Operation Chastise
Concept
!1:50 scale model of the Möhne Dam, Building Research Establishment 51°42′06″N 0°22′28″W / 51.701764°N 0.374486°W
Concept
!Remains of the [Nant-y-Gro dam breached in July 1942 during testing](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/NantyGroDam-geograph.org.uk-887096.jpg/250px-NantyGroDam-geograph.org.uk-887096.jpg)
Concept
Testing of the concept included blowing up a scale model dam at the Building Research Establishment, Watford, in May 1942 and then the breaching of the disused Nant-y-Gro dam in Wales in July. A subsequent test suggested that a charge of 7,500 lb (3,400 kg) exploded 30 ft (9.1 m) under water would breach a full-size dam; crucially this weight would be within the carrying capacity of an Avro Lancaster. The first air drop trials were at Chesil Beach in December 1942; these used a spinning 4 ft 6 in sphere dropped from a modified Vickers Wellington, serial BJ895/G; the same aircraft was used until April 1943 when the first modified Lancasters became available. The tests continued at Chesil Beach and Reculver, often unsuccessfully, using revised designs of the mine and variations of speed and height.
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