As the aircraft approached Swinemunde the skies where clear, no enemy aircraft were encountered but the flak was some of the heaviest the crews had ever endured, very few planes would return unscathed. During his run in Sqn Ldr John Powell took a direct hit to his port fuel tank, as flames engulfed the bomber the wing failed and broke off and the doomed Lancaster dived into woods near the target. Despite reports of a parachute, all seven crewmen died, Powell and his crew had the distinction of being No 617 Squadrons last operational casualties of WWII. Over the target bombing was accurate with several crews reporting direct hits on the Lutzow, and harbour installations were also severely damaged. Once back at Woodhall Spa No 617 Sq was removed from the operations board at No 5 Group, unable to field enough serviceable aircraft to be deemed a viable force. This was the first time since their formation that No 617 squadron could not be called upon, and an indication of the intensity of the flak over Swinemunde. However with Herculean effort, ground crew had them back operational by the 19th. There was disbelief among crews when post raid photos showed Lutzow apparently untouched following the raid, but the truth of the matter was revealed when British troops entered Swinemunde. Three Tallboys had indeed found their mark, passing through the deck and the ship before detonating in the keel. The force of the blasts had completely blown open the hull from stem to stern and reduced the inside of the hull to twisted scrap. The ship had settled on the harbour floor, her decks, guns and superstructure still above water. In a typical attempt at upmanship the Royal Navy promptly announced that the Lutzow was not in fact sunk, as she had not slipped completely beneath the waves. Following a raid by 869 aircraft on April 18th, No 617 Sq flew to Heligoland on the 19th to bomb coastal batteries and an airfield. What little the previous raid had missed No 617 destroyed, deploying the last 6 Grandslams expended during the European war. On April 25th, sixteen No 617 Lancasters ( a mixture of standard and B 1 Specials) all carrying Tallboys, joined a force of 375 aircraft for an attack on Hitlers mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden and the nearby SS barracks at Obersaltzburg. Although snow and low cloud made target identification difficult, damage was severe and wide-spread. This proved to be No 617 squadrons last mission of the European campaign, notable for the fact that within Flt Lt Ian Marshalls crew was Flg Off Len Sumpter who had been Bomb Aimer on Dave Shannons crew, on the squadrons first mission to the dams. Fauquier did not lead the final raid having been ordered to cease operational flying, much to his disappointment. With the war all but over his work was done and he was stood down as 617 Sq CO, replaced by Wg Cdr John Evelyn Grindon, the squadrons last wartime Commander. Fauquier was awarded a fourth DSO and re-instated to the rank of Air Commodore, a rank he had gladly relinquished in order to lead and fly with No 617 Sq. Although the war in Europe was clearly over, the war against Japan still raged. No 617 and No 9 Squadron were slated to form Tiger Force. Flying from Burma they would supplement the USAAF assault on the Japanese mainland, using Tallboy and Grandslam in a low-level tactical support role. On May 8th, VE Day was officially declared, spontaneous parties broke out the length and breadth of Britain and Europe. No 617 Sq were not celebrating however, as they joined hundreds of aircraft on flights to the continent to repatriate former POWs. Operation Exodus was interspersed with continental cross country flights to give groundcrews an opportunity to see first hand the results of five years of bombing that they had helped make possible, these flights were known as 'Cooks Tours'. At the end of May preparations for Tiger Force began with a move to RAF Waddington.