SMASHING OF RUHR DAMS

Grey River Argus, 19 May 1943, Page 5

SMASHING OF RUHR DAMS

FLOODS THREATEN THREE CITIES

WIDESPREAD DAMAGE INDICATED

Disruption of Industry and Transport Likely

[Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.l LONDON, Mav 1?

Millions of tons of water are swirling down the Ruhr y aUe y s ’ sweeping away bridges and flooding vital areas after the R.A.h. s attack against the Mohne and Eder darns, which the “Telegraph” describes as the mbst devastating blow of the war against German industry. The dams impounded 336 million tons ot water, a great part of which is raging through one of the world’s most densely industrialised areas, forming the heart of the German war machine The effect of this shattering blow 'mav be evident throughout the war- indeed for years after it. the dam’s controlled rivers which normally are liable to flood wid e areas, and supplied water for great ind.U!jtrial and human concentrations which are likely to face an acute water shortage.' They also controlled the level vital canal svstem. which may not be entirely disrupted. The canal system links west Germany and the Ruhr, north Germany. Berlin and the Baltic, and relieved the railway and road transport systems of an enormous tonnage of heavy materials. The importance that the Germans attached to the Dams was shown by the extreme concentration of the defences encountered. , Guy Bettany. formerly Reuter s correspondent in Berlin, says: A famous German Jewish medical specialist, exiled from Germany, pointed out to me that the Mohne-Eder dams were key factors in the German war potential and asked whv they had not been bombed first. I was so impressed that several months ago I passed on the information lo the Air Ministry, and received a letter of thanks, saying the suggestion would be carefully considered.

USE OF MINES IN RAID. Reuter’s aeronautical writer says: Mines used against the massive concrete dams had to be swirled against the sluice gates. Rarely has such a terrific explosive charge been dropped. The use of mines is evidence of the ingenuity of those who planned the attack. Every participant was selected for ability and previous experience in mine dropping No more sensational feat has been accomplished in this or anv othei war than the destruction of Germany’s two biggest dams, savs the “Mail,” in an editorial. The loss of eight Lancasters, with their crews, if grievous, is but small indeed compared with the expenditure of time, life, and energy required to secure comparable results bv anv other means. This is the air war which the Germans held for so long as a threat over the world It is the mighty weapon they unleashed against undefended cities, and which is now beating on their own heads. The ‘‘Express,” in a leader says: Germany dispersed and leap-frogged some industries beyond the present effective bombing range, but the Ruhr dams are targets she cannot move. Neither are the Ruhr coal and ore mines, or the giant factories oi Essen, or the marshalling yards and wharves at Duisburg. There are targets that Germany is now defending with 3000 guns and close on 1,000,000 trained men.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.

RUGBY, May 17. An Air Ministry communique states: In the earlv hours, of this morning, a! force of Lancaster bombers. led by Wing Commander G. P. Gibson, D. 5.0., D.F.C., attacked with mines the dams at Mohne and Sorpe reservoirs. These control two-thirds of the water storage capacity of the Ruhr Basin A reconnaissance later established that the Mohne Dam had been breached over a length of one hundred yards, and the power station below was swept away by the resulting floods. The Eder Dam winch controls the headwaters of the Weser and Fulda Valleys, and operates several power stations, was also attacked, and reported breached. Photographs show the river below the dam is in lull flood. The attacks were pressed home from a very low level and with great determination and coolness in the face of fierce resistance. Eight Lancasters are missing. Photographic reconnaissance, iaie this morning, showed that several bridges were washed away in the Upper Ruhr and floods were rising in the Dortmund area. The Mohne joins the Ruhr above the industrial area! near Soest in Westphalia. It is the biggest source of water supply for industrial and domestic purposes in the Ruhr. It also supplies many large factories with electricity. Dx* Eder Dam is near Henfurth, two miles south of Waldeck, and is used to regulate the water level of the River Weser. It is the largest reservoir in Germany. Both th e Soest and Henfurth are near the upper reaches of the Ruhr. CITIES IN PATH OF FLOOD LONDON, May 17. The waters released by the R.A.F must run their course, says the ‘’Mail’s” aviation correspondent. Immediately in the path is Dortmund a city of 543,000 people. Ten miles beyond Dortmund is Bochum. Seven miles beyond that is Essen. It is quite impossible to predict where the damage will end, but this much ]S certain, never before has such a blow been dealt from the air. Both dams were full with Winter and Spring rains. Even if repaired within a few months —if that were possible,*—there would not be enough water to bring them into use again until next Spring.

GERMAN HIGH COMMAND’S STATEMENT. LONDON, May 17. A German High Command communique states: A weak British air force, last night, dropped high explosives in some places on German territory and damaged two dams. The ensuing floods caused heavy civilian casualties. Far-reaching Effects INDUSTRY AND WATER TRAFFIC IN RUHR THREATENED. (Rec. 5 p.m.) RUGBY, May 17. Reconnaissance aircraft were busy to-dav. Their photographs show that water was still pouring out. A power station below the Mohne dam has been engulfed and swept away. “But, says the Air Ministry News Service, “so far we only know the beginning.

Further reconnaissance alone will be able to show the full extent of the disaster brought about by the skill, courage, and determination of these Lancaster crews. Before the Mohne and Sorpe dams were built the Ruhr was always running short of water in the dry season—the Sorpe reservoir alone takes two or three years to till. There arc three hundred or more waterworks and many? pumping stations in mo Ruhr Valley. Interference wth these would very seriously affect the supply of water for industrial purposes’ Electric power stations along the valley would be affected. River and canal traffic is vitally important to all the Ruhr industries. With these dams gone, and the water pouring from the deep lakes behind them, the river Ruhr itself might become unnavigable. The water level in the canals could not be maintained Finally there is the possibility that important industrial areas in the Ruhr' would themselves be Hooded. Before the construction of the Eder dam the rivers Eder and Weser regularly caused serious floods. The breaking of the dam would probably flood parts of Kassel, including important industrial areas, as well as ol the towns hevond. The agricultural districts along 4he Weser would also be inundated. Several hydro-electric stations would be affected, four of them of considerable value to rhe electrical supply of the whole district. As with the other two dams the floods do the first damage, and the loss of water the rest. The primary object of this reservoir is a store to compensate the Weser for water taken from it for the huge Mitalland Canal, the main artery tor waterborne traffic west to east and the link between all main navigable rivers west of Berlin. W'thout the reservoir there would not be enough water for both the Weser and Mil.alland Canal. Navigation on one, or, more probably, both, would be seriously affected.

THIRTY FOOT WAVE SWEEPS VALLEY.

LONDON, May 17

A thirty-foot wave rushing through the valley, a jet of water a thousand feet high, and a new seven-mile stretch of water were some of _ the extraordinary sights seen by pilots of the Lancasters which early to-day carried out their devastating raid on the Ruhr valley. For many weeks picked Lancaster crews have been training for the operation. They worked in complete secrecy on a bomber station as far as possible cut off from contact with the outside world. Only about half-a-dozen other men in the whole Bomber command knew of what they were doing. Early this morning when the weather and light were exactly right, they carried out the operation, the purpose', of which was to subject the whole of the Ruhr Valley to almost as severe an ordeal as it has undergone by fire in the last three months, and do the same for another industrial area, further east. These picked men knew how much depended on the success or failure of the opportunity that might never come again. It was an opportunity to do as much damage as could be done by thousands of tons of bombs dropped on as many nights running.

AIR SECRETARY’S COMMENT.

LONDON, May 17.

The breach made by Lancasters m the German dams was mentioned by the Air Secretary at the Norwegian National Day celebrations in London to-day. He said: “The operation was one of extraordinary difficulty and hazards. Eight Lancasters were lost with their precious crews, but Wing Commander Gibson, who was in command of the -aircraft engaged in the operation, pressed home the attack against strong defences and regardless of danger.” It was later learned that Wing Commander Gibson returned safely. Later partial reconnaissance of the Ruhr Valley and the district near the Eder Dam, - shows that the floods caused by the Lancasters’ attack on the three Dams are spreading fast and that th e waters are sweeping down the Ruhr Valley. Railway and road bridges have been broken down, hydro-electric power stations destroyed or damaged, and a railway marshalling yard is under water. Floods front the breach in, the Eder Dam are already as great as the floods in the Ruhr Valley, but the country here is flatter and the water is likely to spread over a greater area. T . Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief, Bomber Command, sent a message to the officer in command of the bomber group to which the Lancasters ar e attached. He said: “Please convey to all concerned my warmest congratulations on the brilliantly successful execution of last night’s operations lo the air crews, I would say their thoroughness in training and then skill and determination in pressing home the attacks will forever be an inspiration to the R.A.F. In this memorable operation they won a maior. victory in the battle ol Ruhr, the effects of which will last until the Boche is swept away m me flood of final disaster”

Vivid Accounts PILOTS’ EXPERIENCES. (Rec. 5 p.m.) RUGBY, May 17. Wing Commander Gibson, whoi was in charge of the whole operations, personally led the attack on t e Mohne darn. After dl ’oPP in £ ' mines he flew up and down along side the dam to draw the ine ol light anti-aircraft guns emplaced on it. The guns were poking out ol slots in the walls of the dam. His gunners fired back as he repeatedly flew through the barrage, and tms had the effect of making some of the enemv gunfire waver. A nigntlieutenant who dropped his mines later was in a better position to see what actually, happened to the dam. “I was able to watch the whole process,” he said. The wing-command-er’s load was placed just right, ana a spout of water went three hundred feet into the air. A second Lancaster attacked with equal accuracy, and there was still no sign of a breach. Then I went in, and we caused a huge explosion up against the dam. It was not until another load had been dropped that the dam at last broke. I saw the first jet very clearly in the moonlight. I should say the breach was about fifty Vfirds wide.” One pilot said the jets were so powerful that they were hurtling out horizontally at least two hundred feet.

A sergeant, with the D.F.M., was

the last to see the Mohne dam. He was returning from an attack on the Sorpe dam. “I found some difficulty in finding the right end of the reservoir, 0 he said, “because the shape had already changed. There was already; a’ new sheet of water seven miles long, and the water was spreading fast.” “When we attacked,” one pilot said, “You could, see that the crown wall was already crumbling. There was a tremendous amount of debris at the ton. Our load sent up water and mud a thousand feet. A spurt ot water was silhouetted against the moon. It rose with tremendous speed, then gently fell ba'ck. You could see the shock wave at the base of the jet. The Eder dam was breached m two places. There was a hole about thirty feet below the top of the dam wall, and another gap to the eastern-side of the dam. . A torrent poured through, while below, a wave some thirty feet high rushed through the valley.” Air 'Chief Marshal Harris and an air officer commanding the bomber group to which the Lancasters belong, were waiting lo hear the firstnews when the crews returned. WingCommander Gibson made his renort to them. “We had high hones,” he said, “but the immediate results were far beybnd expectations.”

BOMBER COMMAND ACTIVITY LONDON. Mav 17. An Air Ministry communique says that last night aircraft of the Bomber Command attacked targets in the Ruhr, the Rhineland, and Berlin. Mines were laid in enemy waters. Fighter Command aircraft carried out extensive intruder operations over enemy-occupied territory. Nine bombers and one fighter are missing from the night’s operations. The Air Ministry also reports that during extensive operations this morning five enemy aircraft were destroyed by British'fighters.

SEVEN FIGHTERS DESTROYED

RUGBY, Mav 17

Seven enemv fighters were destroyed by R.A.F. fighters during offensive operations to-dav. Covering an attack on Caen airfield by Ventura bombers, the Spitfire wing of the Fighter Command which at the week end increased its sector’s score to over 1000 enemv aircraft destroyed. added a further five to this total, losing only one aircraft in the engagement. In another operation Spitfires destroyed one FW 190. Squadron Leader Charles, a Canadian, who shared with another pilot his sector’s thousandth kill, got one of Ihe seven. • . . Fighter pilots, on their return, said the bombers did considerable damage at Caen airfield. Hits _ were seen on buildings and an cUiciaLt nearby was burning.

ENEMY CONVOY ATTACKED. RUGBY, May 17. This afternoon, Beaufighters ol the Coastal Command, escorted by fighters, attacked an enemy convoy northbound off the Dutch coast. Iwo merchant ships were hit with torpedoes and at least three of the escort vessels were left on fire. None ot our aircraft is missing. AWARD FOR SQUADRON LEADER LYNCH. LONDON, May 16. The latest list of Royal Air Force awards includes that of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Squadion Leader J. J. .Lynch, who shot down the thousandth enemy aeroplane destroyed over Malta. He has taken part in many sweeps over 'Sicily. Squadron Leader Lynch is an American citizen He obtained a . CO ”™ lS ' sion in the Royal Air Force m 1941.

BOMBERS OVER FRANCE AND BELGIUM.

RUGBY, May 17

It is officially, announced that large formations of the Sth Air horce bombers made heavy attacks on targets in enemy-occupied territory in daylight to-day. The largest attacks were made against the harbour installations at L’Orient and the> adjacent U-boat base at Keioman, while the ports and docks of Bordeaux were bombed effectively, lhe weather was favourable and the crews report very good bombing results on the respective targets. Enemy opposition was varied, borne formations were met by large numbers of enemy fighters, while others had no encounters. R.A.F., Dominion and Allied fighters, in supporting operations carried out an offensive sweep over Cherbourg Peninsula late in the afternoon. Four heavy bombers arid 10 medium bombers are afternoon, Typhoon bombers with an escort of Typhoon fighters, made a successful attack on an enemy airfield at Coxt de Furnes in Belgium. Bombs fell on the runways and buildings. There was no enemy opposition, apart from ami-aircraft lire All the aircraft returned safely.

U.S. Raids on France

BRIEF MASSED ATTACK. (Rec. 10.50) TONDON, May 18. The raid on Bordeaux to-day was the deepest penetration of occupied territory made by the Americans. Vichy radio says that 148 were k llled and - 228 injured in a massed attack, which lasted only? a few minutes.