HOLYWELL The Grange Cavern. The cavern stored 11, 000 tons of bombs including the famous bouncing bombs used by the RAF’s 617 Squadron on the 16 and 17th May 1943 to breach the Mohne and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley. The raid was led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson and caused catastrophic flooding in both the Ruhr and Eder valleys and while the damage was extensive the Germans managed to rebuild and recover much more quickly than was expected. However the propaganda boost given to the allied war effort was considerable. Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross in recognition of his valour and leadership during the raids. The underground museum was created at the site in 1979 to celebrate the heritage of the spot and showcase military equipment down 100ft below ground. The grange cavern was thought to be world’s largest underground museum in an old limestone cave. Testing of the bouncing bomb was carried out at the nearby Elan Valley in Mid Wales before the real strike took place – 56 of the men who took off did not return and 1,300 people on the ground perished. The classic 1954 war film ‘The Dam Busters’ depicting the infamous bouncing bombs.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 21:14:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015