IT was officially called Operation Chastise and it became one of the great stories to emerge from the Second World War – or any war.

No. 617 Squadron, better known as the Dambusters, attacked dams in Nazi Germany using the "bouncing bomb", and became the stuff of legend.

Today that legend was recalled as it was announced that the last of the Dambusters' pilots, Squadron Leader Les Munro, had died aged 96.

It would be wrong to look back with mere romance at the Dambusters' mission. Indeed, it should not be forgotten that an estimated 1,650 people lost their lives in the floods which resulted from the breached dams – more than half of them allied prisoners of war and forced labourers. An incredible achievement but a human tragedy on an immense scale too.

Contrary to popular perception, Operation Chastise also failed to have the military value it was initially thought to have had, with full water output and electricity supplies quickly restored by the Germans.

Nevertheless, the Dambusters' heroics, and the ingenuity of Barnes Wallis, gave British morale a major boost at a crucial time.

As was so typical of his generation, Les Munro was, by all accounts, a humble man who disliked talking of his time with the RAF. It was simply his wartime duty and, if he "copped it, so be it."

Of the 133 Allied aircrew who took part in those raids, 53 men were killed and three were captured.

Les Munro's death leaves just two survivors from the Dambusters' crews. His passing is another reminder of the debt we owe him and those who served alongside him.