This war movie has a scene that
happens on May 16. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
THE DAM BUSTERS
During World War II, Barnes Wallis comes up with an idea
on how to destroy three dams in Germany that supply the water and power for the
Ruhr, a major industrial area. His idea is to drop a spinning bomb so it will
bounce over anti-torpedo netting and explode right next to the dam, causing a
breach. Even though his prototype bomb works, he can’t get the project going
until he gets the support of Arthur Harris, the head of bomber command. A
special squadron is formed and they practice low level flying over water, as
the bomb will have to be dropped from a very low altitude. The first full scale
trial fails. Gibson gets an idea from the spotlights at a London show to use spotlights
on the water to establish their altitude, as they are flying so low the normal
altimeter won’t work. After the second trial also fails, Barnes realizes the
bomb will have to be dropped from a mere 60 feet. The third trial works. A
simple bombsight is developed and tested. The men of the squadron get into a
fight with men from another squadron who had insulted them saying that all they
do is train. On May 16, 1943 the planes take off for Germany. The regimental mascot is run over by a car.
At least two bombers are shot down en route to the dams. [1:04:22 to
1:33:48] After several bomb explosions
which do no significant damage they successfully breach the first dam. With
only three planes they also successfully breach the second dam. Almost 40% of the squadron doesn’t come
back.
A very interesting film about a
very unusual bombing mission. Fascinating in that it shows how the bomb was
developed and tested. The sequences showing the raid are very suspenseful and
influenced the destruction of the death star sequence in Star Wars.
The Strategic Bombing of Germany by Alan J. Levine
(Praeger, London, 1992) at page 56 gives the date of the raid
Director - Michael
Anderson
Screenplay - R. C. Sherriff
Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Special Effects
Oscar at the 28th Academy Awards.
Released - May 24, 1955
Runtime – 2 hours 4 minutes
Starring –
Richard Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson
Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis
Ursula Jeans as Mrs Molly Wallis
Basil Sydney as Sir Arthur Harris
Patrick Barr as Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers
Ernest Clark as Air Vice-Marshal The Honourable Ralph
Cochrane
Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014.
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