As Allied bombers targeted Germany’s V-weapon facilities, No 617 Squadron was in the vanguard — not least when it came to attacks against the V2 bunker at Wizernes, northern France


“At 6.35am GMT on November 21st [1944] I saw a V2 rocket on its downward course. It was a frosty morning of great atmospheric clarity, and I watched the rocket from high in the heavens until, as it neared the earth, it gradually disappeared in the thicker atmosphere which appeared as a pinkish haze over the just visible horizon. I fetched a compass and compared the line of sight with the map. This gave the possible launching site as in line with the south end of the Zuyder Zee [sic].” Letter in The Times, 17 December 1944