The Dam Busters

617 SQUADRON, originally formed to carry out one specic operation with a weapon specially designed for that purpose, had, by the end of the war, built up a record of individual and collective courage and skill which is unique. The story which is told in this book cannot but make its readers feel humble in the face of such devotion, such self-sacrice, and such courage.
Nevertheless this story does more than set out the history of one individual squadron; it throws a spotlight on many of the factors which lay behind the successful and decisive employment of air power. It shows scientist, commander and operator working together as a close-knit team, each contributing towards the common aim of greater efficiency; it shows efficiency interpreted in the short term as "accuracy," and in the long term as "maximum effect with minimum effort." There have been those who allege that the air weapon is necessarily indiscriminate and that the aim of air power is destruction for the sake of destruction. This book is the story of a team that gave the lie to that allegation; a team whose work had a profound inuence on the conduct of air operations, a team whose initiative, skill and self sacrice on the one hand saved many an air crew who would otherwise have been lost on abortive operations, and on the other hand obviated much useless destruction and pointless loss of life in Europe. Here also is a story of inspired leadership under conditions of almost unbelievable strain, leadership at all levels - within the individual crews, leadership by the Squadron Commander and leadership by the Group Commander - leadership which inspired men to face up to, and overcome, "impossibilities." May their example be an inspiration to us, now and in the future.