A 1954 dramatization of Paul Brickhill's best-selling novel about World War II. The documentary series focused on the 617 Dambusting Squadron and is full of air force adventure. There were 26 half-hour episodes, and the cast also featured Charles "Bud" Tingwell Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16 &17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis. The Mohne and Eder Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley, while the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. All 26 episodes in excellent condition
Background
During the height of World War II it was the target of British Bomber Command to damage and destroy as much of Germany's industry as possible. After all, it is industry that is at the heart of any war effort. After in depth studies and many attacks of the industrial areas in Germany, the British soon realised that after an attack, the factories were soon rebuilt and more importantly dispersed over a wider area which made them more difficult to attack again.
It quickly became apparent though that there were limitations to where industry could be located. All industry requires power and therefore it must be located within a reasonable distance from a power source. This changed the way in which Bomber Command thought about attacking Germany's industry. Instead of attacking the factories, attacking their power sources was a much better strategy. The main advantage of attacking power sources is that many more than one factory uses the same power source. Destroying one power source would therefore lead to disruption in many factories and industries.
Bomber Command's attention then turned to which power sources to attack to give maximum damaging impact on the industry in Germany. Three sources of energy were identified; coal mines, the Rumanian oil fields and the hydroelectric dams. Two of these were quickly discounted. Coal mines were relatively easily repaired or rebuilt and the RAF possessed no aircraft with a suitable range to attack the oil fields located in far east Germany.
Despite the problems with the other two targets, the hydroelectric dams of Germany's Ruhr Valley were probably the best targets. These dams supplied water and power to the industry of the Ruhr Valley which was the heart of Hitler's war machine, as well as controlling the water levels in canals that transported materials to and from the factories. Huge resources of coal and iron ore saw the Ruhr Valley grow into the heartland of the country's industry during the early 20th century. Along with many large cities in the surrounding area, the dams were built during the growth period to cope with the inevitable power and water requirements. It was estimated that one quarter of Germany's water was consumed by this industrial area.
Of the 20 massive dams constructed in the Ruhr Valley, six dams were selected as targets with three of these being the primary targets. The Mohne, the Eder and the Sorpe dams were the three primary targets. Between the Mohne and Sorpe, they held back 76% of the total water available to the industrial valley, one of the main reasons they were two of the primary targets. If breached these dams would bring the whole industrial valley to a stand still, causing massive damage to the steel industry devastating production of tanks, aircraft, guns and locomotives which were all vital to Germany's war effort.
Ironically, attacking the dams in Ruhr Valley was not a new idea. In anticipation of war, Britain began looking at industrial targets in the Ruhr as early as 1937. The dams were high on the target then, but these plans were shelved because of one major problem which eluded Bomber Command. How do you hit and breach a dam? - A problem which was far more complex than it appeared, especially over 60 years ago. Read More Here
All in One Zip File
Single Episodes
Dambusters_1954_ep01.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep02.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep03.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep04.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep05.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep06.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep07.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep08.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep09.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep10.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep11.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep12.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep13.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep14.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep15.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep16.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep17.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep18.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep19.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep20.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep21.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep22.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep23.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep24.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep25.mp3
Dambusters_1954_ep26.mp3
Film
The Dam Busters (1955)
Comments
I haven't seen it in a long time and I am now downloading it to watch on my iPad. Thanks for making it available.
The film is one of my all-time favorite war movies. Still watch it every two or three years.