70th Anniversary of the Dam Buster raids
Discussion
Surprised Vine didnt mention the pollution from those engines, and why hasnt the RAF fitted catalytic converters, and didnt the designers realise those bombs were designed to kill, why werent there any women taking partmin he raids, and how many trees were killed by the ensuing flood?
fatboy69 said:
C5 are showing the original uncut film - which includes the 'n' word that we cannot use!!
My 7 year old son is engrossed in the film. Great stuff.
Watched it, brilliant as always.My 7 year old son is engrossed in the film. Great stuff.
The thing on afterwards about the last of the Dam Busters was damn interesting too. Johnny Johnston seems a damn fine chap still, before you even allow for his age.
Went to see the Radio 2 Dambusters concert at Biggin Hill. It was really very good. I didn't really know what to expect, but the whole thing was very honest and well put together. Even Vine, who I normally have a love/hate listening relationship with, was good, as was Dermet (sp?)
I didn't get to listen to the whole day as, coincidentally, I was flying back from Germany and came pretty much over the dams. Landed at London and came straight to the show.
Gabrielle Aplin was very good, as were the various orchestras. The spitfire flyby was also a nice way to be transported back in time. My OH, who was slightly uneasy about the celebration of what was quite a destructive mission, really enjoyed it. The show was much more about commemoration rather than celebration which is, of course, the correct way to look at it, and emphasised subtly.
We came home and fired up the Dambusters DVD also, which is as good as ever. If they do ever have to remake it, I hope it is along the lines of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers for screenplay, as opposed to other flops like Pearl Harbour. The story, the men, and history deserve better than that.
I didn't get to listen to the whole day as, coincidentally, I was flying back from Germany and came pretty much over the dams. Landed at London and came straight to the show.
Gabrielle Aplin was very good, as were the various orchestras. The spitfire flyby was also a nice way to be transported back in time. My OH, who was slightly uneasy about the celebration of what was quite a destructive mission, really enjoyed it. The show was much more about commemoration rather than celebration which is, of course, the correct way to look at it, and emphasised subtly.
We came home and fired up the Dambusters DVD also, which is as good as ever. If they do ever have to remake it, I hope it is along the lines of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers for screenplay, as opposed to other flops like Pearl Harbour. The story, the men, and history deserve better than that.
Simpo Two said:
You only get to have stupid ideas like that after 60+ years of peacetime. I think it's no coincidence that this country lost the plot about the same time the WW2 generation moved off the gameboard.
You should have been a Pathfinder bomb aimer. That's a direct hit right on the centre of the target. 
Bump for something interesting at the Building Research Establishment.
The original model dam used for testing still exists, and will be open to visitors this Saturday, 25th May:
http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=3146
'The Mohne Dam across the Ruhr valley in Germany was opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1913, and comprehensive, dimensioned details of its construction were published in technical papers at the time. Using data from these papers, Dr Davey designed a 1/50th scale model of the dam, to be built across a small stream in secluded woodland at the edge of the BRS site.
The model, which survives today at the centre of the now enlarged BRE site, was built in seven weeks between November 1940 and January 1941'
The original model dam used for testing still exists, and will be open to visitors this Saturday, 25th May:
http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=3146
'The Mohne Dam across the Ruhr valley in Germany was opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1913, and comprehensive, dimensioned details of its construction were published in technical papers at the time. Using data from these papers, Dr Davey designed a 1/50th scale model of the dam, to be built across a small stream in secluded woodland at the edge of the BRS site.
The model, which survives today at the centre of the now enlarged BRE site, was built in seven weeks between November 1940 and January 1941'
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