The Dambusters

The Grandslam Bomb

2009-06-05T11:11:00.005+01:00

Big Bombs in Bielefeld, Germany

The Grand Slam (Earth Quake bomb), was a very large freefall bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis (who also made the bouncing bomb) in late 1944. At a weight of 9.98 t (22,000 lb) the Grand Slam was almost twice the weight of his previous large bomb, the 5.44 t (12,000 lb) Tallboy. Both weapons were intended for use against large and protected buildings, structures against which smaller bombs would be ineffective. The idea of the earthquake bomb was explored by Barnes Wallis at the very start of World War II but at the time there were no aircraft capable of carrying the 10-ton weapon he envisaged (notwithstanding Wallis's suggestions to build one, a six-engine high-altitude bomber called "Victory"). Wallis returned to his designs in the latter part of the war and the first earthquake bomb he developed was the 5-ton Tallboy. It proved effective in demolishing large structures, including heavily-protected bunkers (it was thus an early "bunker buster").

The reasoning behind the earth penetration bomb is that explosive energy is transmitted more efficiently in a non-compressible medium. Barnes Wallis used the non-compressible nature of water as a factor in the bouncing bombs. The earthquake bomb was designed to penetrate the earth and explode some 30 m down. An explosion carried through the medium of the earth would thus cause damage for a much greater distance than if the bomb were to explode in open air. Wallis also understood that bomb aiming was very poor at the time. The major advantage of the earthquake bomb, therefore, was that it could miss by hundreds of yards and still achieve the desired result. The intention before the war started was to destroy dams, railway bridges and general infrastructure. Thus it is possible that German industry and infrastructure could have been seriously damaged with minimal loss of civilian lives, compared to area bombing.His ideas were not fully understood, appreciated, or even realizable at the time.

The design was highly aerodynamic, with a long tail incorporating offset fins, causing it to spin as it fell and stabilizing it, due to the gyroscopic effect, much as the spin imparted by the rifling of a gun barrel increases the accuracy of a bullet. The spin also allowed the bomb to reach supersonic speeds, as the increased stability enabled it to pass through the sound barrier without wobbling or being thrown off-course. The Grand Slam had a much thicker case than typical World War II bombs, so it would survive the impact of hitting a hardened surface. The hardened steel bomb casing was cast in one piece in a sand moued using a concrete core. Torpex was then poured in, bucket by bucket. When filled, the hot molten explosive took a month to cool down and set, greatly limiting production. Like the Tallboy, the rate of production and material and manpower investment in each bomb meant that aircrew's were told to land with their unused bombs on board, rather than jettison them into the sea if a sortie was aborted. When dropped from high altitude onto compacted earth, the Grand Slam would penetrate over 40 metres into the ground. The explosion would leave a camouflet (cavern) which would undermine foundations of structures above, causing collapse. This is what happened to the Bielefeld railway viaduct, the first enemy target destroyed by a Grand Slam. The 'B1 (Special)' Lancaster bomber could only carry one at a time and it had to be dropped from 22,000 feet (6700 m) which limited its accuracy. The Grand Slam was first used on March 14, 1945 when the Royal Air Force No. 617 "Dambusters" Squadron, lead by Squadron Leader C.C. Calder, attacked the Bielefeld railway viaduct destroying two spans of the viaduct.

Bielefeld railway viaduct

The viaduct at Arnsberg was bombed on 15 March 1945 with 2 Grand Slams and 14 Tallboy bombs but they failed to bring the viaduct down. Four days later on 19 March 1945 another attack by 617 Squadron using 6 Grand Slams was successful and a 12 m (40 ft) gap was blown in the viaduct. Farge is a small port on the Weser River north of Bremen, and was the site of an oil-storage depot and the Valentin submarine pens that were attacked by the RAF on 27 March 1945. The pens had a ferrous concrete roof up to 7 meters (23 feet) thick. Two Grand Slam bombs penetrated parts of the pen with a 4.5 m-thick roof. Grand Slams were also successfully used against the Huge and Brest submarine pens. By the end of the war 41 Grand Slam bombs had been dropped, mainly against bridges and viaducts.

D-Day

2009-06-04T22:22:00.005+01:00

The 6th of June! On this day in 1944 Many lost there lives for a future of Freedom. I want to honour their wishes and in doing so give respect for what they died for! Salute to all that fought and fell for the wish of a better future!

Real Heinkel He-111 bomber and B-17 tour inside and out

2009-04-16T12:22:00.000+01:00

Report from the Aleutians (1943)

2009-02-23T16:38:00.001+00:00

HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX Bomber

2009-02-21T15:43:00.000+00:00

A Largely unsung bomber somewhat in the shadow of the lancaster it was however every bit as effective though it sufferred a higher attrition rate . Yorkshire is littered with airfields where these planes were based , its name is also a town in yorks .

Bomber down

2009-02-08T21:25:00.000+00:00

Respect to all those tha lost their lives!

Dogfight From World War II

2008-12-13T14:01:00.002+00:00

P-51 Mustang V 109s

Dogfight From World War II - More amazing video clips are a click away

P-51D Mustang

General characteristics

* Crew: 1
* Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
* Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
* Height: 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
* Wing area: 235 ft² (21.83 m²)
* Empty weight: 7,635 lb (3,465 kg)
* Loaded weight: 9,200 lb (4,175 kg)
* Max takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,490 kg)
* Powerplant: 1× Packard Merlin V-1650-7 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm;[79] 1,720 hp (1,282 kW) at WEP

Performance

* Maximum speed: 437 mph (703 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
* Cruise speed: 362 mph (580 km/h)
* Stall speed: 100 mph (160 km/h)
* Range: 1,650 mi (2,755 km) with external tanks
* Service ceiling 41,900 ft (12,770 m)
* Rate of climb: 3,200 ft/min (16.3 m/s)
* Wing loading: 39 lb/ft² (192 kg/m²)
* Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (300 W/kg)
* Lift-to-drag ratio: 14.6
* Recommended Mach limit 0.8

RARE COLOR FILM of MEMPHIS BELLE 25TH MISSION

2008-11-20T19:37:00.004+00:00

The famous 25th and LAST mission for the Crew of Memphis Belle. The first crew to complete their 25th mission. Once completed they would get to go home, and show the guys coming in as replacements what they could except and NEED to know! Unfortunately Britain could not afford this luxury.....all though that is surely the wrong word!

Trainees & Bomber Teams

2008-10-19T15:07:00.003+01:00

Target for Tonight (1941)

2008-10-19T15:01:00.004+01:00

This 48 min film is a description of a Bomber Command raid on Germany, showing the general preparations beforehand, the raid itself from the viewpoint of "F For Freddie" and the mounting anxiety at the station when the plane, a Wellington, fails to return on time.

Douglas Boston Bomber

2008-10-19T14:43:00.008+01:00

The Douglas Boston aircraft (DB7) was a highly effective light bomber/light attack aircraft. It was powered by a pair of Wright Cyclone 2600 supercharged engines developing 1600 horsepower. These gave the Boston an impressive top speed of 260 knots.

The Douglas DB-7 served primarily with Soviet, US and British air forces.
The DB-7 was also used by Australian, South African, French and Dutch services during the War, and Brazil afterwards. The aircraft was known as the "Boston" among Commonwealth air forces, while the night fighter variants were known as the "Havoc". The USAAF assigned the DB-7 the designation "A-20" and gave it the popular name "Havoc," adopted from the RAF moniker.

Plane Type: Bomber

Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company

Introduced: January 10,1941

Primary users: Soviet Air Force, United States Army Air Corp, Royal Air Force

Number built: 7,478

Performance:

Maximum speed: 338 mph (294 knots, 544 km/h) at 12,500 ft (3,800 m)
Range: 1,050 mi (912 nm, 1,690 km)
Service ceiling: 27,600 ft (8,400 m)
Rate of climb: 2,000 ft/min (10.2 m/s)

1941 Conquering Crete in 10 Days

2008-10-12T17:31:00.004+01:00

Color footage about the battle of Crete

Unternehmen-Merkur 1 of 2 (operation Mercury 1 of 2)

Unternehmen-Merkur 2 of 2 (operation Mercury 2 of 2)

1943 The Low-Altitude Bombing of the Ploesti Oil Fields

2008-09-18T19:09:00.006+01:00

Montage of Allied and German rarely seen color footage.
Sunday, Aug. 1, 1943. The Low-Altitude (to avoid German advanced Radar equipped line of defence) bombing of the Ploesti Oil Fields was deemed a success, even though 54 of the 177 bombers that took part were lost, and 53 more were heavily damaged. The refineries output was greatly curtailed, and five Medals of Honor were awarded, the most for any single American military action.
Soundtrack added (Demo Only) in 2008 by ROMANO-ARCHIVES, performed by Introspective (Vanishing Point - Black Mesa Winds).

The Lancaster

2008-08-09T14:52:00.007+01:00

The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving with RAF Bomber Command. The "Lanc" or "Lankie," as it became affectionately known, became the most famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing, and gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams.

Dambusters Anniversary Flypast (may 2008)

2008-07-31T14:37:00.004+01:00

Lancaster and Tornado flyby Derwent Dam to commemmorate 65th anniversary of 617 Sqn's "Dams Raid"

AVRO Lancaster Production

2008-04-16T18:25:00.008+01:00

The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving with RAF Bomber Command. The "Lanc" or "Lankie," as it became affectionately known, became the most famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties." Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing, and gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams.

Dambusters Tribute

2008-04-09T17:51:00.008+01:00

A Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund tribute to the 53 airmen who lost their lives on May 17, 1943

Dambuster Remake

2008-04-05T19:52:00.003+01:00

Dambuster veteran Jonny Johnson talks about the new Dambusters movie just after meeting with the Director Peter Jackson, you will know Peter from films like The Lord of the Rings and the King Kong remake.

The Unrivalled Flying of 617 Squadron, The Dambusters

2008-01-02T21:50:00.000+00:00

The Dambuster's Story; Taken from "Fortress without a Roof" . The allied Bombing of the Thrid Reich, by Wilbur H Morrison.

April 24, 1943: Harris's bombers had attacked the city centres of Brunswick, Munich, and Schweinfurt during the latter part of April, using Mosquito crews from 5 Group who dive-marked with red flares after the aiming points were identified visually..

Four 617 Squadron Mosquitos led by Wing Commander G.L. Cheshire, with Squadron Leader D.J. Shannon, Flight Lieutenant G.E. Fawke, and Flight Lieutenant R.S.D. Kearns, went to Munich April 24. They had to dive through intense flak while searchlights followed them during the laying of the red spot-flares. With incredible bravery, they lit up the aiming point within a hundred yards and permitted a devastating attack on the city. Remarkably, all returned safely, and Cheshire was singled out for special recognition and was presented with a Victoria Cross....

May 16, 1943: Earlier in the spring, British Wing Commander Guy Gibson had led a raid May 16 against three Ruhr dams with 19 of his 617 Squadron Lancaster's. They had been training for weeks to drop new barrellike, counter rotating, 9,500-pound bombs specially designed by British scientist Dr. Barnes Wallis. To drop them precisely against the wall of each dam, a 240-mile-per-hour speed had to be maintained at exactly sixty feet above the water. Spotlights were attached beneath each bomber in such positions that when the aircraft was sixty feet above the water, their beams converged on the surface.

The Mohere Dam was the first on the target list. Not only did it provide water for four million Germans, but its adjacent electric plant helped to power the huge Ruhr industries.

After release of his bomb, Gibson flew back and forth over the lake while other Lancaster's dropped their bombs until the dam was finally breached. For Gibson, it was an awesome sight as the lake emptied like "stirred porridge" into the valley below for fifty miles, engulfing cars as drivers frantically raced ahead of the tumbling waters. Most didn't make it, and as the avalanche of water inundated each car, its lights flickered uncertainly until they were extinguished.

He wired home base at Granthorn, "Goner, from 'G' George," indicating the dam had been breached.

Gibson led the next wave to the Eder Dam. It was quickly blown open and two hundred million tons of water cascaded into the valley below, flooding coal mines and factories for 50 miles downstream.

The dam at Sorpe was next, and Gibson went along to guide the last wave. Heavy fog and low clouds prevented release of the bombs effectively, so they turned for home.

Of the nineteen bombers dispatched on the mission, only ten returned, and 56 out of 133 young men were reported missing, three of them ending up in prisoner-of-war camps.

Gibson, who received the Victoria Cross for the mission, was later killed on another raid. The special squadron he founded, however, went on to win enduring praise for using a variety of Wallis's special weapons. They were the only British squadron to adopt American-style bombing techniques of precision targets, and they were astonishingly successful.

The breach in the Mohne Dam was closed September 23 before the rainy season, and the power plant repaired. The Germans diverted hundreds of antiaircraft guns to the dams for their future defence, so the raids could not be repeated....

June 5, 1944: The night before the invasion (D Day), two squadrons of Lancaster's - including those of the highly skilled 617 Squadron - performed an unusual service to confuse the Germans about the exact destination of the invasion forces and to convince them that the Allies planned to land near Boulogne and Cape Antifer instead of Normandy.

A special type of foil chaff "window" was dropped in bundles from a precise height so that these metal strips would simulate a large number of ships on German radar screens. So precise was the dropping along previously established flight paths that they simulated a convoy crossing the Channel at seven knots.

Lancaster's circled the Channel for five hours, flying a series of precise overlapping paths, each series coming closer and closer to the Normandy coast. This was a remarkable navigation feat and gained the Allies valuable hours to make their prescribed landings. The Germans were completely taken by the ruse....

Still other British forces from 3 Group released bundles of "window" to simulate a much larger force that the Allies actually had, even dropping dummy parachutists and machines that made noises like rifle fire and battle sounds as a diversion from the real airborne landings in Normandy...

Autumn 1944 (after the Allies had liberated France)
The Americans and the British were desperately short of bombs; more tons of bombs were dropped on Germany than had been released during the whole of 1943. By the end of the year, the Royal Air Force alone had devastated or seriously damaged 80 percent of all German cities with pre-war populations of 100,000 or more.

The Ruhr was kept under constant attack to prevent rebuilding of previously damaged factories. This key industrial area relied upon its own internal transport for survival, and it had its own gas and electricity grids. So great was the aerial destruction of lines of communication by the RAF that production came to a halt in many places. Due to continued autumn bombing, the Ruhr was rapidly reduced to a wasteland of devastated cities and factories.

Wing Commander Willie Tait's 617 Squadron added to the destruction greeting Eisenhower's armies by breaching the Kems Dam on the Rhine in order to prevent the Germans from controlling the river's level and perhaps flooding the valley when the Allies tried to cross the river. He personally led thirteen Lancaster's in spectacular drops of "Tallboy" bombs, special weapons developed by Dr. Barnes Wallis

The Dortmund-Ems and Mittelland canals, indispensable to the Germans for transport of coal, ore, and heavy equipment to and from the Ruhr, were bombed repeatedly by the British so that canals would be kept drained despite German efforts to repair them. Most missions were flown by 617 Squadron using Wallis's twelve-thousand-pound thin-case bombs. One bomb could breach a bank and flood the countryside.

Wing Commander Tait led 11 Lancaster's of his 617 Squadron, loaded with Tallboys, against the Dortmund-Ems Canal aqueduct near Munster. Another 125 Lancaster's of 5 Group with smaller bombs and 5 Mosquitoes for markings also participated in the raid. Their intent was to breach the banks of the canal, which were above the level of the countryside at this point, and drain it.

Their bombs were aimed so well that six and a half miles of the canal were drained, beaching many barges carrying vital cargoes. The Germans promptly repaired the banks in the coming months, but the British went out each time and breached them again.

After these raids, made especially dangerous by fog and mist at low levels, 617 Squadron was down to six crews. As a result of these attacks and other strikes against rail centres, coal production between the middle of August and February of the following year was cut in half. With coal strictly rationed, locomotives were idled because there was no coal to run them. With coal lines disrupted, factories ceased producing. The million and a half people thus forced out of jobs were put to work to repair breaches in the canals, but their efforts proved fruitless.

"medals won in the dam raids"

Victoria Cross:

Wg Cdr. G.P. Gibson, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar

Distinguished Service Order:

Flt Lt. J.C. McCarthy, DFC, Flt Lt. D.J.H. Maltby, DFC, Flt Lt. H.B. Martin, DFC,

Flt Lt. D.J. Shannon, DFC, Plt Off. L.G. Knight

Bar to Distinguished Flying Cross:

Flt Lt. R.C Hay, DFC, Flt Lt. R.E.G. Hutchison, DFC, Flt Lt. J.F. Leggo, DFC, Flg Off. D.R. Walker, DFC

Distinguished Flying Cross:

Flt Lt. R.D. Trevor-Roper, DFM, Flg Off. J. Buckley, Flg Off. L. Chambers,

Flg Off. H.S. Hobday, Flg Off. E.C. Johnson,

Plt Off. F.M. Spafford, DFM, Plt Off. J. Fort, Plt Off. C.L. Howard,

Plt Off. G.A. Deering, Plt Off. H.T. Taerum

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Flying):

Flt. Sgt. K.W. Brown, Flt. Sgt. W.C. Townsend, DFM

Bar to Distinguished Flying Medal:

Sgt. C.E. Franklin, DFM

Distinguished Flying Medal:

F/Sgt. G.A. Chalmers, F/Sgt. D.A. MacLean, F/Sgt. Simpson, F/Sgt. L.J. Sumpter,

Sgt. V. Nicholson, Sgt. G.L. Johnson, Sgt. D.P. Heal, Sgt. S. Oancia, Sgt. J. Pulford,

Sgt. D.E. Webb, Sgt. Wilkinson

The Dambusters documentary 1 of 6

2008-01-02T21:40:00.001+00:00

This documentary chronicles the development, planning and implementation of the famous bouncing bombs. The mission is carried out by courageous 617 squadron, see below for parts 2 - 6.

See Older Post below to continue the Dambusters Documentary

The Dambusters documentary 2 of 6

2008-01-02T21:35:00.006+00:00

The Dambusters documentary 2 of 6

The Dambusters documentary 3 of 6

2008-01-02T21:33:00.003+00:00

The Dambusters documentary 3 of 6

The Dambusters documentary 4 of 6

2008-01-02T21:32:00.000+00:00

The Dambusters documentary 4 of 6

The Dambusters documentary 5 of 6

2008-01-02T21:31:00.003+00:00

The Dambusters documentary 5 of 6

The Dambusters documentary 6 of 6

2008-01-02T21:30:00.000+00:00

The Dambusters documentary part 6 of 6