During the night of 16-17 May 1943 the RAF attacked dams in the Sauerland and Waldeck district in Germany. The attack is very famous in the UK, and there are many resources available about it (search for “Dambusters”). The two Ruhr dams were the Möhne dam and the Sorpe dam. The air attack on the Sorpe dam was carried out at the same hour as the one on the Möhne dam, with the intent to cause them to fail simultaneously. The two flood waves would have combined and superimposed themselves on each other. As the Sorpe dam did not breach, the result of the attack had much less impact.
Resources also mention a further Intriguing attack in 1944. Does anyone know where to find authoritative information why the Sorpe dam was attacked again in isolation on October 15, 1944 (one and a half years after the first raid), given that an attack on only the Sorpe dam would have had limited strategic impact?
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By: Dave Homewood - 6th July 2016 at 08:12
There was another RAF dam attack between the famous one and this one, see this older thread
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?130010-RAF-Attack-on-Dam-in-Italy
By: Tony C - 6th July 2016 at 01:08
was the purpose a terror attack…
Terror attack?
I would have thought that it was a bombing raid…
By: marjan - 5th July 2016 at 21:30
I can’t suggest any further reading. Sorry.
(..) The attack on the Sorpe eight days later is described, but no reason given.
I have found the goal, with the extra information provided. Many thanks. The aim was to destroy the railway passing Neheim.
By: Graham Boak - 5th July 2016 at 19:00
Bombs Gone: MacBean & Hogben: PSL 1990: p.145. The 7th October attack on the sluice gates of the Kembs canal was in support of the American Army push across the Rhine. The attack on the Sorpe eight days later is described, but no reason given.
By: Derbyhaven - 5th July 2016 at 18:35
I can only speculate on the reason but a quick look on Google Earth shows that the dam is in quite a rural area so in view of the limited population in the area I doubt that the raid was intended mainly to affect civilian morale. I suspect it was an experiment to ascertain the effect of Tallboy on an earth dam.
I can’t suggest any further reading. Sorry.
By: marjan - 5th July 2016 at 16:26
The 15 October 1944 raid took place with 18 aircraft of 9 Squadron between 09.25 and 09.29. Two aircraft didn’t drop their Tallboys. (9 Sqn ORB)
The effect on people on the ground of 15 Tallboys exploding in a valley in less than 5 minutes is unimaginable.
Thank you for the useful reply; much appreciated! Without raising a moral question, was the purpose a terror attack, or was there another goal? Do you know if there is further reading available?
By: Derbyhaven - 5th July 2016 at 09:12
The 15 October 1944 raid took place with 18 aircraft of 9 Squadron between 09.25 and 09.29. Two aircraft didn’t drop their Tallboys. (9 Sqn ORB)
The effect on people on the ground of 15 Tallboys exploding in a valley in less than 5 minutes is unimaginable.
By: marjan - 4th July 2016 at 22:06
Thank you for the replies. However, some information forwarded is about the first raid 😉
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By: Vega ECM - 3rd July 2016 at 21:29
I believe a UXB Tallboy from October 44 raid was found 10+ years later very close to dam wall and was the largest airdropped weapon to be successfully defused…..ever.
I’m sure in the past I’ve seen a picture taken at the bomb impact site after the May 43 raid, but can’t find it. I think the reason for the for so many passes to deliver the second bomb was that they were attempting to get the bomb onto the same impact point as the first for maximum effect.
By: matthies - 3rd July 2016 at 19:32
The October 1944 raid on the Sorpe dam was carried out by 9 squadron and was ultimately unsuccessful because the concrete core of the dam wasn’t breached. Accurate bombing with the MkXIV bombisght though!
Dave.
By: Mahone - 3rd July 2016 at 15:15
I think the Kembs dam was attacked the previous month specifically with the aim of preventing the Germans using floodwater against advancing Allied forces. Perhaps there was similar thinking with the Sorpe?
By: Arabella-Cox - 3rd July 2016 at 13:24
The Sorpe dam is an earthen dam like a long earth pyramid where the other dams were flat faced concrete and brick dams which while stronger were weaker to the effects of the bouncing bombs, the Sorpe was thought that if you hole it at the top the water flooding over would help to wash away the earth.
They tried again as they thought the new earthquake type bombs would be more effective.
Curlyboy
By: marjan - 3rd July 2016 at 09:14
Dambusters follow-up raid
The above picture, are those Tallboy hits? The bouncing bomb had to be dropped in water to explode?
The picture above is from after the October 1944 attack with Tallboys. The picture below is from the May 1943 attack. During the May 1943 attack two bouncing bombs were dropped (without bouncing) on the water side of the dam. There was a huge splash, but no (serious) damage.
result of the first raid on the Sorpe dam
Does anyone know where to find authoritative information why the Sorpe dam was attacked again in isolation on October 15, 1944, one and a half years after the first raid?
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By: Bombgone - 2nd July 2016 at 13:02
Interesting, first I have heard of a second attempt on the Sorpe. I saw a Nat Geo Doco on the Dams raid and the Lancaster with the last bouncing bomb made around 7 attempts to fly along the width of the dam dropping the bomb somewhere in the middle but did little damage because the wall was more of a shallow wide slope. I had always wondered though how this could of worked with a hydrostatic fuse detonation. Remembering of course that a Lancaster had crashed earlier on land and found with the bomb still intact.
By: hampden98 - 2nd July 2016 at 12:21
The above picture, are those Tallboy hits? The bouncing bomb had to be dropped in water to explode?
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July 1, 2016 at 10:21 pm