Author: John Sweetman
Publisher: Hodder Christian Books
ISBN: 9781780972725
Category : Operation Chastise, 1943
Languages : en
Pages : 64
Book Description
The daring 'Dambusters' raid on 17th May 1943, when a special force of British Avro Mark III Lancasters attacked and destroyed the Eder Dams in Germany, was one of the iconic moments of World War II. 'The Dambusters Experience' tells the story behind the attack, and relives the attack itself under the leadership of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, as he and his men deployed, for the first time, the devastating new secret weapon developed by scientist Barnes Wallis.
The Official Dambusters Experience
Author: John Sweetman
Publisher: Hodder Christian Books
ISBN: 9781780972725
Category : Operation Chastise, 1943
Languages : en
Pages : 64
Book Description
The daring 'Dambusters' raid on 17th May 1943, when a special force of British Avro Mark III Lancasters attacked and destroyed the Eder Dams in Germany, was one of the iconic moments of World War II. 'The Dambusters Experience' tells the story behind the attack, and relives the attack itself under the leadership of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, as he and his men deployed, for the first time, the devastating new secret weapon developed by scientist Barnes Wallis.
Publisher: Hodder Christian Books
ISBN: 9781780972725
Category : Operation Chastise, 1943
Languages : en
Pages : 64
Book Description
The daring 'Dambusters' raid on 17th May 1943, when a special force of British Avro Mark III Lancasters attacked and destroyed the Eder Dams in Germany, was one of the iconic moments of World War II. 'The Dambusters Experience' tells the story behind the attack, and relives the attack itself under the leadership of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, as he and his men deployed, for the first time, the devastating new secret weapon developed by scientist Barnes Wallis.
The Complete Dambusters
Author: Charles Foster
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750988487
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 511
Book Description
On 16 May 1943, nineteen Lancaster aircraft from the RAF's 617 Squadron set off to attack the great dams in the industrial heart of Germany. Flying at a height of 60ft, they dropped a series of bombs which bounced across the water and destroyed two of their targets, thereby creating a legend. The one-off operation combined an audacious method of attack, technically brilliant flying and visually spectacular results. But while the story of Operation Chastise is well known, most of the 133 'Dambusters' who took part in the Dams Raid have until now been just names on a list. They came from all parts of the UK and the Commonwealth and beyond, and each of them was someone's son or brother, someone's husband or father. This is the first book to present their individual stories and celebrate their skill, heroism and, for many, sacrifice.
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750988487
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 511
Book Description
On 16 May 1943, nineteen Lancaster aircraft from the RAF's 617 Squadron set off to attack the great dams in the industrial heart of Germany. Flying at a height of 60ft, they dropped a series of bombs which bounced across the water and destroyed two of their targets, thereby creating a legend. The one-off operation combined an audacious method of attack, technically brilliant flying and visually spectacular results. But while the story of Operation Chastise is well known, most of the 133 'Dambusters' who took part in the Dams Raid have until now been just names on a list. They came from all parts of the UK and the Commonwealth and beyond, and each of them was someone's son or brother, someone's husband or father. This is the first book to present their individual stories and celebrate their skill, heroism and, for many, sacrifice.
Bomber Boys on Screen
Author: S. P. MacKenzie
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350024864
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Since the Second World War, depictions of Royal Air Force operations in film and television drama have become so numerous that they make up a genre worthy of scholarly attention. In this illuminating study, S. P. MacKenzie explores the different ways in which the men of RAF Bomber Command have been represented in dramatic form on the big and small screen from the war years to the present day. Bomber Boys on Screen is the first in-depth study of how and why the screen-drama image of those who flew, those who directed them, and those who provided support for RAF bomber operations has changed over time, sometimes in contested circumstances. Until now dramas that focus on Bomber Command have tended to be mentioned only in passing or studied in isolation, despite the prevalence of surveys of both the British war film genre and of aviation cinema. In Bomber Boys on Screen MacKenzie examines the development, presentation, and reception of significant dramas on a decade-by-decade basis. Titles from the beginning of the war (The Lion Has Wings, 1939) to the start of new century (Bomber's Moon, 2014) are situated in the context of technical possibilities and limitations, evolving social and cultural norms in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and the development of moral and utilitarian controversies surrounding the wartime bomber offensive directed against Nazi Germany. While the focus is on feature films and television plays, reference is also made to documentaries, memorials, veterans' organizations, book titles, war comics, and other representations of the war fought by Bomber Command.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350024864
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Since the Second World War, depictions of Royal Air Force operations in film and television drama have become so numerous that they make up a genre worthy of scholarly attention. In this illuminating study, S. P. MacKenzie explores the different ways in which the men of RAF Bomber Command have been represented in dramatic form on the big and small screen from the war years to the present day. Bomber Boys on Screen is the first in-depth study of how and why the screen-drama image of those who flew, those who directed them, and those who provided support for RAF bomber operations has changed over time, sometimes in contested circumstances. Until now dramas that focus on Bomber Command have tended to be mentioned only in passing or studied in isolation, despite the prevalence of surveys of both the British war film genre and of aviation cinema. In Bomber Boys on Screen MacKenzie examines the development, presentation, and reception of significant dramas on a decade-by-decade basis. Titles from the beginning of the war (The Lion Has Wings, 1939) to the start of new century (Bomber's Moon, 2014) are situated in the context of technical possibilities and limitations, evolving social and cultural norms in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and the development of moral and utilitarian controversies surrounding the wartime bomber offensive directed against Nazi Germany. While the focus is on feature films and television plays, reference is also made to documentaries, memorials, veterans' organizations, book titles, war comics, and other representations of the war fought by Bomber Command.
The Dambusters Raid
Author: John Sweetman
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9780304351732
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314
Book Description
The most audacious bombing raid in history is explained in amazing detail within this text. It includes the complex design and testing of Barnes Wallis theories, including dummy runs across English and Scottish lakes and lochs.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9780304351732
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314
Book Description
The most audacious bombing raid in history is explained in amazing detail within this text. It includes the complex design and testing of Barnes Wallis theories, including dummy runs across English and Scottish lakes and lochs.
Experience and Memory
Author: Jörg Echternkamp
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1845459881
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Modern military history, inspired by social and cultural historical approaches, increasingly puts the national histories of the Second World War to the test. New questions and methods are focusing on aspects of war and violence that have long been neglected. What shaped people’s experiences and memories? What differences and what similarities existed in Eastern and Western Europe? How did the political framework influence the individual and the collective interpretations of the war? Finally, what are the benefits of Europeanizing the history of the Second World War? Experts from Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, and Russia discuss these and other questions in this comprehensive volume.
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1845459881
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Modern military history, inspired by social and cultural historical approaches, increasingly puts the national histories of the Second World War to the test. New questions and methods are focusing on aspects of war and violence that have long been neglected. What shaped people’s experiences and memories? What differences and what similarities existed in Eastern and Western Europe? How did the political framework influence the individual and the collective interpretations of the war? Finally, what are the benefits of Europeanizing the history of the Second World War? Experts from Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, and Russia discuss these and other questions in this comprehensive volume.
Chastise
Author: Max Hastings
Publisher: Collins
ISBN: 9780008280529
Category : HISTORY
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A masterly history of the Dambusters raid from bestselling and critically acclaimed Max Hastings. Operation Chastise, the overnight destruction of the Möhne and Eder dams in north-west Germany by the RAF's 617 Squadron, was an epic that has passed into Britain's national legend. Max Hastings grew up embracing the story, the classic 1955 movie and the memory of Guy Gibson, the 24-year-old wing-commander who won the VC leading the raid. In the 21st Century, however, Hastings urges that we should review the Dambusters in much more complex shades. The aircrew's heroism was wholly authentic, as was the brilliance of Barnes Wallis, who invented the 'bouncing bombs'. But commanders who promised their young fliers that success could shorten the war fantasised wildly. What Germans call the Möhnekatastrophe imposed on the Nazi war machine temporary disruption, rather than a crippling blow. Hastings vividly describes the evolution of Wallis' bomb, and of the squadron which broke the dams at the cost of devastating losses. But he also portrays in harrowing detail those swept away by the torrents. Some 1,400 civilians perished in the biblical floods that swept through the Möhne valley, more than half of them Russian and Polish women, slave labourers under Hitler. Ironically, Air Marshal Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris gained much of the credit, though he opposed Chastise as a distraction from his city-burning blitz. He also made what the author describes as the operation's biggest mistake - the failure to launch a conventional attack on the Nazis' huge post-raid repair operation, which could have transformed the impact of the dam breaches upon Ruhr industry. Chastise offers a fascinating retake on legend by a master of the art. Hastings sets the dams raid in the big picture of the bomber offensive and of the Second World War, with moving portraits of the young airmen, so many of whom died; of Barnes Wallis; the monstrous Harris; the tragic Guy Gibson, together with superb narrative of the action of one of the most extraordinary episodes in British history.
Publisher: Collins
ISBN: 9780008280529
Category : HISTORY
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A masterly history of the Dambusters raid from bestselling and critically acclaimed Max Hastings. Operation Chastise, the overnight destruction of the Möhne and Eder dams in north-west Germany by the RAF's 617 Squadron, was an epic that has passed into Britain's national legend. Max Hastings grew up embracing the story, the classic 1955 movie and the memory of Guy Gibson, the 24-year-old wing-commander who won the VC leading the raid. In the 21st Century, however, Hastings urges that we should review the Dambusters in much more complex shades. The aircrew's heroism was wholly authentic, as was the brilliance of Barnes Wallis, who invented the 'bouncing bombs'. But commanders who promised their young fliers that success could shorten the war fantasised wildly. What Germans call the Möhnekatastrophe imposed on the Nazi war machine temporary disruption, rather than a crippling blow. Hastings vividly describes the evolution of Wallis' bomb, and of the squadron which broke the dams at the cost of devastating losses. But he also portrays in harrowing detail those swept away by the torrents. Some 1,400 civilians perished in the biblical floods that swept through the Möhne valley, more than half of them Russian and Polish women, slave labourers under Hitler. Ironically, Air Marshal Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris gained much of the credit, though he opposed Chastise as a distraction from his city-burning blitz. He also made what the author describes as the operation's biggest mistake - the failure to launch a conventional attack on the Nazis' huge post-raid repair operation, which could have transformed the impact of the dam breaches upon Ruhr industry. Chastise offers a fascinating retake on legend by a master of the art. Hastings sets the dams raid in the big picture of the bomber offensive and of the Second World War, with moving portraits of the young airmen, so many of whom died; of Barnes Wallis; the monstrous Harris; the tragic Guy Gibson, together with superb narrative of the action of one of the most extraordinary episodes in British history.
The Dambusters
Author: Alan W. Cooper
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 147382835X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 219
Book Description
Seventy years ago, 133 airmen of 617 Squadron, later known as the Dambusters, set out to destroy the Ruhr Dams in Germany. This one operation amongst many carried out by Bomber Command has become one of the most well known in the whole history of WWII. Indeed, a very successful film was made about it which became a classic, etching the dramatic events of the Dambuster raids in the minds of young and old alike. The book covers every facet of this enthralling episode.It also works as a poignant tribute to the 53 men who were killed on the operation, as well as the men who returned from the operation but were later killed on further sorties with 617 and other squadrons. Cooper brings together various narrative threads, focussing on stories recorded in document form and acquired on a first-hand basis to give a real insight into the daily operations of the squadron.
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 147382835X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 219
Book Description
Seventy years ago, 133 airmen of 617 Squadron, later known as the Dambusters, set out to destroy the Ruhr Dams in Germany. This one operation amongst many carried out by Bomber Command has become one of the most well known in the whole history of WWII. Indeed, a very successful film was made about it which became a classic, etching the dramatic events of the Dambuster raids in the minds of young and old alike. The book covers every facet of this enthralling episode.It also works as a poignant tribute to the 53 men who were killed on the operation, as well as the men who returned from the operation but were later killed on further sorties with 617 and other squadrons. Cooper brings together various narrative threads, focussing on stories recorded in document form and acquired on a first-hand basis to give a real insight into the daily operations of the squadron.
Dambusters
Author: Douglas C. Dildy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1846039355
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 82
Book Description
In May 1943 a specially established RAF squadron made its permanent imprint on military aviation history by flying a high-risk, low level, nighttime attack against German hydro-electric dams vital to the Nazi armaments industry in the Ruhr Valley. A comparatively tiny part of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris' four-month-long “Battle of the Ruhr” this one raid had an impact totally out of proportion to the small number of aircraft involved. It highlights the synergy of science and technology, weapons development and production, mission planning and practice, and the unflinching courage in the execution of a highly dangerous bombing raid. Furthermore, it established a legend that still resonates today.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1846039355
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 82
Book Description
In May 1943 a specially established RAF squadron made its permanent imprint on military aviation history by flying a high-risk, low level, nighttime attack against German hydro-electric dams vital to the Nazi armaments industry in the Ruhr Valley. A comparatively tiny part of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris' four-month-long “Battle of the Ruhr” this one raid had an impact totally out of proportion to the small number of aircraft involved. It highlights the synergy of science and technology, weapons development and production, mission planning and practice, and the unflinching courage in the execution of a highly dangerous bombing raid. Furthermore, it established a legend that still resonates today.
The Dambusters - 'Was it Worth it?'
Author: John Sweetman
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399063855
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
On the evening of 16 May 1943, nineteen Avro Lancasters took off from RAF Scampton to undertake 617 Squadron’s first offensive attack since its formation a few weeks earlier. Loaded with Barnes Wallis’ newly designed bouncing bombs, the Bomber Command crews set course for their targets – the vital Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams that served the Ruhr, the Third Reich’s industrial heartland. By the time the survivors began landing back at base at 03.11 hours the following morning, eight of the Lancasters had been shot down. However, both the Möhne and Eder dams had been breached, while the Sorpe was damaged. The flood waters that the attacks unleashed poured downstream, wreaking havoc on the surrounding countryside. Albert Speer, Hitler’s Minister of Armaments and War Production, later wrote: “That night, employing just a few bombers, the British came close to a success which would have been greater than anything they had achieved hitherto with a commitment of thousands of bombers.” In 1990, the renowned historian and author Dr John Sweetman published his seminal work on the events before, during and after Operation Chastise. His book was the result of decades of research into the famous attack, in the course of which Dr Sweetman corresponded with or interviewed many of the individuals involved – from the scientists to senior officers, and from groundcrew to the very airmen who delivered Barnes Wallis’ bouncing bombs to the dams. Such was the relationships that developed over the years, Dr Sweetman became a close friend to many of these individuals and their families. Some of the information contained in the interview transcripts and letters he received was included in his original book; much more, however, was never used. This is particularly the case with the many letters and conversations which Dr Sweetman received or had after his book was first published – much of which adds to, or elaborates on, the narrative of the events in May 1943. Dr John Sweetman has delved into his remarkable archive of material to present unseen sections of it here, for the historian or general reader, for the very first time.
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399063855
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
On the evening of 16 May 1943, nineteen Avro Lancasters took off from RAF Scampton to undertake 617 Squadron’s first offensive attack since its formation a few weeks earlier. Loaded with Barnes Wallis’ newly designed bouncing bombs, the Bomber Command crews set course for their targets – the vital Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams that served the Ruhr, the Third Reich’s industrial heartland. By the time the survivors began landing back at base at 03.11 hours the following morning, eight of the Lancasters had been shot down. However, both the Möhne and Eder dams had been breached, while the Sorpe was damaged. The flood waters that the attacks unleashed poured downstream, wreaking havoc on the surrounding countryside. Albert Speer, Hitler’s Minister of Armaments and War Production, later wrote: “That night, employing just a few bombers, the British came close to a success which would have been greater than anything they had achieved hitherto with a commitment of thousands of bombers.” In 1990, the renowned historian and author Dr John Sweetman published his seminal work on the events before, during and after Operation Chastise. His book was the result of decades of research into the famous attack, in the course of which Dr Sweetman corresponded with or interviewed many of the individuals involved – from the scientists to senior officers, and from groundcrew to the very airmen who delivered Barnes Wallis’ bouncing bombs to the dams. Such was the relationships that developed over the years, Dr Sweetman became a close friend to many of these individuals and their families. Some of the information contained in the interview transcripts and letters he received was included in his original book; much more, however, was never used. This is particularly the case with the many letters and conversations which Dr Sweetman received or had after his book was first published – much of which adds to, or elaborates on, the narrative of the events in May 1943. Dr John Sweetman has delved into his remarkable archive of material to present unseen sections of it here, for the historian or general reader, for the very first time.
Dambusters: The Forging of a Legend
Author: Chris Ward
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783035196
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 439
Book Description
617 Squadron of 5 Group RAF Bomber Command was without doubt the most famous RAF Squadron in World War II. It was formed to carry out the precision low-level attack on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe Dams, using Barnes Wallaces newly developed rotating mine, now commonly referred to as The Bouncing Bomb. The raid was a tremendous success, although at great cost to the squadron, and proved to be a great moral booster for the war-weary British public. Guy Gibson VC was tasked with organizing the formation and training of the new squadron and the Dambusters have been national heroes ever since. Although several books have previously been written on this epic adventure, this is a new look at their first raid and then the long and envious history of 617 until the end of the war. This new version of the Dams raid within the book, pays particular attention to timings, as it is easy to overlook the fact, that this was a complex three-phase operation, spanning 8 hours and 47 minutes, with action occurring simultaneously at widely dispersed locations. It also attempts to settle finally the circumstances of the losses, by examining the testimony of eyewitnesses on both sides, and presenting arguments to help readers decide for themselves what actually happened where previous accounts are contradictory or at variance. In the later war years 617 suffered greatly during an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal but recovered and their list of priority special targets then included the German missile research plant at Peenemunde, Hamburg, the U boat pens at La Pallice and the sinking of the battleship Tirpitz. The legendary Leonard Cheshire VC led the Squadron for much of that period. This newly researched account of 617s wartime record contains many first-hand accounts from squadron members and also German and Dutch witnesses who were present at some of the most spectacular raids and have explained many of the mysterious losses of the Squadrons aircraft.Lengthy appendices contain a Roll of Honour, Commanders, Airfields and aircraft, Operational statistics and Aircraft Histories.
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783035196
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 439
Book Description
617 Squadron of 5 Group RAF Bomber Command was without doubt the most famous RAF Squadron in World War II. It was formed to carry out the precision low-level attack on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe Dams, using Barnes Wallaces newly developed rotating mine, now commonly referred to as The Bouncing Bomb. The raid was a tremendous success, although at great cost to the squadron, and proved to be a great moral booster for the war-weary British public. Guy Gibson VC was tasked with organizing the formation and training of the new squadron and the Dambusters have been national heroes ever since. Although several books have previously been written on this epic adventure, this is a new look at their first raid and then the long and envious history of 617 until the end of the war. This new version of the Dams raid within the book, pays particular attention to timings, as it is easy to overlook the fact, that this was a complex three-phase operation, spanning 8 hours and 47 minutes, with action occurring simultaneously at widely dispersed locations. It also attempts to settle finally the circumstances of the losses, by examining the testimony of eyewitnesses on both sides, and presenting arguments to help readers decide for themselves what actually happened where previous accounts are contradictory or at variance. In the later war years 617 suffered greatly during an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal but recovered and their list of priority special targets then included the German missile research plant at Peenemunde, Hamburg, the U boat pens at La Pallice and the sinking of the battleship Tirpitz. The legendary Leonard Cheshire VC led the Squadron for much of that period. This newly researched account of 617s wartime record contains many first-hand accounts from squadron members and also German and Dutch witnesses who were present at some of the most spectacular raids and have explained many of the mysterious losses of the Squadrons aircraft.Lengthy appendices contain a Roll of Honour, Commanders, Airfields and aircraft, Operational statistics and Aircraft Histories.