No. 5 Group RAF effective squadrons of Bomber Command, personified by No 617 Squadron the "Dambusters", formed from 5 Group aircrew in March 1943. Most of the group's main airfields were around Lincoln, including RAF Scampton. By the end of the war the group had grown to 15 squadrons. The group was noted for its high accuracy bombing, being involved the sinking of the "Tirpitz" in November 1944 and the shattering of the strategic Bielefeld railway viaduct in March 1945. The Group introduced new weapons operationally, including Barnes Wallis's "bouncing" and his Tallboy and Grand Slam "earthquake" bombs. The group was disbanded on 15
David Cooper (RAF officer) He was appointed an Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 Birthday Honours. David Cooper (RAF officer) Air Vice Marshal David John Edwin Cooper CBE is a senior Royal Air Force officer. Cooper was commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 27 March 1988. He became officer commanding No. 617 Squadron RAF in April 2008. He went on to be Station Commander RAF Marham in November 2011, Director Air Operations for NATO in November 2013 and Joint Force Air Component Commander in Afghanistan in November 2014. He was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service for