Dambusters Fly Again
1 x 120 Documentary, 2011
In 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in history – they destroyed two gigantic dams in Germany’s industrial heartland with a revolutionary weapon, the bouncing bomb. The brainchild of British engineer Barnes Wallis, the five-ton bomb ‘bounced’ across the surface of the water like a skipping stone before coming to a gentle rest next to dam wall – the point at which the bomb’s blast would do the most damage. The brave airmen who used this unconventional weapon to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley became known as the Dambusters. The raid itself has become part of military folklore, celebrated for the ingenuity of the bomb’s inventor as well as the skill and bravery of the pilots. Now, almost seventy years later, a team of engineers, explosives experts and aircrew attempt to recreate the famous raid. But this is no dramatic reconstruction. The team actually build their own 130-foot wide dam and modify a WWII era aircraft to carry a spinning ‘bomb’ the size of an oil drum. Highly skilled pilots must then fly at a mere 60 feet above the surface of the lake and drop the bomb at precisely the right moment to hit their target. Then they blow the dam to smithereens.
1 x 120 Documentary, 2011
In 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in history – they destroyed two gigantic dams in Germany’s industrial heartland with a revolutionary weapon, the bouncing bomb. The brainchild of British engineer Barnes Wallis, the five-ton bomb ‘bounced’ across the surface of the water like a skipping stone before coming to a gentle rest next to dam wall – the point at which the bomb’s blast would do the most damage. The brave airmen who used this unconventional weapon to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley became known as the Dambusters. The raid itself has become part of military folklore, celebrated for the ingenuity of the bomb’s inventor as well as the skill and bravery of the pilots. Now, almost seventy years later, a team of engineers, explosives experts and aircrew attempt to recreate the famous raid. But this is no dramatic reconstruction. The team actually build their own 130-foot wide dam and modify a WWII era aircraft to carry a spinning ‘bomb’ the size of an oil drum. Highly skilled pilots must then fly at a mere 60 feet above the surface of the lake and drop the bomb at precisely the right moment to hit their target. Then they blow the dam to smithereens.
