The Dam Busters is a 1951 non-fiction book by Paul Brickhill about Royal Air Force 617 Squadron originally commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson V.C. during World War II. The squadron became known as the "Dam Busters" because of Operation Chastise, a mission using highly specialised bombs to destroy Ruhr dams in Germany.
The book also covers the subsequent history of 617 Squadron, as an elite squadron specialising in attacking difficult targets with outsize weapons and precision techniques. Among Gibson's successors as commander was Group Captain Leonard Cheshire V.C., and the book describes Cheshire's unorthodox leadership style and innovative target marking techniques.