Les Knight Explained

Les Knight
Birth Date:7 March 1921
Birth Place:Camberwell, Australia
Death Place:Den Ham, Netherlands
Allegiance:Australia
Branch:Royal Australian Air Force
Serviceyears:1941–1943
Rank:Flight Lieutenant
Unit:No. 617 Squadron RAF
Battles:
Awards:Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches

Leslie Gordon Knight, (7 March 1921 – 16 September 1943) was an Australian bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1943 for his role in Operation Chastise while flying with No. 617 Squadron RAF. Knight's crew, flying in N-Nan, attacked, hit and breached the Eder Dam, the second dam to be attacked, after his comrades had previously scored one hit and one miss.

Knight was killed later the same year while taking part in Operation Garlic – the Dortmund–Ems Canal raid.[1] After his Lancaster's engines were damaged by clipping a tree while flying at low level, he was able to allow his entire crew to bail out but was unable to land the aircraft without crashing. He is buried at Den Ham General Cemetery in the Netherlands.[2]

In the 1955 film The Dam Busters, Knight was played by Denys Graham.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The 617 Sqn raid on Ladbergen in 1943. Bomber History. 6 February 2018.
  2. Web site: Knight, Leslie Gordon. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 6 February 2018.