John Leslie Munro, the Last of the World War II ‘Dambuster’ Pilots, Dies at 96 [View all]

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DAN BILEFSKY
AUG. 4, 2015

On the night of May 16, 1943, a squadron of bombers set out from Britain to conduct a series of strikes against heavily fortified dams in the Ruhr Valley of Germany, using bombs that bounced on the water before exploding. Of the 133 who started the mission, only 77 returned.

The last surviving pilot of those who came back was John Leslie Munro, who died on Tuesday at 96 in Auckland, New Zealand.

His death was met with tributes across the globe, including in Britain and in his native New Zealand, for his role in the daring “Dambusters” mission that struck at the industrial heartland of the Nazi war effort and lifted Allied morale.

“Our New Zealand Bomber Command Association patron and well-known Dambuster pilot, Les Munro, passed away this morning following a spell in hospital with heart problems,” the New Zealand Bomber Command Association said on its Facebook page.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/world/europe/les-munro-dambusters-pilot-dies.html?_r=0