George Johnson Dambusters WW2 Operation Chastise Hand Signed FDC

STB08 This is stunning Benham collectors official limited 1943 WW2 Operation Chastise first day cover hand signed by Dambusters veteran George Johnson where the signature rests perfectly accompanying the special hand commemorative franks.  This comes with full lifetime COA as the signing has been officially certified by the publishers with full hallmarking and authenticity of the series further detailed in absolute brand new mint condition. You wont source better.

To destroy the dams, Barnes Wallis had first considered a 10,000 kg bomb dropped from a height of 40,000 feet - but no aircraft was capable of flying at such a height with so heavy a payload.Johnson took part in intensive trials over British reservoirs and Chesil Beach. Realising that the Lancaster's altimeter was not accurate enough, spotlights were installed at each end of the aircraft - with the beams intersecting at exactly 60 feet.

Johnson and McCarthy were briefed to attack the Sorpe Dam, just east of Dortmund.

It was the toughest target of all. The Sorpe - unlike the Möhne and the Eder dams - was constructed of concrete covered by thousands of tons of earth. Like the rest of 617 Squadron, Johnson had practised releasing his bomb flying directly at the target. On the afternoon before the raid, however, he was told that wouldn't work for the Sorpe. Instead, McCarthy would have to fly parallel across the dam at a low level. The specialist bomb-aiming equipment developed for the raid was now useless, and Johnson was going to have to rely on instinct to drop the bomb dead centre.

Of the five Lancasters which set off for the Sorpe dam, only two made it to Germany. When they arrived, McCarthy realised the approach was even more hazardous than expected. A church steeple on a hill overlooking the dam meant he had to pull up sharply. In a BBC interview in 2014, Johnson told how it took nine practice runs - amid complaints from the rear gunner - before he was confident enough to release the bomb.