The Dam Busters...............

In the early years of the Second World War, aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis is struggling to develop a means of attacking Germany's dams in the hope of crippling German heavy industry. Working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production, as well as doing his own job at Vickers, he works feverishly to make practical his theory of a bouncing bomb which would skip over the water to avoid protective torpedo nets. When it came into contact with the dam, it would sink before exploding, making it much more destructive. Wallis calculates that the aircraft will have to fly extremely low (150 feet (46 m)) to enable the bombs to skip over the water correctly, but when he takes his conclusions to the Ministry, he is told that lack of production capacity means they cannot go ahead with his proposals.
Angry and frustrated, Wallis secures an interview with Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris, the head of RAF Bomber Command, who at first is reluctant to take the idea seriously. Eventually, however, he is convinced and takes the idea to the Prime Minister, who authorises the project.
Bomber Command forms a special squadron of Lancaster bombers, 617 Squadron, to be commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, and tasked to fly the mission. He recruits experienced crews, especially those with low-altitude flight experience. While they train for the mission, Wallis continues his development of the bomb but has problems, such as the bomb breaking apart upon hitting the water. This requires the drop altitude to be reduced to 60 feet (18 m). With only a few weeks to go, he succeeds in fixing the problems and the mission can go ahead.
The bombers attack the dams. Several Lancasters and their crews are lost, but the overall mission succeeds and two dams are breached.(Wikipedia) This is a brief explanation of the film "The Dam Busters".............it is a true story. I would love to see it remade. Actually a lot of WW2 movies should be remade. To many now its ancient history but to some its their own story. To people like me, they are stories we grew up on told by those who were there.





Today my cousin Mark went to Derwent Water to watch the historic fly over by the only "Lancaster" still able to fly.........to celebrate 70 year anniversary of the raid by the Dam Busters. One man still lives at the age of 90. God Bless him.
Pictures from the Daily Mail




I can only imagine how moving an experience that was, brings chills and tears for me to even think of it.



How very young they all were. Todays generations can hardly imagine that this was all so new, this act of flying. No jet engines yet and certainly no technology as we know it. These men flew by sheer guts and skill. They were innovative and brave and knew what they were fighting for, unlike many modern conflicts.