Bill flew on 200 miles to accurately bomb the target and get his aircraft home. For this act of outstanding courage and determination he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Died 28th November 2001. |
  Sergeant Frederick E. Sutherland RCAF Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2019 | Sergeant Frederick E. Sutherland RCAF Doc Sutherland was the front gunner on Les Knights Lancaster AJ-N that went to the Mohne Dam, and then successfully attacked and breached the Eder Dam. Shot down four months later, he managed to evade capture and escape back to England with the help of the Resistance movements, returning through Holland, France and Spain. He died on 21st of January 2019. |
  Group Captain J B Willie Tait DSO*** DFC* ADC Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2007 | Group Captain J B Willie Tait DSO*** DFC* ADC One of Bomber Commands most outstanding leaders, James Brian -Willie- Tait was one of only two RAF officers who had the distinction of being awarded three Bars to his DSO, as well as a DFC and Bar. On the night before D-Day Tait was the 5 Group Master Bomber directing from the air the massed attack by Lancasters on the German defences in the Cherbourg peninsula. By then Tait had already flown more than 100 bomber sorties with 51, 35, 10 and 78 Squadrons. A Cranwell-trained regular officer, he was very much in the Cheshire mould: quiet, bordering on the introspective. He was to go on to command the legendary 617 Dambusters Squadron and lead it on one of its most famous raids which finally destroyed the German battleship Tirpitz. In July 1944 when Leonard Cheshire was replaced by Wing Commander J B Willie Tait, 617 Squadron discovered that it had acquired a Commanding Officer very much in the Cheshire mould. Quiet, bordering on introspection, Tait, who was a Cranwell-trained regular officer, had already flown over 100 bombing operations with 51, 35, 10 and 78 Squadrons before joining 617. Tait had also received a DSO and bar and the DFC. He was 26. In the best traditions of 617 Squadron, Tait wasted no time in adapting to the Mustang and Mosquito for low level marking. He appointed two new Flight Commanders including Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC. Although involved in many of 617 Squadrons spectacular operations, Taits name is always associated with the destruction of the Tirpitz. An earlier attack on the ship by the squadron on 15th September 1944 had caused severe damage but Tirpitz was still afloat. On 29th October the Squadron was frustrated on the second attack by cloud over the target. The final attack was launched in daylight on 12th November 1944. Leading a mixed force of 617 and 9 Squadron Lancasters, Tait achieved complete surprise and had the satisfaction of seeing the Tirpitz destroyed at last. He had led all three attacks. On 28th December 1944 Tait received a third bar to his DSO, becoming one of only two RAF men to achieve this distinction. It coincided with his leaving 617 Squadron. Tait served in the post-war RAF, retiring as a Group Captain in 1966. He died 31st May 2007. |
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