Dambusters
- Thread starter ronk
- Start date
Attleborough, Norfolk
Yup, I'm watching it.
Having been on 617 (aka, The Hole in the Wall Gang) for 9 years from '85 to '94 I kind of knew it all anyway, but its good to see them accepting that Guy Gibson was a bit of an arse but got things done. Not the loved by all chap that the film portrayed.
Such things as the elite crews myth etc. Good to see that finally debunked.
The film also showed the bombs being round, as they were still classified as secret at that time, but the bare metal oil drum shape was quickly found to work better.
In fact, technically they were mines, not bombs, but that's semantics really. (Something to do with them exploding at a set depth).
I have also been lucky enough to sit in the pilot's seat of that Lanc, Just Jane, at East Kirby.
I did a course at Scampton many years ago, and though I stayed in the Sgt's Mess, we were all dining in the Officers Mess due to the small amount of people on the camp at that time. It is very sad to see it all boarded up and weeds growing around it.
A memory I will always treasure is being part of the Sqn 50th Anniversary parade and meeting several of the original crews. Very humble, matter of fact men, every one.
One final thing that made me chuckle was Dan Snow skirting around the issue of Guy Gibson's labrador. Can't see them mentioning the name, even though it was used as the code for successfully breaching the Moehne Dam.
Having been on 617 (aka, The Hole in the Wall Gang) for 9 years from '85 to '94 I kind of knew it all anyway, but its good to see them accepting that Guy Gibson was a bit of an arse but got things done. Not the loved by all chap that the film portrayed.
Such things as the elite crews myth etc. Good to see that finally debunked.
The film also showed the bombs being round, as they were still classified as secret at that time, but the bare metal oil drum shape was quickly found to work better.
In fact, technically they were mines, not bombs, but that's semantics really. (Something to do with them exploding at a set depth).
I have also been lucky enough to sit in the pilot's seat of that Lanc, Just Jane, at East Kirby.
I did a course at Scampton many years ago, and though I stayed in the Sgt's Mess, we were all dining in the Officers Mess due to the small amount of people on the camp at that time. It is very sad to see it all boarded up and weeds growing around it.
A memory I will always treasure is being part of the Sqn 50th Anniversary parade and meeting several of the original crews. Very humble, matter of fact men, every one.
One final thing that made me chuckle was Dan Snow skirting around the issue of Guy Gibson's labrador. Can't see them mentioning the name, even though it was used as the code for successfully breaching the Moehne Dam.
Yes, the dogs name won’t be mentioned!
Ok the name isn’t acceptable now but it is history and it can’t be re written.
Whenever I see factual progs like this of WW2 I see young men that look many years older than their years.
The devices were HE filled at the Royal Ordnance factory Glascoed
Ok the name isn’t acceptable now but it is history and it can’t be re written.
Whenever I see factual progs like this of WW2 I see young men that look many years older than their years.
The devices were HE filled at the Royal Ordnance factory Glascoed
ronk said:
Maybe the pipes they all seem to be smoking?
Hard to believe the oldest pilot was just 27.
Not sure if it'll come up, but of the 56 who didn't come back, all bar three died.
One of the survivors broke his back when he parachuted down.
Local people found him and the village doctor was called, who encased him in concrete and saved his life.
They will possibly also touch on the fact that although it was a success and a huge propaganda coup, the Germans were back up to full production in weeks.
However, to do that they pulled about 100,000 labours away from building the Normandy defences. So come D-Day, the defences were nowhere near complete. We'll never know how many lives that saved.
Got it recorded but not watched it yet. Good to hear is sounding good 
I too have sat in the pilots seat of just Jane, this year in fact. My brother had a taxi ride in her and we went up and stayed at the Petwood hotel, where 617 were put up during the war. Talked our way into the officers bar as it was technically closed, so much history in there it was a great place to be. Having typhoons flying overhead while eating dinner was a bonus
I too have sat in the pilots seat of just Jane, this year in fact. My brother had a taxi ride in her and we went up and stayed at the Petwood hotel, where 617 were put up during the war. Talked our way into the officers bar as it was technically closed, so much history in there it was a great place to be. Having typhoons flying overhead while eating dinner was a bonus
And yet they were denied a campaign medal as so many civilians died from bombing and it was seen as politically unsound to reward them.buzyg said:
I think the figure is around 55000 dead in Bomber Command.
This was all repealed quite recently but too late for the vast majority.
They talk about the horror of the Normandy beaches, but that was once only. These crews did that 30 times! The few that survived got a couple of months break then started all over again.
I paid my respects at the Bomber Command memorial in London a couple of years back.
Its a modern monument but just standing in there reading all the names is a humbling experience.
ronk said:
Sad we're too late now to thank him.
Just reading up and there is one Dambuster left. Johnny Johnson, who was the bomb aimer who insisted on going round 10 times before he bombed the Sorpe.
Last month he was 99.
Sad thing is, all he got was an MBE when all these celebs and sportsmen are being knighted.
North West Surrey
I find programmes like these fascinating.
Only loosely related to the Dambusters topic but my Dad had a cousin in Canada, George Robert Pool, who was a Flight Lieutenant in the RACF 431 Squadron and came to the UK as a Navigator on Lancasters and spent much of his leave time with my Dad who lived in Sheen. From what I understand he showed my Dad, who was an only child and had a pretty straight-laced upbringing, how to have fun!
But sadly Bob, as he was known, went MIA in January 1945. So I've found out why in my childhood we had a few trips to the RAF Memorial at Runymede. If you phoned in advance they would have the book open on the relevant page.
Dad was never in the services because he was in a reserved occupation working at Battersea Power Station and was one of the casualities when it got bombed in 1940 - around the same time as his future wife was commuting from Gravesend to the Admiratly in Whitehall through the Blitz while still in her teens.
We owe that generation so much!
And apologies if I've got carried away but Mum passed away last month, so it has become fresh in my memory again.
Only loosely related to the Dambusters topic but my Dad had a cousin in Canada, George Robert Pool, who was a Flight Lieutenant in the RACF 431 Squadron and came to the UK as a Navigator on Lancasters and spent much of his leave time with my Dad who lived in Sheen. From what I understand he showed my Dad, who was an only child and had a pretty straight-laced upbringing, how to have fun!
But sadly Bob, as he was known, went MIA in January 1945. So I've found out why in my childhood we had a few trips to the RAF Memorial at Runymede. If you phoned in advance they would have the book open on the relevant page.
Dad was never in the services because he was in a reserved occupation working at Battersea Power Station and was one of the casualities when it got bombed in 1940 - around the same time as his future wife was commuting from Gravesend to the Admiratly in Whitehall through the Blitz while still in her teens.
We owe that generation so much!
And apologies if I've got carried away but Mum passed away last month, so it has become fresh in my memory again.
I think the war had a big effect for many years after on those who served in the conflict.
There was no help offered or available in those days.
It was only two years before my father died did he get his medals issued from the Army Medals Office which he only ever wore an Remembrance Sunday.
My mother was conscripted into war work in a factory in Birmingham - she trained as a hairdresser so the transition into an engineering/manufacturing environment was a shock for her and many more like her.
There was no help offered or available in those days.
It was only two years before my father died did he get his medals issued from the Army Medals Office which he only ever wore an Remembrance Sunday.
My mother was conscripted into war work in a factory in Birmingham - she trained as a hairdresser so the transition into an engineering/manufacturing environment was a shock for her and many more like her.
enuff_zed said:
A bit more research revealed his biography was written about 5 years ago. Found it on Amazon for around 8 quid.
Only a few pages in so far, covering his early years on a farm etc.
But already it is an astonishing read and I would recommend it to anyone who feels we owe that generation a huge debt. (And for those who don't, who may have their eyes opened!)
'The Last British Dambuster'.
In my mind, these are the kind of books our kids should be reading in school!
I already had a collection of obscure autobiographies from some of The Few, plus a Wing Commander I knew personally who flew Hurricanes in Burma.
I am now searching out any other biographies, especially by Dambusters. I have heard that Joe McCarthy wrote one, but can't find it yet.