Lancaster Bomber to fly over South Yorkshire to mark Dambusters anniversary
and live on Freeview channel 276
The iconic aircraft will stage a flypast over the Doncaster area on May 15 – nearly 80 years on from the famed ‘bouncing bomb’ raids on Germany in 1943.
The legendary plane will fly over the Hatfield and Hatfield Woodhouse areas at around 12.48pm as part of the RAF Bomber Command Remembrance flight.
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Hide AdDoncaster air crews played a large part in World War Two, with RAF Bawtry used as a bomber command centre while RAF Finningley and RAF Lindholme were also used for attacks in Europe.
Crews prepared for the raids with practice runs at the Derwent Reservoir in Derbyshire.
The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley with two hydroelectric power stations destroyed along with factories and mines.
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Hide AdAn estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 53 aircrew killed and 3 captured, with 8 aircraft destroyed.
A 1955 film, The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, told the dramatic story of the raids which helped change the course of World War Two.
Meanwhile, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is embarking on a series of subsequent flypasts during the rest of May, with the details as follows:
Thursday 12 May
Digby, Scopwick, Lincolnshire flypast – 6.05 to 6.45pm
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire flypast – 6.45 to 7.30pm
Saturday 14 May
Grantham, Lincolnshire flypast – 1.15 to 2pm
Lyddington, Rutland flypast – 1.25 to 2.10pm
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire flypast – 1.35 to 2.20pm
Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire flypast – 1.40 to 2.30pm
Hardwick Hall, Hucknall, Derbyshire flypast – 1.50 to 2.30pm
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Hide AdNottingham Yacht Club Boat Gathering, Cranfleet Loch flypast – 1.58pm
Marbury, Cheshire flypast – 2.15 to 3pm
Golcar, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire flypast – 2.40 to 3.25pm
White Notley, Cressing, Essex flypast – 2.45 to 3.30pm
Garthorpe, North Lincolnshire flypast – 2.55 to 3.40pm
Cox Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire flypast – 3.05 to 3.50pm
Scampton, Lincolnshire flypast – 3.10 to 3.55pm
Hyde Heath, Buckinghamshire flypast – 3.15 to 3.50pm
Aldreth, Cambridgeshire flypast – 3.30 to 4.15pm
Sunday 15 May
Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire flypast – 11.45am to 12.30pm
Hatfield, South Yorkshire flypast – 12.30 to 1.20pm
Marbury, Cheshire flypast – 1.05 to 1.50pm
Hardwick Hall, Hucknall, Derbyshire flypast – 1.25 to 2.15pm
Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire flypast – 1.25 to 2.15pm
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire flypast – 1.35 to 2.20pm
Nottingham Yacht Club Boat Gathering, Cranfleet Loch flypast – 1.43pm
Flixton, Suffolk flypast – 1.45 to 2.30pm
Tydd, St Mary, Lincolnshire flypast – 1.55 to 2.40pm
White Notley, Cressing, Essex flypast – 2.05 to 2.50pm
Stretham, Cambridgeshire flypast – 2.20 to 3.05pm
Friday 20 May
Coltishall, Norfolk flypast – 10.50 to 11.10am
Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire flypast – 12.45 to 1.30pm