Status
Available
Call number
Call number
940.54 B75 1954
Collection
Description
A special edition of The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill reissued with a bright retro design to celebrate Pan's 70th anniversary. On 17 May 1943, nearly 350 million tons of water crashed into the valleys of the Ruhr when the Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron breached the giant Moehne and Eder Dams with colossal 'blockbuster' bombs. The Dam Busters tells the story of the raid and the squadron of fearless airmen who carried it through. Again and again, the crews of 617 Squadron Bomber Command used their flying skills, their tremendous courage and Barnes Wallis' highly accurate bouncing bombs to deal devastating blows to Nazi Germany.One of the most daring true stories to emerge from the Second World War, Paul Brickhill's The Dam Busters inspired the famous 1955 film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd.… (more)
Genres
Publication
London : Pan Books, 1954., 251 pages
Original publication date
1951
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member expatscot
If you only know the Dam Busters form the theme tune or the film, you really should read this book. If you flew with the squadron, you should really read this book, although I have no doubt the few of you left have.
As a book, it is decent, it does its job well and clearly enough for a book written
It is, however, not a book, but more a biography of a squadron, and what a squadron.
This is a study in tenacity, determination, unbelievable bravery, invention (not just by Barnes Wallis) and camaraderie. If you have any interest in war, not just the air war, WWII or the RAF, you simply must read it. I would, however, recommend it to almost anyone as, as much as it is about anything, this is a book about people, the members, the sadly ever-changing members, of 617 Squadron.
Not convinced? Then consider one raid where they had to fly a heavy bomber with a wingspan of over 100' at only 60' above a lake to succeed, "jumping" over electricity pylons on their way to the target. Consider when asked to destroy a bridge, that from over 12,000 feet up, separate planes dropping one single massive bomb each, managed to hit both ends of the bridge at the same time and as it lifted into the air, hit the centre of it with yet another bomb to completely destroy it. Hollywood would not consider such feats acceptable in a script, but men did it.
As a book, it is decent, it does its job well and clearly enough for a book written
Show More
in that period on this type of subject. There are a few niggles when the author gets slightly over-personal with Cheshire, but having just read "Cheshire VC", I can understand and readily forgive that.It is, however, not a book, but more a biography of a squadron, and what a squadron.
This is a study in tenacity, determination, unbelievable bravery, invention (not just by Barnes Wallis) and camaraderie. If you have any interest in war, not just the air war, WWII or the RAF, you simply must read it. I would, however, recommend it to almost anyone as, as much as it is about anything, this is a book about people, the members, the sadly ever-changing members, of 617 Squadron.
Not convinced? Then consider one raid where they had to fly a heavy bomber with a wingspan of over 100' at only 60' above a lake to succeed, "jumping" over electricity pylons on their way to the target. Consider when asked to destroy a bridge, that from over 12,000 feet up, separate planes dropping one single massive bomb each, managed to hit both ends of the bridge at the same time and as it lifted into the air, hit the centre of it with yet another bomb to completely destroy it. Hollywood would not consider such feats acceptable in a script, but men did it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is a classic account of the Second World War bombing of the three massive German dams Moehne, Eder and Sorpe, as told by military historian and ex-Great Escapee Paul Brickhill, and originally published in 1951. In fact, it is not so much a history of the dambusting operation (which is less
Show More
than half the book), as a history of 617 squadron, which was set up specifically for this operation under the command of 24 year old Wing Commander Guy Gibson. The squadron, under others' leadership, was involved in many other key bombing events, including of other dams, canals, cities in occupied Europe, and key installations such as V1 rocket bases and even more deadly installations, created by Nazi slave labour, the successful operation of which would have meant the utter obliteration of London. If the war in the East had continued beyond 1945, the squadron would have been involved in the war over Japan. Many of its operations, not just the Dams raid, used weapons and aircraft designed by the genius engineer Barnes Wallis, whose role in achieving military victory is as great in its own way as that of the RAF and other armed forces - in the author's words "If Wallis’s big bombs had been available earlier (with the aircraft to carry them) the Germans would probably not have lasted as long as they did.". Much is owed to him and to the 133 pilots and crew who took part in the raids, some 53 of whom perished (and only one is still alive today). Brickhill is a good writer and tells the story excitingly, though occasionally there is a little too much technical detail for the average non-specialist reader. Show Less
LibraryThing member John5918
A classic true story about the almost legendary actions of 617 Squadron. In post-war Britain we grew up with the story; English football supporters still have a disturbing and rather anti-social tendency to sing the theme tune from the film when England plays against a certain continental team.
Show More
World War II in some ways defined a post-war generation, and this story is very much part of that. Show Less
LibraryThing member tommi180744
A remarkable story of the Scientist who created a technological military breakthrough, its evolution into a weapon of mass destruction & the courageous RAF men who risked and sacrificed to deliver it into the heart of Nazi Germany causing a stunning amount of damage to people, buildings, transport
Show More
and the morale of the enemy. In the modern era it is unfortunately common for revisionist 'historians' to debunk the overall value & effects of the Dam Busters, however, it is my opinion such people neglect a vital point: At the time of the raid no one knew with any certainty what the result of the attack or the outcome of WW2 would be - it is too easy to now assert the impact was limited - at the time no one could do anything other than admire the ambition and devotion of the airmen and with that in mind this book reveals their immense personal resolve and unchallenged skills which make the Dam Buster Raid one of the most significant events of the WW2 AIR WAR. Show Less