May 17

What happened on May 17 in aviation and space history.

• May 17, 1943

  Operation Chastise: the Dambusters raid

  Milestone — In the early hours of 17 May 1943, nineteen specially modified Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron RAF, led by Guy Gibson, attacked the Ruhr dams with Barnes Wallis's Upkeep bouncing bomb. The Möhne and Eder dams were breached; the raid cost eight aircraft and earned the squadron its nickname: the Dambusters.