--- description: The last surviving pilot from the mission has died title: Why the World War II 'Dambusters' Mission Was So Important image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt720851c4284a05ff/69885dc5cd684844da0a11af/dam.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [conflict](/tag/conflict/) ## conflict Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why the World War II 'Dambusters' Mission Was So Important  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 4, 2015 3:58 PM CUT  The Mohne Dam in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 17, 1943, after being bombed by the No. 617 Squadron of the RAF, better known as the Dambusters, during Operation Chastise. Photo discovered in German archives after the war. The Mohne Dam in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 17, 1943, after being bombed by the No. 617 Squadron of the RAF, better known as the Dambusters, during Operation Chastise. Photo discovered in German archives after the war.Keystone / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 4, 2015 3:58 PM CUT The last living pilot who participated in the Dambusters operation in May of 1943 died on Tuesday, the BBC [reports](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33769486 "undefined"). Les Munro, a New Zealander who continued to take to the skies even in old age, was an impressive survivor from the start: the renowned World War II mission—in which Royal Air Force planes attacked German dams—sent out more than 100 flight crew, of whom only about half returned. (Two non-pilot crew members survive today.) But why was that particular mission so important? As TIME reported in the week that followed, the mission was “one of the most daring and profitable exploits of the air war against Germany” because the industrial region around the Ruhr valley was seriously hurt after the loss of the dams caused the river to flood: --- > “” --- About a decade later, the work of Munro and his compatriots was illustrated by the British movie _The Dam Busters._ The real hero of the movie, TIME [noted](http://time.com/vault/issue/1955-08-22/page/84/ "undefined") in its review, was a new type of bomb that, if dropped at the right height and speed, would “bounce for 600 yards along the water to the dam wall, sink 30 feet and detonate.” **_Read more from 1943, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Loosing the Flood](http://time.com/vault/issue/1943-05-31/page/31/ "undefined") ### See Incredible Photos of Vintage Airplanes  A Boeing Model C awaits flight in Boeing's Lake Union boathouse in Seattle. 1917. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC  Boeing Factory Workers Sewing a MB-3A Wing. 1922. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC  Passengers pose in front of the Model 80, built by Boeing Air Transport. 1930. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC  Boeing Model 247D in flight over New York City. The Model 247 ushered in the age of speed, reliability, safety and comfort in air travel. 1935. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC  Overview of B-17 Flying Fortress Manufacturing. 1944. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC  The P-51D Mustang was arguably the best fighter plane of the Second World War. 1945. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC  On May 14, 1954, Boeing workers in Renton, Washington, celebrate the rollout of the Dash 80, prototype for the 707. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC  The first Boeing 737\. 1967. © 2015 The Boeing Company, from Higher: 100 Years of Boeing published by Chronicle Books LLC ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3983591/dambusters-pilot-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3983591/dambusters-pilot-history/"},"headline":"Why the World War II 'Dambusters' Mission Was So Important","datePublished":"2015-08-04T15:58:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:11.149Z","description":"The last surviving pilot from the mission has died. 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