The Dambusters - Takeoff
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Takeoff scene from the 1955 classic war movie 'The Dambusters', depicting the famous 617 Squadron embarking on the historical dams raid on the night of 16th-17th of May 1943. Richard Todd stars in the main role of Wing Commander Guy Gibson (later Wg Cdr Guy Gibson VC)
I was lucky enough to meet Richard Todd. Dressed immaculately and very pleasant to chat with.
Yep met him too. Genuine war hero!
Same here, he came across as a lovely guy, unassuming, but you still knew who he was.
Holy crap...all these years and I only just realized that it is Robert Shaw playing the flight engineer. One of my favorite actors. I must have watched this movie a dozen times with my dad as a nipper and never made the connection.
I only just realised this too and I've seen this movie many times! It was after watching him in Jaws I googled him and the rest is history😄
Another famous name in the film was Patrick McGoohan.
Jesus H! Me too!!
"Japanese sub slammed two torpedoes into our side Chief"
Shaw was to become familiar to television viewers when he became the lead in a pirate series " The Buccaneers", released in 1956 and made primarily for children
One of my Great Uncles was the Flight Engineer (the right seater) in a Lancaster, he had an Arthritic deformed left hand from ramming the throttles against the stops and holding them there while taking off. He died many years ago when I was too young to appreciate what he did. Just another hero without the respect they deserved. Lest we forget.
Where do we get these type of men? They put it all on the line And many did not come back! Where do we get such Men ! “God Bless Them All” !
Well said Don, well said👍
Conscription. Few volunteered.
There is no campaign medal for bomber command. A disgrace.
@@channel9r Wrong most volunteered, conscripts mostly went to the Army.
A different era when know one thought twice about dying for king and country ....apart from a few exceptions...
Never has so much been owed by so many to so few. Great words and incredibly true.🇬🇧
@David Brooks....Churchill uttered those immortal words in reference to the Battle of Britain pilots of 1940 - as they were outnumbered 4 to 1 by the German Luftwaffe.
@@thesoultwins72 Yes he did, great words by a great man & to this day we continue to thank the RAF as a whole for over 100 years of incredible service to the nation.
Lest We Forget. 🇬🇧
@@davidbrooks187 What a pity those in power didn't think so after the war. Bomber Command cast aside when all was said and done. I suppose even for Churchill, bombing defenceless women and children was nothing to boast about. Their efforts and sacrifice were quickly swept under the rug.
So true too, but the lose if 57 men must have been unforgettable.
@@thesoultwins72 still relevant to Bomber command to I think
Great war hero Richard Todd who was at Pegasus Bridge playing another war hero Guy Gibson!
James Henderson. Because?
My wife and I got treated to a private 1 hour visit to the actual Bar and squad room in Woodhall Spa on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2015. They had the actual branch that on take off to sink the Tirpitz went all the way and back from UK to Russia then to Kaa Fjord in Northern Norway lodged in the bomb aimers glass. To see the pennies nailed to the wall and the names and serial No's of the MIA crewman and their photo's with bio's was very humbling and heart breaking. The Valour and bravery of these very young men is astounding. I thank God I have never had to know or fight in a war thanks to the men and women who gave unselfishly of their lives no matter what war to present day. Thankyou !
That shot where they fly over Lincoln Cathederal and Brayford Wharf is awsome!
imagine the remake flying over an illegal camp
FROM AMERICA: LONG LIVE THE R.A.F. We still love and respect Great Britain.
@Alan 59 Nice.
Amen! A bunch of brave fliers to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. Long live the RAF and the country they serve so well. Love and respect from America.
I look forward to Apples upcoming series about the 8th Army Air force.
And thank you America for being there especially the Mighty 8th.
@@anthonyeaton5153 ROGER THAT !
There’s pretty much no background music in this film until the end when Eric Coates famous Dam Busters March blows your mind.
Aah, the Rolls-Royce Merlin! Now that's what I call music.
19 went, 11 returned. The skill, courage and grit of these men is quite incredible.
@Kevin Yes, the crew of a Lancaster being 7.
YES AND THE BBC AND SALLY NUGENTS ARE SHIT HOUSES INFAMOUS HOW DISGUSTING
19 planes took off with 133 men. Three planes had to come back for mechanical problems. Thus 16 planes took part to the raid . 8 planes did not return. 56 men werevlost.
@@rogerbeesley-lo5tj I believe the RCAF sqadrons had a crew of eight, having a second pilot. Not that this was the case on this mission.
20 years ago there was a fly by of some lancanster bombers at Hoek van Holland (Holland) in a may end of war celebration. I was born in 1959 but tears streamed on my face when I heard the so impressive sound of the plane approaching.... My father almost starved in The Haque in 1944/45. The food dropped by the same planes saved his life.
The food was dropped from 29 april 1945 onwards.
You will never ever see a three Lancaster take off at the same time 😮👌👍🧐 OUTSTANDING Cheers 🍻
My Father was with 635 at the end of the war and they went to Bari in Italy to bring back some of the eigth army who had not been home for years and the Yanks ran the airfield and expected three of them to take off at once and apparently demanded they did so. As wireless op my old man heard the magic words uttered as it was impolitely refused and there was all hell to pay when they returned to Downham Market as they had upset our allies. But in their defence what was the rush and why take unnecessary risks?
I feel another viewing of the film coming on..
oh to be a young schoolboy watching from the hedges, hearing that magnificent roar... !! ;)
The sound of those engines flying over Lincolnshire last week...
sound of the illegals arriving on our shore !!!!!
Beautiful shot flying towards Lincoln Cathedral
Anyone who is interested might read Paul Brickhill's book 'The Dam Busters' which tells the story of this mission, for which 617 Squadron was formed, and many of their subsequent missions. Many of these were equally dangerous and demanding... some required astonishing accuracy of bomb aiming. Guy Gibson was followed by one Leonard Cheshire as squadron leader, who did many remarkable things as pilot and, after the war organised aid of various kinds for ex-service personnel; also forming what is now known as the Leonard Cheshire Homes.
Legends, all of them. Great post Tim.
I read it as a school kid. It made a great impression.
Actually, W/Cdr Holden followed Gibson as CO of 617 sqn, Cheshire came after Holden was killed in September 1943 along with most of Gibsons crew.
@@peterbaldwin1499 Thank you.
Leonard Cheshire, like Guy Gibson, was also awarded the Victoria Cross while commanding 617 Squadron.
What a majestic sight and the rumble of it's engines like rolling thunder.
Proud to be English 🏴
They do not make planes like that anymore! Those Merlins purr!
British not English , Britain was at War with Germany
@@brain8484 A Tottenham fan lecturing anyone about winning something. PMSL!
Yes, disturbing, I know all rgds too the air crew and pilots who were not if they would come back, that's what disturbing me, it's both brilliant and very emotional at the same time.
'Majestic' - the very word that came to my mind, and then I saw your post. Also 'menacing' and 'graceful', an extraordinary blend of characteristics.
One of many great moments for the Royal Air Force! My thanks to these amazing men and to Barnes Wallace for his genius!
Robert Shaw! Love this scene. Jeez that engine sound is amazing
A Great film about the greatest generation.
Have this and 'Memphis Belle' on DVD. both great movies.
@James Henderson Get a life James. You are bloody everywhere trolling.
@James Henderson Not true. It was just the first of a series of experimental weapons., all of which were successful, and even the Germans admitted that the dams were a legitimate target then, though they are not today..
And all this heroism and effort and pain to end up giving England away to the niggas? So fucking sad....
Not a single cell phone in sight. Just lads living life the way it should be lived.
I met Johnny Johnson a few years ago an ultimate gentleman he is .
A great movie about an incredible mission and a genius designer. We tend to throw the word hero(s) around too lightly I think, but in this case it truly applies .
Like piston-engined aircraft! You can see the power of their engines! The hum of their engines makes a strong impression!
Светозар Велесов nothing like piston engines synchronized
Especially those Rolls Royce Merlin Engines, they were special.
A formation takeoff in heavy-weight bomber is very demanding. I love the sound of those Merlins. Those crews really had courage, confidence and determination for such a demanding mission. They were certainly heroes!
That's why the second man takes over the throttles - if they slipped back...
Three Lancasters in a 'V' formation taking off, not usually this close together, plus the camera aircraft makes four in almost line-abreast; risky!
@@jantyszka1036 Notice how the pilot begins giving the right-hand engines more 'welly' before bringing them back into line later in the take-off roll?
An accurate detail that hundreds of people in the cinemas would have noticed if they'd got it wrong.
The extra power on the right was to keep the aircraft straight before it had built up enough speed to have sufficient airflow over the flying controls.
When that happens, the strength needed to keep control meant using both hands on the 'yoke', so the Flight Engineer takes over.
Also, as the plane's tail lifts, the tipping forward of the airscrew discs means the aircraft tends to drift to the side due to gyroscpoic effects, and he needs to hold onto that, as well.
@@stevetheduck1425 Thank you so much for your informative and fascinating comment.
@@stevetheduck1425 The props turn clockwise (from pilots perspective), this creates yaw to the left. He would be leading with the port side engines to counteract this, not the right.
One of my all time favourite movies.
It was because of this movie I joined the RAF as an aircraft engineer to serve my country! Per Aruda Ad Astra chaps. Godspeed.
Per Ardua
Only 1 sound better than a Rolls Royce Merlin engine..
And...
that's the sound of 12 Rolls Royce Merlin engines.
Makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
Brrrrr.
Respects...
If there is ever perfect "background music for blokes" (and why not) it just has to be the sound of four Merlin engines.
I met the RAF pilot who led the flying of the Lancaster's in the film Ken Souter (in London in 2005) to do with the book on the film by Jonathan Falconer. One thing I always noticed with the Lancs in the film was their 'grey' spinners. With all the effort to make the Lancs in the film look like the wartime 617 aircraft they forgot this highly obvious detail. Nevertheless a classic film still to this day!
I think the Mark VIIs used in the film had coloured spinners-probably red - which showed up as light grey in the movie.
You can see the instrument panel from Gibsons plane in East Kirby
Great movie and always loved the Lanc. Such a tragic time for so many people from so many nations..
The sound of those Merlin engines!
Search TH-cam for "RAF Sunset Ceremony" - starting at three minutes in, the band plays The Dambusters March.
As they're playing, a Lancaster rolls up behind them and sits there, engines roaring, until the end.
The Dambusters March, scored for brass band and four Merlin engines.
It's magnificent.
That's Merlin The Magician's voice from King Arthur's court The sound of victory!
My Father was the actual Flight Engineer in this film, not the actor, there was only one Lancaster, the Pilot was a Polish guy who my dad rated very highly.
There were three Lancasters flying for the film.
Four Lancasters can be seen together on the ground, and at least one Avro Lincoln can be spotted in the background to build up the numbers a little in some shots (it has longer wings, and the nose is a different shape, based upon the Lancaster).
Hes done all he can. Its now up to the young men to do the mission. They paid an awful price for victory. God bless everyone of them! Their spirit ans scarface should inspire us all even today.
RIP all the brave men of that mission. I will never forget!
@James Henderson what would you prefer....hilter in power at 10 downing st!?
@James Henderson sighn a "peace" agreement with hitler? Chamberlin did that which meant nothing to germany. Im not well read on check or poland govts. They wanted nothing to do with germany and fought with us.
Until his death, the actor Richard Todd, Guy Gibson in the film, visited the sight of their takeoff on the day of the raid. He was very moved by the character in this film. It is my favorite film of WWII.
@@WMJCPA i did not know that about Mike Todd! Moving! It has always been my favorite mission to research. Thanks for the info! Cheers!
@@WMJCPA i did not know that about Mike Todd! Moving! It has always been my favorite mission to research. Thanks for the info! Cheers!
This and the Battle of Britain.THE best films ever!
And 633 squadron dont forget that movie lol
Sink the Bismarck, 1960.
Ice Cold in Alex
@@d53101 Yes, no histrionic nonsense either. Depicts men under intolerable pressure on both sides, in action at sea stoically doing their duty. Bit unfair on the German commanders who were not Nazis and were shocked at the fate of Hood, but can't have everything I suppose. What was it Churchill said about battle cruisers and dreadnoughts in action, two eggshells fighting with sledgehammers.
I agree, but I'm biased...unfortunately I'm white British Male...extremist, nationalist, far right, nazi.
Now there's a conundrum !!
I love this film. I remember seeing it at the Collegian Theater in Ames, Iowa in 1955 when I was 8. I saw it again about 10 years later on TV. Growing up, I had a Jewish friend whose father went to the UK in 1939 to join with RAF to fight the Germans. He became a British bomber pilot during WWII. He survived a crash landing of his shot-up bomber one time. I learned later that he wasn't alone. A lot of Americans and Canadians did the same - so strong were their convictions.
Nice film.....!!!
Wow the sight of the Lancs over Lincoln Cathedral is as British as Cliff Richard on a sun lounger in Benidorm
Incredible sight.
Nice shot of the three Lancasters overflying the city of Lincoln just a few miles from RAF Scampton. Lincoln cathedral can be clearly seen in the left of the picture. The Lancasters from RAF Scampton, and from its sister base RAF Waddington which is on the opposite side of Lincoln, (and where I served in the early 1980’s) used to orbit the cathedral once for luck as they left to raid Germany. When you were flying raids in Bomber Command you needed all the help you could get.
Another little bit of trivia: the next time you watch the film look carefully at the “Lancasters” parked on the airfield in the extreme distance (not in this clip) and you will see they are actually Avro Lincolns, the Lancasters post war successor.
Also in the film, when they are meeting in the mess for the first time, the picture on the wall is called The Briefing, oil painting of all the crews at the briefing for the raid.
It used to hang in the JRM at Scampton.
A bomber from RAF skellingthorpe to the south of Lincoln supposedly went between the towers of the cathedral apparently the damage to the roof by the tail wheel is still there, don’t know if that’s true, but a few people mentioned it when I lived there
@@Thecrazyvaclav Not heard that one before but it would not surprise me.
An awesome movie! A true classic!
Guy Gibson what a man and pilot.
He died when he crashed into a hill killing all his crew
If you want to know more try Jonathan Falconer's book Filming The Dambusters. Lots of details about NX673, NX679, NX782 and RT686,
Amazing light sensitivity on those cameras - knowing that the takeoff was midnight.
The method was called 'day for night shooting', and was often used to simulate night shots.
- and 617 Squadron all took off in daylight, in the afternoon, as in the middle of the year in Britain, days are long, and nights are short. The last planes back also arrived in daylight.
"Operation Chastise" by Max Hastings is a great companion read. This film used to be on TV all the time when I was a kid. Sad we never see it anymore.
2:37 - the late great Robert Shaw as flight engineer Sgt.John Pulford.
He had been granted special permission to attend his father's funeral the day before the Dambusters raid, accompanied by two RAF policemen to ensure he didn't inadvertently compromise security.
Thank you! Didnt know that!
Only the 3rd film he was in. Wonderful actor.
@@Mike12522 The Dambusters was the first film for Patrick McGoohan (later in 'Danger Man' and 'The Prisoner').
He plays a security man, who stands outside the briefing room, later sending Gibson's dog away as he can't let him in.
Kérném magyar nyelven. Köszönöm Laci a szépkorú
When you look at those propeller blades and compare them with the size and bulk of the aircraft, and think: it's those skinny little things that pull it along and enable it to get into the air and stay there .... A similar thought crossed my mind a few years back during a commercial flight in a single-engine Cessna.
Try spinning a prop by hand up to 3,000 rpm.
I love them flying past Bell Harry of Canterbury Cathedral.
Lincoln cathedral
Sadly a friend of mine past away some years back, he flew bombers in 1939 and finished in 1945, three tours of duty plus clandestine ops, such a softley spoken man he had humility, he didnt talk much about his war, apart from K for King a lanc that just couldnt get the altitude, BUT once it was bombs away it was the fastest lanc on the squadron so pilots queued up to fly it, as he told me the story his hands were on the controls and he was looking up as was i, then he said because you were lower down in day light you kept an eye on crap coming from above, what a wonderful generation we owe them so much.
I remember my Grandfather telling me about this one ANZAC day when it was on the TV. He knew some of the crew from his time in the RAAF in WW2
The RAF loaned 3 Lancs for the making of this film, all the other 4 engined planes you see on the ground are Avro Lincoln’s.
The heartbreaking thing is that after this film was finished all the Lancaster's they used were taken and broken up, SACRILEGE! this is my all time favourite war film and the fact that Richard Todd was a handsome devil makes the film more enjoyable.
A similarly stupid thing was done in Australia with the prototype of the Commonweath Aircraft Corporation CA-15. This was a fighter which was being designed by CAC during the war to serve in the RAAF. The powerplant was originally to be a Pratt and Whitney R-2800, but after P&W sent a cable warning that supplies of this engine could not be guaranteed, CAC eventually settled on the RR Griffon 125. The delay while a redesign was done ensured that the prototype could not be completed until the war was over, and CAC produced the North American Mustang for the RAAF under licence. The prototype of the CA-15 first flew on March 4, 1946, and the test program established that it was an outstanding aircraft. It had a wheels-up landing, and more than a year went by before it was returned to service. Eventually, a report suggested that there was little point in continuing with work on the project, as the flight characteristics had been established, and the future lay in jet-engined fighters. The recommendation was made that it be scrapped, and this was done in May, 1950, when the prototype would have had many fewer than 100 hours on the clock. There was a similarly stupid epilogue to this saga. Almost anything is possible nowadays if enough money can be provided. I have heard of small production runs of Yak 9's and ME-262's being constructed, and I thought there should be nothing to stop this being possible with the CA-15. But then I heard that the company had accidentally thrown out most of the drawings in the early 1980's.
Ik heb het boek `in zoeklicht en afweer geschut` van Guy Gibson zeker 4x herlezen.
Loved this movie! One of the best WW2 movies made.
The only thing I did not like is that the movie portrayed this action, as an entirely British operation with all British airmen. My grandfather a veteran, was pissed off with the fact that 30 Canadians were in the 133 total and that was totally not shown on this film. There were also 16 Ausies, New Zealanders, ... 14000 Canadians landed on D-Day and this fact was completely ignored in the movie. the "The longest day" ... Canada is a quiet and brave nation and with its troops has rescued England and France twice and never gets enough credit. ...
@@FooFahFoeFum that's right.
Some of them even liberated my mother's village in early July 44..
Todd (who played Gibson) was a D Day vet
On 6 June 1944, he participated in Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings.[6] He was among the first British soldiers to land in Normandy and the first Irishman.[1][7] His battalion parachuted after glider-borne forces had landed to capture the Pegasus Bridge near Caen.[6] During the operation he met Major John Howard on the bridge and was involved in helping to repulse counter-attacks by the Heer forces in the area. Five days after D-Day, while still in the bridge defence area, he was promoted to captain.[8][5] Todd later played Howard in the 1962 film The Longest Day, recreating these events.[9]
This film is and remains a good explanation and reasons for shutting down the Roerdam. Wonderful movie.
Thanks far looking after us RAF. ,
The raid failed.
Some were critical of civilian casualties but war is war. Here are some numbers to the best of my knowledge, 8 of 19 bombers were shot down or hit by their own bomb shrapnel, Youngs crew of 8 were shot down over the Dutch coast 20 minutes away from returning home, some bombers encountered fog and low cloud ... At 100 ft altitude! 133 men left 53 didn't come back, average age 23. Bless these brave men and never forget the sacrifice
I learned later a few surviving soldiers were captured p.o.w
@James Henderson When you trust your affairs to politicians, they ruin you: one can't blame the Muslims and all the others who were shipped-in by "our" parliamentarians.
Correction and additions to your statement. 19 crews of 7 = 133. The only one of the 133 still alive, is Frederick E. Sutherland a Canadian who was on the Leslie Gordon Knight /pilot/ bomber.
@@FooFahFoeFum Fred Sutherland died a year ago. McCarthy's bomb-aimer, George Johnson, 98, is now the last survivor of the Dams crews.
@@None-zc5vg ok thanks ... 98 , wish he could be interviewed?
Yes, and in the sixties I knew a flight leader operating in Copenhagen Airport. He explained to me that the only pilots in the whole world who dated to land when it was very foggy were the British, because the majority of them had flown during the Second World War, and they were simply superb pilots. There were never any accidents because of their superiority. When I fly today with my family I still prefer British Airways.
Pilots who dared to land - sorry
While watching this clip (yet again) I thought, all the older members of this film's cast and some of the younger ones served in the war... they all lived through the war, so they really knew what it was about.
A single Merlin just passed overhead, an unforgettable noise. This one powered a Spitfire, flying out of Sywell airfield, UK.
I was in the Fire Service and one of the lads on my watch(shift) was Guy Gibsons great nephew
The British Bashing Corporation just described the raid as
" infamous".. No doubt senior management at the BBC have much more courage than these young men..
Max Hastings book Chastise and the Dambusters Raid by James Holland are great books describing quite exceptional courage and flying skill. If you are interested read them.
I also recommend Enemy Coast Ahead, the story of Guy Gibson and the Dambusters
The answer to all those asking where they got the Lancasters from.
'The flight sequences of the film were shot using real Avro Lancaster bombers supplied by the RAF. The aircraft, four of the final production B.VIIs, had to be taken out of storage and specially modified by removing the mid-upper gun turrets to mimic 617 Squadron's special aircraft, and cost £130 per hour to run, which amounted to a tenth of the film's costs. A number of Avro Lincoln bombers were also used as "set dressing" '
From Wikipedia.
The aircraft had been in storage since the (better for flying sequences) film 'Appointment in London'. Spares were obtained from Silloth where scrapping was going on. The Lincolns and Canberras were (just) kept out of shot and RAF crews handled all the flying, often crouching on take-off to handle the controls though Todd and Shaw knew the complete drill. The RAF saved the film company a lot of money labelling the flying sequences as 'Continuation Training'. Quietly, at the close of filming, the four Lancs (three of which Avros had converted back to the mine-carrying condition) were flown away for scrapping...this was 1954 and some Lancs survived another two years in Coastal Command.
One "mistake" in filming the Lancasters was to show the post-raid aircraft still carrying their dummy mines, but maybe there wasn't enough time or money available to film the planes flying without them.
@@None-zc5vg There's so many continuity errors in the whole film. They're happy to fiddle with the soundtrack because of that other business but it's too much trouble to do a bit of elementary CGI to tidy up the odd visual.
The sound of confident victory. Merlin aero engines at full song.
My Cousin served on the Lancasters at 166 Squadron -Kirmington
I worked at the Brocklesby Dairy 35 years ago. Out the back woods is q plaque for a a lancaster that crashed in the woods coming into land.
An interesting time for such a film. Made in between the Korean War, which had a sobering effect on the post war optimism and featured jet aircraft, and the Suez Crisis in 56 which brought Britain’s perceptions of itself down to earth with an almighty bump. There is a sense that the importance of the raid was not in the results achieved but in that it was a ‘spectacular”, and something we still talk about today.
Which is incorrect the Dambusters raid achieved far more than we ever realised. When the damage of the raid was revealed an enraged Hitler demanded that the Dams be fixed by any means necessary. Albert Speer managed it in remarkably quick time but it cost Billions of Reichsmarks and materials which Germany could I'll afford to squander in the mounting pressure of the conflict. And most crucially of all it required a huge workforce and Hitler did not care where they came from which was a huge mistake. The following year General Erwin Rommel was sent to Normandy to take command of the defence in the face of an expected allied invasion. When he expected the coastal defences Rommel was not impressed. Most were incomplete or barely even started on. Rommel made inquiries into this and it turned out that the workforce that had been constructing the coastal defences had been sent back to Germany the previous year to rebuild the dams. So think about that if not for the Dambusters the D-day defenses could have been so much stronger and the invasion could have failed. Operation Chastise mattered.
@@Apollo890 No in fact it did not matter. In fact the Normandy invasion would not have been stopped by more fortifications .The Shelling of the beaches , often done by battleship gunfire was so heavy that
many of these concrete fortifications were shot to rubble or lost their strategic value.
The sheer endless supply of american made material made Normandy happen.
Not some funny looking barrel bomb.
I have just read Richard Todd’s Wikipedia biography. He enlisted in the British Army in 1939, and parachuted into Normandy on D-Day... was promoted to Captain five days after.
Todd did not parachute on D-Day, he led part of the glider assault at Pegasus Bridge.
@@ironcity9053 Thank you. I have just looked up the Wikipedia articles about D-Day and Operation Tonga - they do not provide enough information to be specific about various aspects.
I was in Gibson House in my RAF school in Khormaksar, Aden, my sister was in Cheshire House.
Magnificent
What must be going through the minds of people given such a dangerous task ? Brave men .
How the heck did I get into this... And, how the hell do I get out of it? I'm reading a book about the Battle of the Philippine Seas June 1944. American carrier pilots and crews on a one way trip to get the Japanese carriers. Similar sentiments...
@@LoftusRoadLad Funny you should mention that. Tirpitz was badly bent by RN miniature submarines laying mines under her hull. The Kriegsmarine moved her to a fjord further north, they thought out of heavy bomber range. She was finally sunk by Lancaster bombers with defensive turrets removed and staging through Russia, the first to save weight and the second to get the range. They dropped Barnes Wallis's supersonic ten ton tallboy bombs (q.v.) one each. Tirpitz took several hits capsized and sank. Not exactly a walk in the park either, not all the crews made the round trip - I think the same squadron 617 played a part, but might be wrong about that (this being YT doubtless some one will correct me if wrong).
@@TheArgieH It was 617 and 9 squadrons that carried out the successful attack against Tirpitz
@@guypenrose5477 Thanks.
@@TheArgieH My pleasure, but as you said, after the RN bent her severely first!
A young Robert Shaw. Brilliant actor and writer, who left this world way too early.😞
He was a hateful bigoted alcoholic.
Got to love those Merlin Engines ,Brave Boys .🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Those men were so brave, they gave their lives for us all, so privallidge to have lived just down the road from RAF SCAMPTON. LEST WE FORGET. 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️ Feb twenty three
The co-pilot actor at the left is Robert Shaw.
Hello to anyone who lifted a beer to the great man in the Barnes Wallace building at UMIST
Apparently the film producers were able to find three Lancaster’s in flying condition and only after they salvaged parts from other aircraft
The aircraft had been put into store at a maintenance unit before sale or disposal, but were in good condition.
The story is that two were later sold to the Argentinian Air Force for maritime patrol / bombing, one survived to be put in a museum.
Don't know for sure, but Lancasters have turned up all over the world over the years.
It’s hard to imagine most of these pilots were only in their early twenties flying huge planes like the Lancaster.
Some bomber pilots were not even old enough to hold a driving licence. You had to be at least 21 years of age to get one back then.......
Don’t forget the woman who delivered them to the operational bases
'The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, maintenance units (MUs), scrapyards, and active service squadrons and airfields, but not to naval aircraft carriers. It also flew service personnel on urgent duty from one place to another and performed some air ambulance work. Notably, around 10% of its pilots were women, and from 1943 they received equal pay to their male colleagues, a first for the British government.'
(from 'ATA Wikipedia')
Guy Gibson and his men created a legend, their attack to the dams and after the bombing of battleship Tirpitz can be considered among the decidir actions ML of WW ll
Jorge Mondion Cabrera well, actually it wasn’t decisive at all.
This is no reflection on the brave crews but the bouncing bomb while very effective against the Mohne and Eder, was utterly useless against the mud walls of the Sorpe which absorbed the shock waves. If the Sorpe had been breached it would have been hugely effective. As it turned out the raid killed more Allied POW’s than Nazi’s, and the damage was quickly repaired.
Neil Hayes. Yes. Bomber Harris took all the credit for the raid (although being entirely against it originally) and then failed to bomb the dams during their rebuilding. Doesn’t diminish the efforts and skill of 617. Average age, 21.
It’s amazing to see a film with more than one real lancasters in it, this movie would have been impossible a few years later
The planes used in the picture went for scrap soon afterwards.
Thankyou Scampton
We have crew member live calgary alberta was on that raid a full page calgary herald newspaper expose the raid and experience of bombing.this people on this country still talk about it lot courage and will for this period.
It must have been a sobering thought that as you thundered down the Runway to take off, it might be the last time that you see your home soil. Brave Men indeed.
@James Henderson You need professional help pal.
@James Henderson Go to bed with no supper,lad.
Sadly this Britain no longer exists.
As Aristotle said: 'It does not matter, they are all dust now.' I disagree with him, by the way.
One where we were bombed every night? Thank God.
@@TroyConvers5000 Sounds like another boomer who thinks they were Silent Generation
And one of the reasons why is that too many refugees were shoved over to the UK. One of the reasons for Brexit
It could if people reclaim their country
They fought for our beautiful britain,,let's keep fighting for her in honour of those who have fallen or they will have died in vain...
They fought so the Zionist traitor Churchill could pay off his vast debts.
Ww2 was the greatest time in human history which produced exceptional courage and heroism which is lacking in people in todays day and age, times have changed since the 1940s
Lancaster ; , a Beautiful Monster !
Love the roar of those Merlins👏
The whole dambusters mission is like fiction, out of a movie, but they actually really did it, with great British engineering and brave as fck crews👏👌🙌
Amazing how Robert Shaw went from being an RAF Sergeant in 1943 to a full blown German Colonel by 1945.
You Know in Movie the Dog That Got Run Over By a Hit & Run Driver Real Name was Not Digger But N -Word. Other Than That Great War Movie.
Shame because Shaw had been demoted from squadron leader in 1940!
@@richardclarke3924 I know. Then he gets eaten by a shark in the 1970's.
@@HowardHalifax So, like yourself, I'd love to know how he got from the RAF in 43 to being a seaman on the USS Indianapolis in 1945, via the German thing in Battle of the Bulge. I think he had some serious questions to answer, myself. And to end up as a SMERSH hitman in the '60s.... What???
Didn't he blow up a Jerry dam in Yugoslavia as well? My word, he got around. And they talk about PTSD...
Not a lot know this but, Richard Todd was a war hero in his own right. He was a Lt at the glider landing at pegasus Bridge
He then reenacted that same raid in the film the longest day
In the Longest Day, Richard Todd was actually playing the part of his Commanding Officer on the day....
Great to see a young Robert Shaw pre-Quint
Little bit of info.: Lancasters did not have co-pilots. The person next to the pilot was standing up in the passageway to the bomb-aimer’s compartment
Very true, however the flight engineer had a basic enough knowledge of the flight controls to take over if the pilot was incapacitated.
Lancasters often had a 'second pilot' who was learning how to conduct a raid as captain of his crew; he sat on a 'rumble seat' which was two arms folded from the right-hand side of the cockpit, and supported him above the lower access to the bomb-aimer's position in the nose.
This practise was stopped later as two pilots lost per aircraft was considered wasteful.
The Flight Engineer sat or stood in this position, or slightly further back, as the engineering panel was further back on the right-hand side.
The Navigator was on the left-hand side at a table behind the pilot, using maps, and some radio gear to plot their course.
The Greatest Generation . Proud to be the son of one of them .
They mae Europe Communist and Islamic.
Just checked his log book and I’m now sure that there were three Lancasters, and various Lincoln’s.
Yes, all the parked aircraft around the field were Lincolns.
RAF so brave, they so loved England! God bless the RAF!