This is part three of a quadrilogy of stories about the Dambuster’s raid on the great dams of the Ruhr valley by No 617 Squadron. Wallis faced an uphill struggle to convince the Air Ministry that his idea of bouncing a huge mine across the surface of the reservoirs, over torpedo nets and right up to the dam walls was feasible. When finally given the go ahead he only had a few months to complete testing and then build a successful weapon. In the meantime, a new Lancaster squadron had to be formed and trained. This is a remarkable story of genius and tenacity in equal parts.
A 1:50 Scale model of the Mohne Dam, blown up to demonstrate where the Upkeep mine should be placed.
Barnes Wallis watches a successful trial of Upkeep at Reculver.
A trail weapon recovered from Hearne Bay.
A surviving Upkeep mine.
Upkeep in position under Gibson’s Lancaster with the spinning mechanism visible.
Images under Creative Commons licence, with thanks to the Imperial War Museum, Martin Richards, the RAF, the Crown and the UK Government.
Intro/outro Music, Coffee Fund theme music by Geoff Smith thegeoffsmith.com
Dr. Steph’s intro music by Nevil Bounds
Capt Nick’s intro music by Kevin from Norway (aka Kevski)
Doh De Oh by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100255
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Intro/outro Music, Coffee Fund theme music by Geoff Smith thegeoffsmith.com
Dr. Steph’s intro music by Nevil Bounds
Capt Nick’s intro music by Kevin from Norway (aka Kevski)
Doh De Oh by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100255
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
A man renown for his genius as a designer and inventor, Barnes Wallis turned his mind to helping Britain to win the Second World War by creating weapons that could defeat the industrial might of Germany. From his ten ton bomb Tall Boy to the bouncing bomb Upkeep, his remarkable talent ran from designing Airships to supersonic aircraft. This is his story.
Barnes Wallis as a young man in Naval Service.
Wallis’s geodesic design employed in the Wellington bomber allowed it to survive despite enormous damage.
The huge Tall Boy bomb, designed to penetrate deep into the earth before exploding.
The Swallow. Designed by Wallis as a variable geometry supersonic aircraft.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Royal Society on Twitter, The US Library of Congress, the Imperial War Museum, Royal Air Force and the RAF Museum Cosford.
This is the first of the four part story of Operation Chastise, the bombing of the great dams of Germany’s Ruhr valley during the Second World War. This Tale examines the life of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar who took on the task of forming the Squadron of Lancasters which would achieve world wide fame following the attack. Gibson was, to some, a flawed character but his leadership, skill and determination to achieve his aim was never in question.
Guy Penrose Gibson.
Gibson stands on the steps of his Lancaster with his crew around him as they depart on the Dambusters raid.
Gibson’s final resting place, alongside his navigator who also died when their Mosquito crashed.
The English Heritage blue plaque that marks Gibson’s house in St John’s Wood, London.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Royal Air Force, the Imperial War Museum, Edward X, Pandaplodder and Steenbergen.
