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ABC News
ABC News
National

Eighty years on from the Dambusters Raid — a mission so secretive the details were kept from the crews until the night before

Hand-picked aircrews from Britain, Canada, America, New Zealand and Australia destroyed three German dams in the raid on May 16, 1943. (Supplied: Australian War Memorial)

Today marks 80 years since a now-famous raid struck the heart of Germany's operations during World War II. But at the time, the mission was so secretive that even the crews weren't told their targets until the night before.

On May 16, 1943, aircrews from Australia, Britain, Canada, America and New Zealand were hand-picked to fly over and bomb three dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley. 

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