The Moehnesee dam ( Staumauer, Talsperre) was breached on the night of 16-17th of May 1943 by the RAF Lancaster Bombers (The Dambusters, Dam buster raids) during Operation Chastise. Bouncing bombs had been constructed which were able to skip over the protective nets that hung in the water. On the 4th of August 2015 the last surviving Dambusters pilot, Les Munro, has died at the age of 96. Sqn Ldr Munro was the last living Dambusters pilot, he is survived by two crew members - Canadian former front gunner Fred Sutherland and British former bomb aimer George Johnson. During the Second World War the Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire) was used by pilots of the 617 Squadron for practising the low-level flights as it was similar to the German dams. A huge hole of 77 m by 22 m was blown into the dam. The resulting huge flood wave killed at least 1579 people. The city of Neheim-Huesten was particularly hard-hit with over 800 victims. Out of 133 crew, only 77 returned!