Dam Buster: WWII's Bouncing Bomb
- Episode aired Oct 25, 2005
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
6
YOUR RATING
Photos
Winston Churchill
- Self
- (archive footage)
Guy Gibson
- Self
- (archive footage)
King George VI
- Self
- (archive footage)
Dik Martin
- Sir Arthur Harris
- (as Dick Martin)
Erwin Rommel
- Self
- (archive footage)
Barnes Wallis
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Featured review
It's pretty easy to make an interesting documentary on this subject, as it's so interesting...
This episode of "Man, Moment, Machine" is about the so-called 'Dam Busters'--a missing in which a squadron of Lancaster bombers blew up a major dam in the German Ruhr Valley during WWII. Considering how difficult and technically demanding it all was, it's no surprise that this was a fascinating show.
Back in the early 1940s, and engineer,Barnes Wallace, had a radical notion--to use bombers to breach German dams. However, while this might sound easy, there are LOTS of technical difficulties with such a mission. Not only would it be difficult to attack due to German anti-aircraft batteries, but it would need pinpoint guidance as well as a special sort of bomb. Conventional bombs wouldn't do the trick and the weapon would also have to be incredibly huge. How Wallace went about convincing the British high command as well as working through the physics involved makes up much of this show. Through re-creations, letters and interviews, the folks who made the documentary did a good job of keeping the audience in suspense. I also appreciate how the importance of this mission in the overall war effort wasn't exaggerated. It was an amazing engineering feat but it certainly did little to swing the war in favor of the Allies. Still, interesting and compelling throughout, this is well worth your time.
By the way, there is a British film that dramatizes this mission. "Dam Busters" (1955) is a very good and suspenseful film. There also have been several other documentaries on the dam busters.
Back in the early 1940s, and engineer,Barnes Wallace, had a radical notion--to use bombers to breach German dams. However, while this might sound easy, there are LOTS of technical difficulties with such a mission. Not only would it be difficult to attack due to German anti-aircraft batteries, but it would need pinpoint guidance as well as a special sort of bomb. Conventional bombs wouldn't do the trick and the weapon would also have to be incredibly huge. How Wallace went about convincing the British high command as well as working through the physics involved makes up much of this show. Through re-creations, letters and interviews, the folks who made the documentary did a good job of keeping the audience in suspense. I also appreciate how the importance of this mission in the overall war effort wasn't exaggerated. It was an amazing engineering feat but it certainly did little to swing the war in favor of the Allies. Still, interesting and compelling throughout, this is well worth your time.
By the way, there is a British film that dramatizes this mission. "Dam Busters" (1955) is a very good and suspenseful film. There also have been several other documentaries on the dam busters.
helpful•10
- planktonrules
- Apr 30, 2012
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content