And all that because a man named Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was hungry, according to Baldrick.

Amazing that not a single person has shown any interest in this. Is it well known and “old hat” to you all? Anyway here’s some more info I found that includes the name of the RAF pilot that breached the dam.

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24887, 8 May 1944, Page 3

DAM SHATTERED

ENEMY AREAS FLOODED

ACCURATE ATTACK IN ITALY

(Recd. 5.35 p.m.) LONDON, May 6

The R.A.F. in Italy carried out a daylight dive-bombing precision attack on a great dam on the Pescara River, behind the German lines, on the Adriatic coast. The dam is some 20 miles up the river from the port of Pescara, and supplies an important electric-power station for Rome. Mustangs and Kittyhawks made the attack, and the crews were specially trained for weeks before the raid in the same way as were the R.A.F, crews who destroyed the Mohne and Eder dams last year.

The German raids, however, were carried out in moonlight. Only special technique could succeed in causing the heavy under-water explosion needed to wreck the steel and concrete gates of the dam.

Direct Hit Observed
The first flight, consisting of Mustangs, went in and dropped their bombs and then climbed to 5000 ft. to watch the result. The next flight were Kittyhawks, which also succeeded in securing a direct hit on the target. They were followed by a third flight of Kittyhawks. A few minutes later the main wall of water was a mile downstream, followed by six smaller waves.

The Naples correspondent of the British United Press says the crews were briefed to make a power-dive through heavy flak. The bombs had to crash into a small target area from a low level. The strategic importance of the raid was to cause flooding in the German rear areas. Pescara is only about ten miles from the Allied front. Water is now flooding supply and concentration areas.

Basin Drained Almost Dry
A Naples correspondent says the first breaching of the sluice gates was achieved by Sergeant Alexander Guguid, from Dyce, near Aberdeen. Water immediately poured through the gap,- The pilot of a reconnaissance plane who flew low over the Pescara dam to-day says the basin is drained almost dry. It is not yet possible, however, to assess the full damage to German communications.

It is recalled in London that the Italians in 1934 released water through the sluices with disastrous results. The town of Pescara was flooded to a depth of 3ft.. the water not subsiding for a week.

It looks as though it was quite an interesting raid. There were some Aussies involved, I wonder if any Kiwis were among them.

Here’s another article from http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/59186194

AUSSIES IN SPECTACULAR RAID ON BIG ITALIAN DAM

ALGIERS/ Sat.

Australian Kittyhawk and Mustang pilots took part in a spectacular attack en the great Pescara Dam,12 miles south-west of Chieti on the Pescara River.

Their bombs cracked the mighty iron sluice gates and
let loose a mountain of water on the luckless town.

The Pescara Dam is one of Eastern Italy’s chief sources
of hydro-electric power, and supplies amongst other cities the Italian capital of Rome. The dam is strategically
important because it and Pescara are only about 10 miles
from the Allied Adriatic front.

The wall of water which the bombers let loose is now flooding supply and concentration areas behind Kesselring’s east coast defences.

For weeks dive-bombing crews based on Naples have been specially training: for the Pescara raid. When they received their final briefing they were told that they
must make a power-dive no matter what flak met them, break into the small target area at very low level because it was necessary to cause tremendous under-water explosions to crack the iron sluice gates.

Among the ‘Australians taking part was Flight-Lieut. Ken Richards, of “Warragul, Victoria, who scored one direct hit on the dam itself, while other Kittyhawk bomber pilots also scored with their bombs.

The returned pilots say that they saw debris from the
smashed, dam hurtle Into the air, and then watched while the flood waters poured down the Pescara
River like a mighty tidal wave, sweeping everything before it and flooding the Pescara River itself so that the Germans’ front line is now threatened.

It will be remembered that the Italians in 1934 released the water through the sluices, with disastrous results, and flooded Pescara town to a depth of 3 ft. The waters
then did not subside for a week.

A feature of the raid is that despite their difficulties we did not lose a single machine.