A service and fly-past has been held to mark the 65th anniversary

of the World  War II Dambusters mission.
 
A Lancaster bomber flew three times  over Derwent Reservoir in Derbyshire,

which was used by the original  pilots to train ahead of their famous raid.

In 1943, the RAF's 617 Squadron set out to destroy three dams in Germany's Ruhr valley.

They managed to breach two, giving a boost to Britain's war effort.
 
The service remembered the eight aircraft and 53 crew who were lost.

On 16 May  1943, 19 aircraft set out to destroy the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams

in Germany's  industrial heartland. They used specially-designed drum-shaped bouncing

bombs which skimmed across the water, rolled down the dam wall and exploded at depth.

Only 11 of the aircraft returned from the perilous  low-level mission in which they flew at just 150ft

all the way from England before descending to 60ft  for the bombing run to defeat the German radar.

(Photos courtesy of Terry Hetherington)