In probably one of the best known and most widely told stories of the Second World War, nineteen Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, raided the great hydroelectric dams of western Germany in May 1943. Each Lancaster was equipped with the revolutionary bouncing bomb designed by the inventor Barnes Wallis, creator of the Wellington bomber. Designed to skip over the surface of the water, the bombs rotated at 500 rpm. They had to be dropped at a speed of 240 miles an hour and were set to explode while sinking to the base of the dam's retaining wall. It took five attempts to breach the Moehne Dam. Gibson then led the three remaining Lancasters to attack the Eder Dam. The unleashed floodwaters inundated the Ruhr valley below, killing thousands and causing German industry to grind to a halt. Eight of the nineteen aircraft involved in the raid failed to return to base. Wing Commander Gibson, only twenty-four at the time of the mission, was awarded the Victoria Cross. He was killed in action sixteen months later. In later years the strategic impact of the raid was deemed to be less than was thought at the time, but the fillip it gave to civilian and Service morale in wartime Britain was incalculable. In 1954 the raid was immortalized in The Dambusters, starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd, who contributes a foreword to the book. A box office success, the film has become a classic, the music score being one of the best known of all time.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
The daring attack on the Ruhr dams in May 1943 by RAF Lancasters of 617 Squadron remains one of the greatest feats of arms of the 20th century. It had all the ingredients of a classic adventure story – a miracle weapon designed to destroy an indestructible target in a raid carried out by an elite bomber squadron led by a highly decorated young wing commander. This lavishly illustrated account tells the full story, including a chapter on the epic 1954 film The Dam Busters, and fully detailed appendices.
About the Author
Jonathan Falconer has written widely on RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. His published works on the subject include Stirling at War (1991), RAF Bomber Airfields of World War Two (1992) Stirling Wings (1995), Bomber Command in Fact, Film and Fiction (Sutton,(1997), and The Bomber Command Handbook 1939-1945 )Sutton, 1998), Jonathan lives in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dam Busters,
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This review is from: The Dam Busters (Hardcover)
Saw this book during a visit to Fred Sutherland's house (he was the front gunner of AJ-N on the Dambusters raid) in Alberta, Canada and decided if it was good enough for one of the Dambusters it must be good. I was very pleased with this book as it gave tons of information about the background and the actual raid. I would recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about this extremely famous mission.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: The Dam Busters: Breaking the Great Dams of Western Germany, 16-17 May 1943 (Paperback)
Jonathan Falconer's account is textually concise and straighforward but its great strengths are (a) being fully up-to-date with the now available facts and (b) generously providing technical details, key biographies, and especially vivid photographs and maps from both British and German sources. This combination makes you feel you are there with the team. A recommended read which includes illustrated references to the famous film with Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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upkeep weapon, dams raid, bouncing bomb, bomb aimer, dam wall, flak gunners, enemy coast, light flak Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bomber Command, Guy Gibson, Barnes Wallis, Ruhr Valley, The Dam Busters, Air Ministry, Operation Chastise, North Sea, Crown Copyright, Chief of the Air Staff, Enemy Coast Ahead, Second World War, Les Munro, Mick Martin, Victoria Cross, David Shannon, Avro Lancaster, David Maltby, Richard Todd, Harold Wilson, Chesil Beach, Les Knight, Bruce Robertson, Ken Brown, Henry Maudslay Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
upkeep weapon, dams raid, bouncing bomb, bomb aimer, dam wall, flak gunners, enemy coast, light flak Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bomber Command, Guy Gibson, Barnes Wallis, Ruhr Valley, The Dam Busters, Air Ministry, Operation Chastise, North Sea, Crown Copyright, Chief of the Air Staff, Enemy Coast Ahead, Second World War, Les Munro, Mick Martin, Victoria Cross, David Shannon, Avro Lancaster, David Maltby, Richard Todd, Harold Wilson, Chesil Beach, Les Knight, Bruce Robertson, Ken Brown, Henry Maudslay Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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