ROYAL AIR FORCE: OPERATIONS BY THE PHOTOGRAPHIC RECONNAISSANCE UNITS, 1939-1945. - Vertical photographic-reconnaissance aerial, taken from 10,000 feet, showing the southern entrance of the Saumur railway tunnel following the attack on it by 22 Avro Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron RAF on the night of 8/9 June 1944. This raid was the first occasion on which the 12,000-lb 'Tallboy' deep-penetration bomb was used operationally. The target was marked by the Squadron Commander, Wing Commander G L Cheshire, who delivered his spotfires from an altitude of 500 feet, and the accuracy of the subsequent bo
ROYAL AIR FORCE: OPERATIONS BY THE PHOTOGRAPHIC RECONNAISSANCE UNITS, 1939-1945. - Vertical photographic-reconnaissance aerial, taken from 10,000 feet, showing the southern entrance of the Saumur railway tunnel following the attack on it by 22 Avro Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron RAF on the night of 8/9 June 1944. This raid was the first occasion on which the 12,000-lb 'Tallboy' deep-penetration bomb was used operationally. The target was marked by the Squadron Commander, Wing Commander G L Cheshire, who delivered his spotfires from an altitude of 500 feet, and the accuracy of the subsequent bombing, delivered between 8,000 and 11,000 feet, is attested by the 18 craters which can be counted within 220 yards of the tunnel mouth. One 'Tallboy' has pierced the roof of the tunnel, and there are two further direct hits on the railway tracks 100 yards from the entrance. The tunnel was blocked for a considerable period and, consequently, the movement of a German tank unit to the Normandy battlefront was badly delayed Cheshire, Geoffrey Leonard, Royal Air Force, 106 Group, Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force Regiment, Sqdn, 168
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Photo credit: © piemags/ww2archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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