Grangemouth Spitfire Memorial and Dambusters raids to be marked at ceremony

The ASA (Ancre Somme Association) Scotland Forces Charity has planned the commemoration on Saturday, May 13 at 3pm at the Spitfire Memorial at Grangemouth. The event coincides with the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of the town’s Spitfire Memorial.

Guests will include His Majesty's Depute Lord Lieutenant and the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh.

A spokesperson for ASA Scotland said: “The event will narrate the history of the Grangemouth Spitfire Memorial and the story of the famous Dambusters Raid which took place on the night of May 16 and 17, 1943.

"The community, veterans, and all those interested are invited to come along and hear about local and national Royal Air Force history.”

The Dambusters were all members of 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force and led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Their audacious bombing mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, was to destroy three dams in the Ruhr valley, the industrial heartland of Germany.

The dams were fiercely protected with torpedo nets in the water to stop underwater attacks and anti-aircraft guns defending them against enemy bombers.

But 617 Squadron had a secret weapon: the bouncing bomb. Over 130 aircrew in 19 specially adapted Lancaster bombers were used and although their mission was judged successful, 53 RAF men were killed in the raids.

The exploits of the Dambusters were made into a film in 1955 starring Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis and Richard Todd as Guy Gibson.