Avro Lancaster ED924 Giclée Art Print

High quality art print of Avro Lancaster ED924, 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 ED924, designated within No. 617 Squadron as AJ-Y, was flown by Anderson, with Paterson, Nugent, Bickle, Green, Ewan and Buck making up the rest of the seven-man crew. ED924 was part of the third wave of Lancaster bombers, but was unable to find the target due to flak damage and the misty conditions. Cyril Anderson opted to return to RAF Scampton with the bouncing bomb still intact, and ED924 made a safe return.

None of the crew would survive the war, as all sadly lost their lives in September 1943. During the return flight from a night attack on Mannheim, their Lancaster was shot down near the village of Offenbach and crashed. A memorial has been erected at the site of the crash, and the crew are all buried at the Rheinberg War Cemetery.

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