Dambusters lives on !! ... (more) ...

[R Palimaka]

1 hour ago, mozart said:

 undoubtedly daring, technically brilliant and taking nothing away from the heroism of the crews, actually achieved relatively little in the great scheme of things.

 

You're probably right, in the big picture it did not make as big an impact as the planners may have hoped.

 

But it's the first part of your statement that makes it remarkable and of interest to someone looking to make a film that would grip the general public. Those of us who have researched and read the history, and met and talked to the men of Bomber Command, don't need to be told of their deeds and heroic experience in that long grinding campaign. Unfortunately for us, film-makers need a hook. The spectacular will always win out on the big screen. There are so many stories that we think would make good movies, but we're not "normal"...as some of my friends like to tease. The Dams Raid was an extraordinary feat, a gathering of the best, employing unusual technology, and that will always carry more appeal to a scriptwriter.

 

Not that I don't agree with you, just that some stories do stand out. There are stories I would love to see told; Boleslaw "Mike" Gladych, George Beurling, or Dieppe...but I don't have Peter Jackson's money.

 

Richard

Edited December 4, 2018 by R Palimaka

[PhilB]

9 hours ago, LSP_Matt said:

I think a movie on the St Nazaire Raid would be absolutely epic. Done in episodic phases like LOTR/Hobbit. So many characters and arcs withing the whole overall mission.

 

Love him or hate him, Jeremy Clarkson did a pretty good documentary on the raid a few years ago.

The interviews with some of the men who took part are superb.

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by PhilB

[Phartycr0c]

Raid on the Tirpitz may provide a little meatier subject,  especially as it was attempted several times using special weapons AND there are a few conspiracy theories surrounding why it succeeded.  

[mozart]

3 minutes ago, Phartycr0c said:

Raid on the Tirpitz may provide a little meatier subject,  especially as it was attempted several times using special weapons AND there are a few conspiracy theories surrounding why it succeeded.  

Agreed, and still 617 (Dambusters) squadron!  No political difficulties with dog names either.

[AlanG]

3 hours ago, mozart said:

Agreed, and still 617 (Dambusters) squadron!  No political difficulties with dog names either.

 

Even though it was an aircraft from 9 Sqn that scored the direct hit   People tend not to know that fact. Bit like the first American crew to get to 25 missions wasn't Memphis Belle. It was Hells Angels on 14th May a full 3 days before Memphis Belle did (Page 145 Eighth Air Force - Donald L. Miller)

Edited December 4, 2018 by AlanG
Book information

[VMA131Marine]

4 hours ago, mozart said:

Having researched Bomber Command operations in general and one specifically for the past 13 years including speaking to many who were there and did it, I get a bit p****d off with the attention given to this one operation which, whilst undoubtedly daring, technically brilliant and taking nothing away from the heroism of the crews, actually achieved relatively little in the great scheme of things.

 

Your conclusion is at odds with that of Squadron Leader Clive Rowley (former CO of the BBMF)

 

https://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/dambusters-true-impact-revealed-70-years-on-1-2932144

 

Clive Rowley, a former commanding officer of the Royal Air Force’s prestigious Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) turned aviation historian and author, said the military and strategic significance of destroying three dams in the industrial heartland of Germany in 1943 has only just been realised.
 

Now, extensive research carried out by retired Squadron Leader Mr Rowley suggests that the loss of water caused by the dams’ destruction had a far greater effect than many realised even at the time – from leaving firefighters powerless to put out the flames of British incendiary bombs to cutting vital German steel production due to a lack of water for cooling.

The cost of repairing the damage caused by 617 Squadron’s raid ran to the equivalent of £5.9 billion in today’s money and 7,000 workers who would otherwise have been building the Atlantic Wall to prevent the D-Day landings had to be called away to fix the ruined dams.

 

It was an economic disaster for the Third Reich that diverted significant resources away from Germany’s war effort at a critical point during the conflict.

Four power stations and 12 war production factories were destroyed, while about 100 other factories were damaged, railway bridges were incapacitated, road bridges knocked down and 3,000 acres of farmland destroyed. Coal production dropped by some 20,000 tonnes and steel production by about 180,000 tonnes in the month that followed.

Mr Rowley said: “In that sense it was truly militarily important, strategically important. I think that is more modern research that has uncovered that, and it hasn’t been widely recognised until now.”

[Gazzas]

A big Dieppe movie would be good.  But I don't see any bomber command movie about any single raid, being it Tirpitz or Dambusters or firebombing of civilians being an easy sell.  Night-bombing or raids with no opposition are snoozers.   The only thing that made the original dambusters interesting was watching the bombs bounce. 

[AlanG]

PhilB

 

Thanks for that video. A truly fantastic and humbling watch. A story i didn't know about. Again. Thank you

[LSP_Matt]

7 hours ago, PhilB said:

Love him or hate him, Jeremy Clarkson did a pretty good documentary on the raid a few years ago.

The interviews with some of the men who took part are superb.

Yeah he's quite good at those docos. Very entertaining. I have the PQ17 one and I absolutely love the cinematography in the opening scenes.

 

I think those interviews with the St Naziare vets are cut from an earlier doco on the raid that's far more in depth.

 

Matty