Dam Busters: The True Story of the Legendary Raid on the Ruhr Hardcover | Pages: 437 pages

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ISBN:	0593066766 (ISBN13: 9780593066768)
Edition Language:	English

Chronicle Concering Books Dam Busters: The True Story of the Legendary Raid on the Ruhr

A combination of scientific innovation and heroism led to one of the lesser known but extremely important bombing raids of WWII. It was all due to the imagination of a civilian engineer/airplane designer named Barnes Wallis and his commitment to the idea of the destruction of the three major dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley. He felt strongly that the loss of these dams which provided the majority of the power for the manufacturing industry would do massive damage to the production of weapons and matériel and shorten the war. Unfortunately the dams were practically indestructible ....but Wallis had an idea.

The "bouncing bomb".......explosives encased in a cylindrical shell that, when dropped by a low flying Lancaster bomber, would bounce across the top of the water like a skipping stone and, if positioned correctly, would hit the dam wall, sink, and then explode. The combination of the explosion and the water pressure created by the explosion should breach the dam. But the key word here was "should" and the military was less than enthusiastic about the idea. But Barnes had friends in high places and after much toing and froing the creation of the Upkeep (bouncing bomb) became a reality.

The author introduces the reader not only to Barnes and the experiments that led to success but as well gives an in-depth look at the pilots of the RAF 617 Squadron who were hand picked and trained for this dangerous mission which verged on the suicidal. (Lancaster bombers were not built to fly 100 feet above the ground/water which was the necessary height needed to release the bombs.) So on the night of 16 May, 1943, two flights of 9 Lancasters each flew toward the coast of Holland and history.

A fascinating book, although a bit slow in places where the testing is described in detail. I would highly recommend it and also recommend the 1955 film starring Sir Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd.

Details Regarding Books Dam Busters: The True Story of the Legendary Raid on the Ruhr

Title	:	Dam Busters: The True Story of the Legendary Raid on the Ruhr
Author	:	James Holland
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Anniversary Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 437 pages
Published	:	May 2012 by Bantam Press
Categories	:	History. Nonfiction. Aviation. War. World War II. Military. Military History

Rating Regarding Books Dam Busters: The True Story of the Legendary Raid on the Ruhr

Ratings: 4.24 From 753 Users | 78 Reviews

Judge Regarding Books Dam Busters: The True Story of the Legendary Raid on the Ruhr

This is an excellent book. It's probably the most comprehensive account of the events before, during and after the raid I've read, although Paul Brickhill's 'Dam Busters' (1951) remains well-worth reading. What James Holland does well is to pull together all the separate threads: the design and engineering, the strategic and military, the political and administrative and - perhaps most importantly - the personal. He introduces us to the key figures at every level and every so often we're

A book worth reading, especially if you have an affinity for World War II history. The author goes into a lot of detail to not only present the military history, but also to make the characters come alive. In this way, the author shows how each individual played a very important role in the mission undertaken to destroy important dams in Germany, and thus destroying/limiting the Nazis ability to supply their war effort.The damage resulting from the dams destruction was much more than just the

Dam Busters is the story of the RAF mission to destroy dams in the industrial heartland of Germany in 1943. The strength of this book is that it tries to tell the whole story, from the initial idea of attacking these industrial targets, to the development of the technology required, the political manoeuvres needed to gain backing for the raids and the training of the crews. Finally the book describes the mission itself and it's aftermath. All of this additional information created a real sense

'Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the Dams, 1943' gives a very well written and highly detailed account of the daring raid on the German dams of May 1943. The book does an excellent job of covering all aspects of the raid; the uphill fight that Barnes Wallis faced when trying to have his bouncing bomb idea approved by the RAF, the backgrounds of the crews that were chosen for 617 squadron, the development and testing of upkeep (and indeed the failure of highball), the raid itself and the

Very detailed history of 617 Squadron and their first mission - the destruction of the Mohne and Eder Dams that fed water into the Ruhr. It is a bit dry, and I think the author tries a bit too hard to justify the results as having been worth the effort and sacrifice (of 19 crews, 8 didn't come back). Still, the depth of research shows, especially regarding the technical side of the Upkeep weapon and how it was used (I expect this information was probably still classified when The Dam Busters by

With this book, Mr. Holland not only tells the story of the men who flew the famous mission in 1943, but also tells us why it was flown and how the bombs used on the dams came to be. He not only highlights the men who flew the mission, but the designer of the bomb they carried Barnes Wallace.Starting with a disastrous low level mission to Augsburg in 1942, after which the RAF basically shut down daylight and low level bombing missions, the author takes the reader through the whys and wherefores

I really like James Holland as a new, refreshing eye on recent history.