The Dam Busters. (Powys) Traditional Cache
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Size: 
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The cache is located in the Elan valley in mid Wales.
History of the dams and area
Nant-y-Gro Dam 
The Elan Valley dams The Dambusters connection The
Nant-y-Gro dam A small tributary of the River Elan, which joined it
about half a mile upstream from the Caban Coch dam site, was to
earn a place in the story of one of the most famous episodes of the
Second World War, the Dambusters Raid of 1943.
A small masonry dam was built across the Nant-y-Gro stream in the
early stages of the construction of the dams and reservoirs in the
Elan Valley. This dam created a million gallon reservoir on the
rocky slopes above Caban Coch which was used to provide a water
supply fed by a pipeline to the navvies village below. The supply
also filled water storage tanks used by the locomotives, steam
cranes, stone cutting machines and other steam driven plant in the
two valleys.
After the completion of the waterworks scheme the Nant-y-Gro dam
was no longer needed, because the permanent stone-built Elan
Village which replaced the temporary navvies village obtained a
water supply under the new scheme. The Nant-y-Gro dam, however, was
still intact at the time of the war, when the government requested
the use of the 35 feet high dam for secret experiments. These were
linked to the wartime military objective of breaching a series of
large dams in the Ruhr Valley in Germany in order to disrupt
armaments production in the industrial heartlands of the Ruhr below
the dams.
A great deal of highly secret experimental work was being carried
under the direction of Barnes Wallis, an aeronautical engineer, and
the Nant-y-Gro dam, though much smaller, provided a valuable
testbed for devising a practical means of breaching the huge Mohne,
Eder and other masonry dams. A further advantage of the use of the
Elan Valley site was its remoteness, ideal for top secret trials
without fear of being observed.
The destruction of Nant-y-Gro dam Secret tests in the Elan Valley
The Nant-y-Gro experiments were preceded by trials on scale models
at government research stations near London, involving the
detonation of scaled amounts of explosives at varying distances
from the walls of the model dams. In May 1942 the first live
explosive tests on the dam itself were carried out in the Elan
Valley, watched by Barnes Wallis. These first attempts were
spectacular, but they did not seriously damage the Nant-y-Gro
dam.
After further development work, another attempt was made in July
1942. A mine was suspended at the optimum depth by scaffolding from
the mid point of the 180 feet long dam, and detonated remotely. A
huge central section of the dam wall was successfully blasted away
in a massive explosion.
This successful trial confirmed that it would be necessary to
deliver an explosive device under water and in direct contact with
a dam wall in order to do the job. It was known that all major dams
would be safeguarded by protective netting positioned to prevent
mines or torpedoes from reaching them, so the Elan Valley tests
were followed by an extensive programme of highly secret trials at
other locations in Britain which were to result in the famous
‘bouncing bomb’ devised by Barnes Wallis.
Nant-y-Gro dam today The trees take over The remains of the
Nant-y-Gro dam can still be seen today in much the same condition
as it was left after the secret wartime experiments of 1942.
A walk which passes the site is signposted from the Elan Valley
Visitor Centre, which is just below the Caban Coch dam. The storage
tank below the dam is easily recognisable but mature trees now make
the surviving parts of the original dam hard to spot.
The remaining portion of the right hand side of the Nant-y-Gro dam
wall is visible through the trees. The breaching of the German dams
in 1943 by the RAF led to the rapid introduction of improved
defensive measures to protect the Elan Valley dams and other large
dams elsewhere in Britain.
The central portion of the dam is at the level of the watercourse,
but the outer walls remain. Today, however, they are barely visible
among the trees on both sides of the stream.
The cache is located very near the broken dam and contains
a log book and lots of nice goodies. I hope you enjoy this cache
and the area as is one of my favourite places. Parking is available
at the Elan valley visitors center which opens at easter and closes
in October and well worth a visit,i park there free when it is
closed.
There is also abundant wildlife around the area inc red kites and
peregrine falcons and pied flycatchers. The area is covered in
conifer trees and ancient sissile oaks at the lower levels and
moorland up higher.
Click
here for the history.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Bire gur srapr,Ybbx haqre gur rkcybqrq cvrprf bs pbapergr.
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