Operation Castigate

Operation Castigate
Part of the Asianna and the Pacific Campaign of the Second Europan War
Sơn La Dam destroyed after the breaching.
Date 15 May 1942 - 17 May 1942 Location Sơn La, Hòa Bình, and Sesan rivers, Quenmin Result Lucian victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Empire of Quenmin
Commanders and leaders
Guy Todd	Lâm Ngọc Cảnh
Strength
20 Lancaster bombers	8th Air Corps (defending the three dams)
Casualties and losses
8 bombers shot down 53 aircrew killed	3 dams destroyed 300 garrisoned troops killed 2,750 civilians killed (including labourers, mostly Lorican).

Operation Castigate was an attack on Quenminese dams carried out on 15–17 May 1942 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, later called the Dam Busters, using a purpose-built "bouncing bomb" developed by Colin Willson. The Hòa Bình dam, Sesan dam, and the Sơn La dam were breached and destroyed, causing catastrophic flooding of the Sơn La valley and of villages in the Sesan valley. All three hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 2750 civilians – about 1,000 Quenminese and 1,750 mainly Lorican forced labourers – died. Despite rapid repairs by the Quenminese, production of electricity did not return until winter. The breaching of the three dams also wiped out about 2/6th's of the Quenminese War Production. Some factories were rebuilt, but did not produce expected outcomes before the operation took place.