Squadron leader Ken Brown, who has died in British Columbia at age 82, was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal -- generally regarded as second only to the Victoria Cross -- after he captained a four-engine Lancaster bomber in the Dambusters raid in 1943. The award recognized not only his exceptional leadership of a crew of six, but also his superb airmanship at very low levels on the way into, and out of, Nazi Germany. Although his aircraft was badly shot up during the operation, he managed to bring it and his crew safely home. Wing Commander Guy Gibson had built up No. 617 Squadron to implement an audacious plan bomb the walls of the dams servicing the Ruhr Valley, Germany's industrial heartland. The crews who flew on the mission were hand-picked, and then trained, by Wing Cmdr. Gibson. On a later visit to Canada, Wing Cmdr. Gibson was careful to stress the value of the contribution to the raid made by Canadian aircrew, but he was known to have had his reservations about using them. It was, then, a tribute to Captain Ken Brown's flying skills that he was retained long enough to take off from Scampton, in Lincolnshire, at 12 minutes past midnight on May 17, 1943. His was one of the last of Wing Cmdr. Gibson's force of 19 Lancasters and 133 aircrew to head for Germany and, at 2:50 a.m., he saw one of the force's Lancasters crash, exploding on impact. As a member of Wing Cmdr. Gibson's reserve force, Capt. Brown was not briefed to attack the main targets, the Moehne and Eder dams. So when he spotted, from an altitude of only 45 metres, three trains beneath him, he shot them up; in the process, his aircraft was hit by ground fire. Shortly after, Capt. Brown was ordered to attack a subsidiary target, the Sorpe dam. The dam was concealed by a swirling mist and he had difficulty getting his line and height right for the attack. In all, Capt. Brown made eight perilously low runs (at 18 metres) without finding his opportunity to release his bomb. But, after dropping incendiaries to illuminate his target, he made his final run. At 3:20 a.m., he dropped his bomb and signalled, "Goner." His Lancaster was shot up behind the wireless operator's seat and the fuselage was riddled like a sieve where a shell had exploded, piercing the bomber's skin with shrapnel. Of the 19 aircraft that took off, only 11 managed to press home their attacks, and eight failed to return; 53 men were killed and three became prisoners of war. Kenneth William Brown was born on Aug. 20, 1920, at Moose Jaw, Sask. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and, after getting his wings, was posted to a Lancaster bomber squadron, in February, 1943. A year later, he was posted as an instructor to the Lancaster Finishing School and served with other RAF units until 1945, when he returned to Canada. After receiving a permanent commission in the RCAF, he completed his service at Watson Lake and Churchill, flying a variety of aircraft. He also flew in Canada's first jet aerobatic team at Edmonton. In 1968, he left the RCAF with the rank of squadron leader and joined the air section of Canada's Department of Transport. He spent 12 years there before retiring.
Many thanks for posting this, Brad. I believe that Ken Brown passed away on Christmas Eve (?), and therefore UK newspapers did not really report this very well over the Christmas period. Two small points to add to your excellent summary - the Brown crew was all-NCO ( and proud of it ! ), and Ken was awarded the highly-coveted CGM for the Dams Raid. Ken Brown was the last surviving Dambuster pilot - they are now all gone.
I guess there are some cherished Dambuster myths appearing there, again, Ta152. For starters, the crews were NOT 'hand-picked' by Gibson. This has been repeated ad infinitum since first appearing in Brickhill's book. Many of the pilots were, for sure, but Gibson just didn't have time to select all of them and in any case many of his choices wouldn't have been available. Even Gibson's own crew were a 'scratch' crew with whom ( with one exception, Hutchison ), he hadn't flown operationally before. 'Reservations about Canadian aircrew' ? I've never read this before in any source about 617. On the contrary, he had a very high opinion of Commonwealth and US airmen, finding their more relaxed social attitudes refreshing. To quote from Morris' definitive biography : - 'Gibson's relations with ( Dominion aircrew ) were often strong. He enjoyed their openness and was moved by the fact that they had volunteered to come' ( p.109 ). And finally, if Gibson were unsure of Canadian aircrew, he surely wouldn't have had Harlo Taerum as his navigator and George Deering as his front gunner ( both were RCAF men )? Doesn't ring true, does it ? ( Actually, this is one of the reasons I find the Dambuster story so interesting. A bit like 'Lawrence of Arabia' it has it's own historiography of myth, distortion and repetition ).
Just watched the Channel 5 Documentary Dambusters Revealed which featured interviews with Ken Brown and other Dambuster veterans.He describes in detail his attack on the Dam and his life in 617 Squadron. A sad loss of a brave man. Paul
