65th Anniversary of the Dambusters Raid

[J.O.]

Friday was the 65th anniversary of the famous RAF raid known as Operation Chastise on several dams in central Germany. The BBC had the cameras rolling in the Derwent Valley today as a Lancaster bomber flew several passes through the valley, simulating the practice passes they flew prior to commencing the raid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7404554.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7405514.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7404515.stm

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20080516/vide...te-49bfa63.html

The story is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise

[Kip Powick]

Thanks for all the links Jeff...enjoyed seeing them all. Must have seen the movie about 6 times.......I think the movie version about how they figured out the altitude using lights was the film directors licence to create!!

[J.O.]

My understanding of it is that they did in fact use angled spot beams to determine the correct altitude as they flew across the lake on the way to the dam. The bombs would only work when they were dropped from 60 ft. Any higher and they would come apart when they hit the water. Any lower and they wouldn't skip off the water and jump the torpedo nets. When the light beams came together on the water, they knew they were at 60 ft.

It was an extremely difficult and dangerous mission, flown at no higher than 200 ft agl for the entire trip. Two of the aircraft were lost due to collisions with power lines on the way in, and one returned to base when they descended so low that the bomb was knocked off the aircraft when they momentarily touched down on in the English Channel!

[Kip Powick]

My understanding of it is that they did in fact use angled spot beams to determine the correct altitude as they flew across the lake on the way to the dam. The bombs would only work when they were dropped from 60 ft. Any higher and they would come apart when they hit the water. Any lower and they wouldn't skip off the water and jump the torpedo nets. When the light beams came together on the water, they knew they were at 60 ft.

Oh, I don't have any problem with the fact that it was actually done the way the link/history indicates.

However, in the DAMBUSTERS movie, one of the pilots got the "brilliant" idea by watching a stage show during a visit to a theatre in London when he saw two spotlights converging on the female actor on the stage!!!( film directors creative imagination for movie effect?)

[J.O.]

Okay, now I understand what you were trying to say. I don't know the history of it well enough to know if that particular aspect was an imbellishment. But I know someone who probably does, so I'm going to ask him.

[Kip Powick]

Here ya go Jeff............. from the movie archives.............under "goofs" re the Dam Buster movie.

Factual errors: The system devised to get the height right was, in the film, said to have been thought of by the 617 Sqn crews following a visit to the theater. In reality it was devised by the 'boffins' at Farnborough.

[Cargo Agent]

Oh, I don't have any problem with the fact that it was actually done the way the link/history indicates.

However, in the DAMBUSTERS movie, one of the pilots got the "brilliant" idea by watching a stage show during a visit to a theatre in London when he saw two spotlights converging on the female actor on the stage!!!( film directors creative imagination for movie effect?)

I was an avid reader of 617 Squadron when I was younger and read anything and everything I could find on the unit.

(deleted oops, guess I'm mixing up fiction with reality)

After the raid Gibson wrote "Enemy Coast Ahead" about his wartime career and was sent on a US tour to show the flag. He returned to ops in 1944 and was killed while acting as Master Bomber while flying a Mosquito. He was 26 years old.

Thanks for the links.