Pure bravery

Your obituary and article on Squadron Leader Les Munro (5 August) should remind us that another veteran of Operation Chastise, the May 1943 attack on the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams, is still alive.

Squadron Leader “Johnnie” Johnson, who is now 93, was a bomb aimer in the Lancaster attacking the Sorpe dam. Because of the latter’s construction, the aircraft had to fly along the length of the target, not at right angles as at the other two.

They made ten runs before Johnson judged it correct to release the bomb. It hit the dam but did not break it. What dedication, what bravery. Typical of 617 Squadron.

JM Carder (Sqn Ldr retired)

East Forth Street

Anstruther, Fife