Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambuster Raid, was a daring and innovative military operation carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. On the night of May 16-17, 1943, 617 Squadron, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, embarked on a mission to destroy three major dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley—Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe—using specially designed bouncing bombs.
The objective was to cripple the industrial heartland of Nazi Germany by disrupting its power supply, water resources, and transportation networks. While the operation achieved partial success, with the Möhne and Eder dams being breached and causing significant damage, it also resulted in the loss of 53 aircrew members and 8 Lancaster bombers. The Dambuster Raid remains a symbol of British ingenuity and courage, and has been immortalised in books, films, and documentaries as a remarkable feat in the history of aerial warfare.
133 aircrew took part, and we have commissioned one bottle per aircrew with a limited edition of 133.
The cylindrical outer packaging of our limited edition Dambusters Rum has been designed to resemble the Barnes Wallis bouncing bomb with the reverse of the tube displaying key information regarding the operation and its impact.
We produced a special one-off label for each of the 19 Lancaster Bombers and the full crew lists. These were added to 19 of the 133 bottles for an extra exclusive release.
