Harold Brownlow Martin and finally Avro Lancasters, they completed their tour in October 1942, Martin being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Martin's penchant for low flying contributed to his selection in March 1943 for assignment to the newly formed No. 617 Squadron under Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Martin took part in the "Dambusters" raid on the night of 16/17 May 1943. He piloted the Lancaster bomber AJ-P "Popsie" (officially known as AJ-P "Peter") in the first formation, which was assigned to attack the Möhne Dam in Western Germany. Martin's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire during the attack, but he successfully accomplished
Victory Bomber role. The project was studied in detail, the bomber proceeding to wind tunnel testing while the earthquake bomb to equip it was tested on representative models. The Air Ministry chose not to proceed with development of the Victory Bomber, terminating it in May 1941. No prototypes were built, but the Avro Lancaster filled a similar role and was fitted with a similar armament array. The Lancaster used Wallis' Bouncing bomb during Operation Chastise to perform the famous "Dambusters" mission. During the early stages of the Second World War, Wallis performed extensive studies of the German war economy and industry, concluding