Background
He was born on Long Island and grew up in Brooklyn.
He was born on Long Island and grew up in Brooklyn.
As a teenager, he worked as a lifeguard at Coney Island and learned to fly. In May 1941, months before the United States would enter the war, McCarthy joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. McCarthy was most known for flying with Number.
617 Squadron Royal Air Force, including Operation Chastise (the Dams Raid) of 1943.
By the time of the raid he had already taken part in thirty bombing sorties over Germany, including three over Berlin. McCarthy and his crew flew with the second wave of Lancasters, but he had to take a spare aircraft after his failed.
T-Tommy was the only aircraft from the 2nd wave to attack a target - the Sorpe Dam, which had to be attacked with an Upkeep bomb directly without it bouncing. Despite hitting the target, the dam was not breached.
He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in 1943 for service with Number.
He was mentioned but not portrayed in the 1955 film The Dam Busters, which focuses mostly on the 1st wave that breached the Moehne and Eder dams. McCarthy is also fondly mentioned throughout "Johnny" Johnson"s autobiography "The Last Dambuster".
