These are the ten questions from War Dossier daily challenge #43, of 4 November 2026, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. Today's challenge is a different one and it is free to play.
Credit: Flying Officer Jerry Fray, RAF No. 542 Squadron · Licence: Dominio público (Gobierno del Reino Unido, obra anterior a 1957) · View at original source
The dossier entry: Operación Chastise: los Dambusters
On the night of 16-17 May 1943, the newly formed No. 617 Squadron RAF, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, attacked the dams of the Ruhr valley with the bouncing bomb Upkeep, devised by engineer Barnes Wallis. Released at very low altitude with backspin that let it skip across the water, the bomb breached the Möhne and Eder dams, flooding German industrial valleys. The operation cost the lives of 53 of the 133 aircrew who took part.
Challenge answers
1 / 10
Which RAF squadron did the aircrews belong to that attacked the Ruhr dams in May 1943?
No. 617 Squadron
No. 100 Squadron
No. 9 Squadron
No. 44 Squadron
No. 617 Squadron, formed specifically for the mission, became known as the Dambusters after the operation's success.
2 / 10
What did General Tomitaro Horii order after the failure of the Japanese offensive toward Port Moresby?
The withdrawal of the remaining forces toward the northern coast of Papua
A new frontal assault on Port Moresby
The unconditional surrender of his detachment
A withdrawal to Rabaul island by air
Unable to continue the advance, Horii ordered his troops to withdraw toward the north coast.
3 / 10
Which country's fighter was the Hellcat that dominated the Philippine Sea skies in 1944?
United States
Japan
United Kingdom
Australia
The Grumman F6F Hellcat was an American fighter, built by Grumman for the U.S. Navy.
4 / 10
Of these two German experimental tank destroyers, which one carries a larger-calibre gun, the Ardelt Waffenträger or the Sturer Emil?
The Sturer Emil
The Ardelt Waffenträger
They carry the same calibre
Both carry a calibre larger than 150 mm
The Sturer Emil carries a 128mm gun, larger in calibre than the Ardelt Waffenträger's 88mm.
5 / 10
What specific action did the Japanese detachment carry out when occupying Makin?
It destroyed the local radio station
It built a complete airstrip
It established a prisoner camp
It installed a submarine base
The Japanese detachment limited itself to destroying the local radio station and leaving a minimal garrison.
6 / 10
Decades after World War II, in what region did the SU-100 keep fighting in the hands of its Arab operators?
In the Middle East, in conflicts like the Suez Crisis, the Yom Kippur War
In Southeast Asia, during the Vietnam War
In the Horn of Africa, during the Ogaden War
In the Balkans, during the Yugoslav wars
Czechoslovak-built SU-100s served with Arab countries in Middle Eastern conflicts such as Suez, the Six-Day War, and Yom Kippur.
7 / 10
Where and when was the unconditional German surrender formally ratified before the USSR?
In Berlin-Karlshorst, on the night of 8-9 May 1945
In Reims, on 7 May 1945
In Moscow, on 1 May 1945
In Prague, on 11 May 1945
The formal ratification before the USSR was signed in Berlin-Karlshorst on the night of 8-9 May 1945, after the earlier signing at Reims.
8 / 10
In which decade did most of the independence processes that turned the British Empire's colonial armies into national forces take place?
In the 1960s
In the 1930s
In the 1980s
In the 1910s
Most African colonies of the British Empire gained independence in the 1960s, inheriting their armed forces.
9 / 10
How many coastal artillery batteries did Corregidor have in total?
23 batteries with 56 guns and mortars
5 batteries with 10 guns
50 batteries with 200 guns
2 batteries with 4 guns
Corregidor had 23 coastal batteries with 56 guns and mortars, including two 12-inch guns with a range of about 29,000 yards, plus 13 separate anti-aircraft batteries.
10 / 10
In terms of merchantmen lost, how does the PQ-17 convoy disaster (July 1942) contrast with what happened in the Barents Sea at the end of that same year, when the escort protected another Soviet-bound convoy?
Here many merchantmen were lost, while in the Barents Sea none were lost
Here no merchantman was lost, while in the Barents Sea all of them were sunk
In both cases the entire merchant fleet was lost
In both cases no merchantman was lost
Against the 24 merchantmen lost here, in the Battle of the Barents Sea in December 1942 the escorted convoy did not lose a single ship.
Today's challenge is another ten questions. No sign-up, nothing to install.
