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ST EDWARD’S
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F E AT U R E S
We had been thinking about how to mark
the 100th Anniversary of the RAF and the
75th Anniversary of Operation Chastise
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this year, when a chance
conversation resulted in the email address
of the pilot of the sole airworthy Lancaster
in the UK, Flight Lieutenant Seb Davey.
Although not an OSE, it was an opportunity
to speak to a pilot who could give us an
insight into flying such an iconic plane 75
years after the famous raid on the German
dams. Incidentally, he also piloted the Dakota
that flew over St Edward’s as part of our
150th Anniversary celebrations in 2013! – Ed.
Operation Chastise, better known as
the Dambusters Raid, was the attack on the
Möhne, Edersee and Sorpe dams in the Ruhr
Valley in Germany in May 1943. Nineteen
Lancaster bombers from 617 Squadron
carrying Barnes Wallis’ ‘bouncing bomb’, led
by OSE
Wing Commander Guy Gibson
(A, 1932-1936), took off in three waves on
the night of 16th May. Gibson was in the
first wave and his aircraft (G for George)
was first to attack the Möhne dam. It took
five aircraft to breach the dam causing a hole
that was 200 ft. wide, approximately the
same width of the Quad at St Edward’s. The
Eder was attacked by the remaining aircraft
and collapsed in the early hours of the 17th.
The Sorpe dam was bombed but remained
intact. 133 aircrew took part, 53 men were
killed and three were taken prisoners of war.
It has been estimated that 1,600 civilians
drowned in the flood water and although
impact on industrial production was limited
it did not return to normal until September.
The surviving aircrew returned as heroes and
Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross for
his actions during the raid.
Flight Lieutenant Seb Davey very kindly
invited Sqn Ldr Nick Coram-Wright (CCF
Contingent Commander), Cadet Sanders Lau
(currently in the Lower 6th) and the Editor
to RAF Brize Norton, where he is stationed
and flies the A400M (a four-engine turboprop
military transport aircraft designed to replace
older transport aircraft like the Hercules) as
his day job. Before the interview Nick and
Sanders were shown around the £25-million-
pound A400M simulator used to train pilots
and then allowed up close to the real thing on
the airfield.
Seb is part of the Battle of Britain Memorial
Flight (BBMF) aircrew which operates out of
RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. The BBMF is
flown by regular serving RAF aircrew who
mainly fly the BBMF aircraft in their own
time. The fighter aircraft types (Spitfire and
Hurricane) are flown by modern RAF Fighter
Pilots, whilst the Dakota and Lancaster are
flown by RAF pilots with a background on
heavy, multi-engine aircraft. Seb flies the
Lancaster and also the Dakota which makes
him rather unique as a pilot who flies both the
oldest air transport aircraft in the RAF fleet
and the very newest. The RAF BBMF has an
estimated budget of £9 million per year and
their mission statement is “to maintain the
priceless artefacts of our national heritage in
airworthy condition in order to commemorate
those who have fallen in the service of this
country, to promote the modern day Air
Force and to inspire the future generations.”
What first interested you in planes
and flight?
Like most small boys, I decided that I wanted
to be a train driver when I grew up, but aged
eleven I was sent as an unaccompanied minor
Flight Lieutenant Seb Davey
Interviewed by Jenny McCarter
Flying a Lancaster
75 years after Gibson
Sanders, Seb, Nick and A400M
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF THE RAF