May 16, 1943: The Dambusters Raid

May 16, 1943: Britain's Royal Air Force carries out Operation Chastise, an attempt to bomb dams, factories and mines in the Ruhr and Eder valleys of western Nazi Germany. It became known as the Dambusters Raid.

No. 617 Squadron used a purpose-built "bouncing bomb," to attack the various facilities. They lost 53 men, but killed about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced laborers, most of them captured Soviets. It took the Nazis 4 months to get everything back up to its pre-bombing capacity, and that time cost them badly in the war effort.

In 1955, the raid was commemorated by the film The Dam Busters, whose march became a popular tune, and whose climactic sequence was copied in 1977, for the trench run of the Death Star in Star Wars.

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May 16, 1943 was a Sunday. Dan Coats, a Republican Senator from Indiana, was born on this day.

These games were played in what would later be called Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Yankees won the opener, 7-3. Charlie Keller and Rollie Hemsley hit home runs in support of Spurgeon "Spud" Chandler. The Browns won the nightcap, 4-3. Floyd Baker singled home the winning run off Johnny Murphy in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field. Dem Bums won the 1st game, 4-0, as Ed Head pitched a 5-hit shutout. They also won the 2nd game, 3-2.

* A doubleheader was split at the Polo Grounds. The New York Giants won the 1st game, 3-1. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 2nd game, 2-1.

* The Boston Braves swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds at Braves Field. The Braves won the 1st game, 3-1; and the 2nd game, 6-1.

* A doubleheader was split at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1st game, 4-3 in 11 innings. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2nd game, 2-1.

* A doubleheader was split at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Philadelphia Athletics won the 1st game, 5-3. The Cleveland Indians won the 2nd game, 3-2.

* The Washington Senators swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. (It was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.) The Senators won the 1st game. 7-1; and the 2nd game, 10-6.

* A doubleheader was split at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Boston Red Sox won the opener, 4-2. The Chicago White Sox won the nightcap, 4-2.