Most Daring Raid

[16KJV11]

What was the most daring raid be it by land, air or sea of WWII?

 

[delcyros]

Operation Rheinübung and the brief but exciting hunt for the Bismarck comes to mind. That raid failed admirably

 

[comiso90]

... Otto Skorzeny rescuing Mussolini....

.Doolittle Raid

assassination of yamaoto

The Cockleshell Heroes

Operation Jericho

Dam Busters

Raid at Cabanatuan

.

.

 

[ToughOmbre]

Doolittle's Tokyo Raid

Raid on Cabanatuan POW camp

TO

 

[pbfoot]

The Italian frogmen who severly damaged RN Med fleet in Alexandria

 

[comiso90]

swordfish raid on Taranto

 

[Maharg]

ZForce attacking Singapore Harbour. In 1943 some ambitious officers of the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) wanted to strike the Japanese in their secure strongholds. 28 year old Captain Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders teamed up with 61 year old Australian Bill Reynolds and hatched a plan to attack the Japanese in Singapore harbour where they would launch collapsible canoes carrying commandos who would attach limpet mines to the Japanese shipping.

"Z" Special Unit in Australia during WW2

 

[comiso90]

ZForce attacking Singapore Harbour. In 1943 some ambitious officers of the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) wanted to strike the Japanese in their secure strongholds. 28 year old Captain Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders teamed up with 61 year old Australian Bill Reynolds and hatched a plan to attack the Japanese in Singapore harbour where they would launch collapsible canoes carrying commandos who would attach limpet mines to the Japanese shipping.

"Z" Special Unit in Australia during WW2

The Cockleshell Heroes

 

[delcyros]

U-47 attacking the RN home fleet harbour of Scapa Flow and sinking the BB HMS Royal Oak should count as well.

 

[Watanbe]

The daring of the Dambusters raid has always intrigued me. The Swordfish attack on Taranto was also an excellent example of daring and skill.

 

[Maharg]

comiso90, different raid M8. The 'Cockleshell' raid was in Europe. Similar but not the same.

 

[Graeme]

The Bruneval raid.

 

[16KJV11]

Dare I say: Pearl Harbor?

 

[ToughOmbre]

Dare I say: Pearl Harbor?

You're right. That might be the most daring raid of all. Surprised none of us thought of it sooner, except for the fact most people don't think of Pearl Harbor as a "raid".

Two hours that changed the world.

TO

 

[delcyros]

PH was a raid, no doubt and a very influential one. But does that alone qualifies? The assmebling of houndreds of strike planes make me think that PH was not a specificly raid which fullfills the main requirement of "most daring raid"- That are the odds working against the raiders. In Pearl Harbour the odds were heavily favouring the raiders instead.
A good example for a very daring raid are the italian attacks on the well guarded Alexandria harbour or the use of minisubs against Tirpitz in within it´s heavily guarded fjord.

 

[ToughOmbre]

PH was a raid, no doubt and a very influential one. But does that alone qualifies? The assmebling of houndreds of strike planes make me think that PH was not a specificly raid which fullfills the main requirement of "most daring raid"- That are the odds working against the raiders. In Pearl Harbour the odds were heavily favouring the raiders instead.

How loosely or tightly do we want to define "raid"?

The odds were not favoring the Japanese, certainly not "heavily favoring". They thought that they could possibly lose 50% of the attacking force. American unpreparedness and incompetancy worked in the Japanese favor. If the Japanese plan was anything, it was definitely daring.

TO

 

[ccheese]

How about the British commando raid on the French village of Bruneval ?
The 'Brits" ran in and swiped a Wurzburg radar from the Germans !

Charles

 

[delcyros]

PH had a fairly well laid out plan to base on. The airgroups were properly protected, the aircrew esspecially trained and the loss rates were that high because there was no experience in such attacks from the japanese position. Add the element of surprise, which was assured with the first action in a new war and You have Your odds. The japanese outnumbered the US at Pearl Harbour in terms of planes, they always had more fighters in the air (best hunting ground: over enemy airfields), US AAA was without proper tactics and N-squared law simply works in this condition. Therefor I wouldn´t judge this as a most daring raid. Had the japanese simply been replaced by the italiens (assuming they had carriers), the result would have been comparable. In a very daring raid, nobody could be sure that the strike works out as one might whish.

 

[Downwind.Maddl-Land]

Hey Chaps, I'll fully admit that I am 100% biased but the Dams Raid has just got to get the nod. It's got all the ingredients:

Inspired idea taken to masterful engineering conclusion

Against 'official' indifference :

Then the bluff called, leading to short timescale in which to mount the raid

Formation of specialist unit – multi-national to boot

Intensive training using specialist tactics, now against the clock

Frenetic and ingenious workarounds (in typical Brit fashion I have to say!) to make the raid viable: spotlights for height, the Dann sight (or bits of string and chinagraph marks!), roller maps ("go make your own, Carruthers – there's a good chap!") and VHF radios purloined from the 'fighter boys'

Magnificent leadership; whatever people now say about Gibson he was a magnificent Leader; reminder: he was a Wg Cdr [Lt Col] but only 24 when he led the raid

The dog! (who drinks beer but becomes one of the casualties – sniff; OK I like dogs!)

Brilliant execution. Low level: 100' transit, at night, no radar or even radalt, 60' weapons release height:

Phenomenal bravery 1: Most realising that would be a 'Shaky do' – but they all went anyway

Phenomenal bravery 2: Pounding up to a heavily defended target at 60', at night, no aids, lights showing, in a Heavy Bomber, shaking like a wild thing

Phenomenal bravery 3: Doing it again, and again until the job's done – with the defenders rapidly learning 'the form'.

Phenomenal bravery 4: Other crews going in to DELIBERATELY DRAW THE FLAK OFF THEIR COLLEAGUES

Overall successful conclusion 2/3 objectives achieved; don't anyone DARE try the trendy-lefty response of : "oh it wasn't really a successful raid 'cos the 3rd dam wasn't breached and the others were repaired in 4/5 months….". Because I will personally visit you in the wee small hours and put a bat up your nightshirt!

Unfortunately, heroic losses for an exceptionally heroic mission ​

Gentlemen, I rest my case.

Questions anyone?

 

[ccheese]

Hmmmm. Methinks the lad had a valid point. However, could the chap be a
bit biased ? The defense has rested..... anyone rising to cross examine ?

Charles