Avro Lancaster ED865 Giclée Art Print

High quality art print of Avro Lancaster ED865, an Avro Lancaster B.III (Special) of No. 617 Squadron, specially refitted to take part in Operation Chastise, better known as the Dambusters Raid.

The Dambusters Raid saw nineteen Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron attack several dams in the Ruhr Valley in Germany: the Möhne, Eder, Sorpe, and Edersee dams. Flying on the night of 16/17 May 1943, each of the Lancasters carried an Vickers Type 464 'Upkeep' mine, better known as a bouncing bomb, which Barnes Wallis had designed specifically for the mission. The Lancasters flew in low to avoid detection, and bounced their Upkeep mines along the surface of the water and into the dam.

Lancaster ED865, formally designated within No. 617 Squadron as AJ-S, was piloted by Burpee. Pegler, Jaye, Weller, Arthur, Long, and Brady made up the crew. ED865 flew with the third wave of Lancaster bombers, and was shot down over the Netherlands outbound. Sadly, all seven members of the crew lost their lives.

This illustration by Rob Wisdom is a high-quality Giclée art print on cotton-rich fine art paper.