The Dam Busters

In the Words of the Bomber Crews

W. B. Bartlett (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

320 Seiten

2011 | 1
Amberley Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-4456-0382-7 (ISBN)

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The story of the legendary bouncing-bomb attack on Nazi Germany's dams. It was not long before midnight on 16 May 1943 when the inhabitants of Gunne, the German town close to the Mohne Dam, heard the air-raid warnings. It was widely regarded as a precautionary measure but ninety minutes later, an immense tidal-wave was roaring down the valley towards them. Guy Gibson, who led 'X' Squadron of 19 specially adapted Lancasters equipped with Barnes Wallis's 'bouncing bomb', knew that the odds were stacked against him and his men. But they would not let him down. Some, like Squadron Leader Young whose bomb breached the dam, would return home as heroes. Others, like Pilot Officer Byers and his crew, would not, shot down just after crossing the North Sea whilst they were still miles away from their targets. A small number of those involved would survive crashed aircraft and live out the war in POW camps. The Dam Busters raids have gone down as perhaps the most famous air-strikes in history. Yet behind the story of courage and determination there lies another, darker side, both for the aircrews - 40% of whom died in the mission - and for those who lived below the dams in the path of the flood, many of whom were not even German. This new account tells the story of those dramatic events through the eyes of those who were there. Whether or not the reality matches the legend, one thing that emerges is the incredible bravery of those who flew the most dangerous mission they had ever undertaken and the trauma experienced by those unlucky enough to be its target.

W. B. Bartlett is both an experienced historian with a number of publications already to his credit and has also travelled and worked abroad extensively. In his varied career, he has visited fifty countries, working in many of them for extended periods. This has enabled him to understand just how powerful the impact of history can be in our understanding of the world in which we live. He is the author of many history books for Amberley, including titles on the Dam Busters, Titanic, Anglo-Saxons, King Cnut and the Vikings. He lives in Bournemouth.

Preface 1. Apres moi, le deluge (617 Squadron motto) 0930, 17 May 1943 2. Race Against the Clock (February - March 1943) 3. Squadron X (March - May 1943) 4. Countdown to Zero Hour (15 - 16 May 1943) 5. Take-Off (2100 - 2159: 16 May 1943) 6. Into the flak (2200-2259: 16 May 1943) 7. Approaching the Battleground (2300-2359: 16 May 1943) 8. Bombs Away (0000-0029: 17 May 1943) 9. Breakthrough at the Mohne (0030-0059: 17 May 1943) 10. The Floodgates Open (0100-0129: 17 May 1943) 11. The Attack on the Eder (0130-0159: 17 May 1943) 12. Closing Manoeuvres (0200-0259: 17 May 1943) 13. The Final Assault (0300-0359: 17 May 1943) 14. Homeward Bound (0400-0615: 17 May 1943) 15. Aftermath Appendix 1: Combat Reports List of Illustrations Bibliography Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	15.10.2011
Zusatzinfo	32 Plates, color
Verlagsort	Chalford
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 234 mm
Gewicht	667 g
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918)
	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► 1918 bis 1945
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
ISBN-10	1-4456-0382-9 / 1445603829
ISBN-13	978-1-4456-0382-7 / 9781445603827
Zustand	Neuware