'I have never come across anything like them before.'Įight of the 19 specially adapted Lancasters which took part in the operation were lost.ĥ3 of the 133 air crew died and three were captured.
'They come from a private collection of memorabilia belonging to someone with connections to the Lancaster crews who took part in the raid. 'The photographs are rubber-stamped in German "top secret" and are dated and with a map reference. 'They depict in a dramatic sense the success of the raid in that the breaches to the dams are clearly visible. Richard Davey, of vendors International Autograph Auctions, said: 'Although the RAF took pictures from the air after the raid, these photographs are extremely rare in that they were taken by German military. The photographs go under the hammer in Nottingham on April 29. On the reverse of each photograph are German Geheime Kommandofache (Secret Command Document) identification stamps and in blue fountain pen ink records of the day, date, map reference and photographer identification.Įach photograph also bears notification stating that under NAZI law it is a secret document and that duplication is forbidden. The items for auction are five 8½ x 11 inch aerial reconnaissance photographs taken by the Luftwaffe before and after the raid at heights of between 4,500 and 8,000 metres. The damage was repaired by the Germans, but production did not return to normal until September of that year.
Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed by floods and several more damaged.įactories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed.Īn estimated 1,600 civilians drowned - about 600 Germans and 1,000 mainly Soviet forced-labourers. In the raid, Lancaster bombers breached the Möhne and Edersee Dams while the Sorpe Dam sustained minor damage.
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