Last Of The Dambuster Pilots - Squadron Leader Les Munro

[Jimbuna]

The last of a very brave bunch of pilots....only two of a very brave bunch of air crew survive him.

Blue Skies Sir

~SALUTE~

In 2015, Mr Munro decided to put his medals up for auction to help pay for the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in London.
They were expected to fetch up to $100,000.
However, British philanthropist Lord Ashcroft stepped in to stop the sale and the possibility of the medals leaving New Zealand.
He offered to donate about $150,000 for the memorial's upkeep if Mr Munro gifted his medals to the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland
So, at a special ceremony in April 2015, Mr Munro presented his medals and logbooks to the museum.
The ceremony took place in front of the museum's Avro Lancaster Bomber - one of the few remaining examples of the planes used in the dam raids.
MOTAT chief executive Michael Frawley said he was honoured to accept the items into the museum's collection.
He said MOTAT planned to develop an exhibition highlighting the actions of Mr Munro and the other New Zealand members of Bomber Command during the war.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/280470/tributes-paid-to-last-dambusters-pilot

[Commander Wallace]

Great story. I read somewhere of how many WW2 vets pass away yearly and or monthly.

Are there any spitfire pilots left or pilots from the battle of Britain ?

[Jimbuna]

Great story. I read somewhere of how many WW2 vets pass away yearly and or monthly.

Are there any spitfire pilots left or pilots from the battle of Britain ?

As of October 2012 there were still 60 known to be alive and as of July this year I believe only 6 remain.

[Oberon]

Sadly Munro didn't actually make it to the Dams, he had to turn back after being hit by flak over Holland. His greatest feat, aside from surviving 58 Bomber Command missions, was probably in Operation Taxable, dropping window to spoof an invasion force, flying with no fighter cover at relatively low altitude within nine miles of the enemy coastline.

Godspeed Mr Munro, and thank you. :salute:

[Wolferz]

:salute:

[Aktungbby]

Sadly Munro didn't actually make it to the Dams
NOT so sadly IMHO! He lived to fight another day and to age 96!!:up: 8 of 19 planes did not return from the raid and, while a boost to British morale..."In 1977, Article 56 of the Protocol I amendment to the Geneva Conventions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_I), outlawed attacks on dams "if such attack may cause the release of dangerous forces from the works or installations and consequent severe losses among the civilian population". Sadly: Albert Speer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Speer) acknowledged the attempt: "That night, employing just a few bombers, the British came close to a success which would have been greater than anything they had achieved hitherto with a commitment of thousands of bombers." He also expressed puzzlement at the raids: the disruption of temporarily having to shift 7,000 construction workers to the Möhne and Eder repairs was offset by the failure of the Allies to follow up with additional (conventional) raids during the dams' reconstruction, and that represented a major lost opportunity. Barnes Wallis was also of this view; he revealed his deep frustration that Bomber Command never sent a high-level bombing force to hit the Mohne dam while repairs were being carried out. He argued that extreme precision would have been unnecessary and that even a few hits by conventional HE bombs would have prevented the rapid repair of the dam which was undertaken by the Germans." [wiki] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/HM_King_George_VI_visits_No_617_Sqn_RAF.jpg/220px-HM_King_George_VI_visits_No_617_Sqn_RAF.jpg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HM_King_George_VI_visits_No_617_Sqn_RAF.jpg)K ing George VI speaks to Flight Lieutenant Les Munro (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Munro) while visiting 617 Squadron after the raid, 27 May 1943