Having just read Max Hastings's Chastise, which is a thorough historical account of the Dambusters Mission, I thought it would be a good idea to track down some remaining relics around the country. This is my second report. Here is a link to the first report which is based on the Ashley Walk Bombing Range in Hampshire where I tracked down the remains of a Bouncing Bomb. This report is about a 1:50 scale model of the German Möhne Dam that is located on private land in woods just outside Watford. A third report will follow soon.
HISTORY
Operation Chastise (also known as the Dambusters Mission) was an attack on German dams carried out during the night of 16 -17th May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF using purpose-built 'Upkeep' bouncing-bombs developed by Barnes Wallis and led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar (yes he really was that decorated!). The Möhne and the Edersee dams were breached causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley. A third target, the Sorpe Dam, suffered only minor damage that night. The raid was a huge propaganda victory for the British and was a huge boost for national morale - remember that at the time there were no ground troops in 'Fortress Europe' and that had not been the case since Dunkirk back in June 1940 some three years earlier. This was a huge boost for a British public that at this stage of the war was very war-weary and wondering when we were ever going to go back into Europe. Grounds troops in occupied Europe was not to happen until the landings in Scilly in July 1943 (Operation Husky) and of course the Normandy landings in June 1944 (Operation Overlord). Whilst the Dambusters Mission was a huge propaganda victory for the British, the raid was not the knockout blow against German industry as hoped for - the Möhne dam was repaired within a few months and the majority of the casualties that night were actually (mostly) Eastern European forced labourers detained in a camp below the Möhne Dam. But the fact is that this was a seemingly impossible daring raid conducted by super-brave aviators and made possible by the brilliance of British engineering.
MÖHNE DAM REPLICA AT WATFORD
This replica in the grounds of the Building Research Establishment is the only test dam to survive from a small number built for dam destruction experiments here and at Harmondsworth in Middlesex. The replica is built to a scale of 1:50 and is some 14m long and 1m high. The dam wall itself is constructed from over 600000 miniature mortar cubes with a concrete core; this copies the construction technique used in the real dam which is made of massive granite blocks. The replica dam was constructed in December 1940 following discussions on proposals to strike a number of dams along the River Ruhr in Germany. Dr William Glanville the Director of the Road Research Laboratory at Harmondsworth invited the eminent engineer Barnes Wallis to the Building Research Station to discuss the alternatives with the then Head of Engineering Dr Norman Davey. It was agreed that scale models would be built to determine the best method of attack. Constructed in strict secrecy, this replica took a local workforce just seven weeks to build. Tests on the most effective means of destruction included the detonation of ten charges on the `wet' side of the dam at distances of between 1 and 3 feet. A probe on the dry side monitored the impact. By the sixth test the dam was breached. After the tenth test the dam was too damaged to be used any further. A RAF reports mentions that the final test caused flooding of allotments downstream and caused local grievance. Other ideas included the dropping of charges with pressure fuses at the base of the dam and then initiating simultaneous detonation with a single large bomb. The replica was the first step in a series of extensive tests on the best means of destroying the Ruhr dams; other model dams (none of which survive) were built and tested by Dr Glanville's staff before final experiments on a real dam near Rhayader in the Welsh mountains.
REPORT
The replica lies on private land belonging to the Building Research Establishment and can be visited on the occasional heritage days. But due to the pandemic, those open days are not running right now. This visit was done by creeping in - it's not difficult if you know where the replica is and no scaling of fences required.
1. Firstly historical photos showing the probe on the dry-side and the construction method using minature bricks
2. First view
3. The replica is 14m long
4. Not sure if this a legacy of the destructive testing or a modern alteration to prevent a large pond from forming
5. The replica dam even included the towers that are on the real dam, built at the exact scaled distance apart
6. A local street is named after the engineer Barnes Wallis
7. Not too far away the Road Research Laboratory was at Harmondsworth near to the modern Heathrow Airport. That establishment no longer exists but there is a commemorative memorial to work done here for the Dambusters Mission.
8. Detail of the plaque
9. The land at Harmondsworth is still owned by the Crown Estate but is now the immigration removal centre for Heathrow Airport. This is the back view of that place. There are no relics from the Dambusters Mission remaining here - I should know, as by coincidence, I spent 13 years working for the Home Office in that building.
10. One last view of that replica at Watford
Thanks for reading
HISTORY
Operation Chastise (also known as the Dambusters Mission) was an attack on German dams carried out during the night of 16 -17th May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF using purpose-built 'Upkeep' bouncing-bombs developed by Barnes Wallis and led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar (yes he really was that decorated!). The Möhne and the Edersee dams were breached causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley. A third target, the Sorpe Dam, suffered only minor damage that night. The raid was a huge propaganda victory for the British and was a huge boost for national morale - remember that at the time there were no ground troops in 'Fortress Europe' and that had not been the case since Dunkirk back in June 1940 some three years earlier. This was a huge boost for a British public that at this stage of the war was very war-weary and wondering when we were ever going to go back into Europe. Grounds troops in occupied Europe was not to happen until the landings in Scilly in July 1943 (Operation Husky) and of course the Normandy landings in June 1944 (Operation Overlord). Whilst the Dambusters Mission was a huge propaganda victory for the British, the raid was not the knockout blow against German industry as hoped for - the Möhne dam was repaired within a few months and the majority of the casualties that night were actually (mostly) Eastern European forced labourers detained in a camp below the Möhne Dam. But the fact is that this was a seemingly impossible daring raid conducted by super-brave aviators and made possible by the brilliance of British engineering.
MÖHNE DAM REPLICA AT WATFORD
This replica in the grounds of the Building Research Establishment is the only test dam to survive from a small number built for dam destruction experiments here and at Harmondsworth in Middlesex. The replica is built to a scale of 1:50 and is some 14m long and 1m high. The dam wall itself is constructed from over 600000 miniature mortar cubes with a concrete core; this copies the construction technique used in the real dam which is made of massive granite blocks. The replica dam was constructed in December 1940 following discussions on proposals to strike a number of dams along the River Ruhr in Germany. Dr William Glanville the Director of the Road Research Laboratory at Harmondsworth invited the eminent engineer Barnes Wallis to the Building Research Station to discuss the alternatives with the then Head of Engineering Dr Norman Davey. It was agreed that scale models would be built to determine the best method of attack. Constructed in strict secrecy, this replica took a local workforce just seven weeks to build. Tests on the most effective means of destruction included the detonation of ten charges on the `wet' side of the dam at distances of between 1 and 3 feet. A probe on the dry side monitored the impact. By the sixth test the dam was breached. After the tenth test the dam was too damaged to be used any further. A RAF reports mentions that the final test caused flooding of allotments downstream and caused local grievance. Other ideas included the dropping of charges with pressure fuses at the base of the dam and then initiating simultaneous detonation with a single large bomb. The replica was the first step in a series of extensive tests on the best means of destroying the Ruhr dams; other model dams (none of which survive) were built and tested by Dr Glanville's staff before final experiments on a real dam near Rhayader in the Welsh mountains.
REPORT
The replica lies on private land belonging to the Building Research Establishment and can be visited on the occasional heritage days. But due to the pandemic, those open days are not running right now. This visit was done by creeping in - it's not difficult if you know where the replica is and no scaling of fences required.
1. Firstly historical photos showing the probe on the dry-side and the construction method using minature bricks
2. First view
3. The replica is 14m long
4. Not sure if this a legacy of the destructive testing or a modern alteration to prevent a large pond from forming
5. The replica dam even included the towers that are on the real dam, built at the exact scaled distance apart
6. A local street is named after the engineer Barnes Wallis
7. Not too far away the Road Research Laboratory was at Harmondsworth near to the modern Heathrow Airport. That establishment no longer exists but there is a commemorative memorial to work done here for the Dambusters Mission.
8. Detail of the plaque
9. The land at Harmondsworth is still owned by the Crown Estate but is now the immigration removal centre for Heathrow Airport. This is the back view of that place. There are no relics from the Dambusters Mission remaining here - I should know, as by coincidence, I spent 13 years working for the Home Office in that building.
10. One last view of that replica at Watford
Thanks for reading
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