Busting the Dams

Dam Busters site memorial
@Ronrybs (21504)
London, England
January 30, 2022 11:42am CST
A bright, but chilly, morning for my bike ride today. Being 5C (41F), the old fingers and toes were beginning to feel the cold on the final miles. I took the opportunity to visit the village of Harmondsworth and its memorial to the Dam Busters Raid of 1943. About a mile from London’s Heathrow Airport, this was where model dams were built and the theory of skipping bombs to destroy enemy dams was turned into reality. The bombs had to bounce as the dams were protected by anti-torpedo nets. If you have seen the 1955 film, The Dam Busters, then you known the audacity of the raid and be familiar with the engineer behind the bouncing bomb, known as Upkeep. Barnes Wallis designed not only the Upkeep, but the Tallboy and Grand slam bombs that were able to burrow into the ground before exploding and create a mini earthquake effect. Not just weapons, he also conceived swing wing and tailless aircraft as well as airships. The YouTube clip depicts the raid commander Wing Commander Gibson making the first attack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1DCxpMz8aU&list=PLaIlWfjz6v25l9O26033nKo1hwcdpt9nq
10 people like this
10 responses
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
30 Jan 22
I am sure your rides can get pretty chilly. Thanks for the link. I will check this out.
2 people like this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
30 Jan 22
Since the fingers and toes don't move a great deal they do suffer a bit. If there was a cafe on this particular route I'd stop for hot drink
3 people like this
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
30 Jan 22
@Ronrybs Make sure to wear extra socks and gloves. Too bad there is not a coffee shop closeby.
3 people like this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
1 Feb 22
@CarolDM Next trip I think I shall go to Windsor, there are plenty of cafes there
3 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Jan 22
The Dam Busters was a great film. I saw it many years ago. I remember someone (I guess it was Walliss) being in the theatre and watching the stage lights being manipulated. That supposedly gave him the idea for getting the right elevation for dropping the bombs. Edit: Just watched the clip. What happened next? Did it weaken the wall and it eventually gave? I can't remember from the film.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
1 Feb 22
@Ronrybs I guess they were low enough to avoid getting hit.
2 people like this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
1 Feb 22
Took a couple of goes, but the dam broke and they moved on to the next one
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Feb 22
@Ronrybs That was clever thinking. But you'd probably only get the one chance.
1 person likes this
bonnie
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
1 Feb 22
how cool. thanks for showing us interesting places around your country
1 person likes this
bonnie
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
1 Feb 22
@Ronrybs I enjoy reading about other countries too
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
1 Feb 22
I do enjoy history and exploring, then writing it up
1 person likes this
Marie
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
7 Feb 22
My feet are cold today. Stay warm. I’ll check the link out.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
7 Feb 22
Still mild here, but we are expecting a very cold front soon, so my feet will be joining yours!
Faye
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
31 Jan 22
Wow fascinating invention ... and piece of history
2 people like this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
1 Feb 22
Strangely enough, I knew there was testing at Harmondsworth, but not this Harmondswsorth, about ten minutes from home
3 people like this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
7 Feb 22
@FayeHazel So many others forgotten
2 people like this
Faye
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
7 Feb 22
@Ronrybs I imagine it's hard to imagine all that going on so close to your home
2 people like this
Neil
@Neil43 (4520)
•
8 Feb 22
I hope I can find job in London.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
8 Feb 22
Suspect there are lots of low paying jobs at the moment.
OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
31 Jan 22
I havent seen the film but thanks for this now Ron. Cool clip there too. Wow you must have been freezing cycling in that temp, bless.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
1 Feb 22
Only the fingers and toes and that wasn't until almost the end. As long as I kept moving the rest of me was okay!
1 person likes this
Judy Story
@jstory07 (148701)
• Roseburg, Oregon
10 Feb 22
That was a good movie. Thanks for the review.
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
30 Jan 22
I remember watching the film and being amazed by the bouncing bombs.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
1 Feb 22
It is quite a novel idea and they developed a smaller version called Highball to be carried in the smaller Mosquito aircraft. If I remember right they were an anti-shipping weapon.
Fleur
@Fleura (34927)
• United Kingdom
2 Feb 22
He got his idea from skimming stones on water. That's a great film. When I was a teenager I went on an exchange trip to Germany and one of the places we visited was the Möhne dam, which was one of the key dams destroyed. That was a slightly awkward moment. There's an interesting article here
The Dambusters raid: How effective was it?
www.bbc.co.uk
Seventy years ago an RAF bomber raid destroyed German dams. It was more than a propaganda victory, argues Dan Snow.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
7 Feb 22
Times change, if slowly. I watched the film in Germany with German overdubbing.
1 person likes this