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
German submarine U-617 wolfpacks, namely, She ran aground on 12 September 1943 at position near Melilla after a sustained air attack by Leigh light-equipped RAF Wellington bombers from 179 Squadron. All crew members were able to evacuate the stricken sub and subsequently interned by the Spanish authorities. They were later repatriated to Germany. The abandoned submarine was then finished off with combined RAF Hudson and FAA Swordfish aircraft from Gibraltar and gunfire from and . German submarine U-617 German submarine "U-617" was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" for service during World War II. She was laid down on 31