75th Anniversary Dambuster Celebration Bomber Command Museum Of Canada Nanton Alberta

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This past weekend saw a very special event celebrating the 75th commemorating the 75th anniversary of Operation Chastise, the audacious bombing raid against three dams in the Rhur Valley in May of 1943.
Night run of the newly christened AJ-M ED925. 4 Wing Brass Band from Cold Lake entertained the crowd.
The only operating replica of the famous Upkeep, the bouncing bomb was debuted.
65 invited guests, many relatives of the original air crew from 1943, along with the public took in the event. Lancaster FM159 Was modified to the 464 mod with the removal of the bomb doors.mid upper turret and the manufacture of and install of the large arms that hold the upkeep bomb in place.

The Upkeep spinning during the run up. Photo Courtesy of Doug Bowman and BCMOC

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Some members of the Upkeep replica fabrication team:
Derek Squire, Technical Advisor,
Greg Morrison Chief Engineer,
Carl Orde, Technical Coordinator, and
Ben Schwartz Fabrication Specialis[ATTACH=CONFIG]262509[/ATTACH]

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A group of relatives of the crew on AJ-M poses on the starboard side. Piloted by John Hopgood, AJ-M was lost on the mission but three of her crew, all Canadians, bailed out. One of those men died from his wounds shortly after reaching the ground.[ATTACH=CONFIG]262510[/ATTACH]

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Relatives of John Hopgood's crew pose beside AJ-M, port side.[ATTACH=CONFIG]262511[/ATTACH]

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The Upkeep bouncing bomb replica created to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Dams Raid in May of 1943. 19 aircraft flew against the dams, 8 were lost with 53 air crew. 30 of the casualties were Canadian[ATTACH=CONFIG]262512[/ATTACH]

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AJ-M ED925 sporting the Upkeep, the bouncing bomb developed for use against dams in the Rhur Valley during World War II.

The lights indicate the optimum altitude to release the bomb: 60 feet at about 220 mph. [ATTACH=CONFIG]262513[/ATTACH]

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