Dam Busters - but lower!

[hurricanemk1c 195]

Hi all

I've had this one for a while now but I've just uploaded it onto Photobucket. So here we are, over water at 28.3 ft MSL!!!

Kieran

[ddavid 149]

Have you seen John Sweetman's book on the Dam Busters, Kieran? There's a bit in it about low level flying:

On 28 March, with Young and Hopgood on board, Gibson trailed a length of chain beneath his aircraft (possibly inspired by Finch Noyes's proposal in connection with his 1941 sceme) over Derwent Water near Sheffield to achieve the required height of 150 feet. He almost consigned tham all to a watery grave. It was clear that getting and keeping that height in a Lancaster at night would be tricky

You probably remember the bit in the film where Gibson goes to the Windmill theatre and gets the idea of using spot-lights to get the height right. Well, the solution was down to a boffin called Benjamin Lockspeiser after he -

recalled that in 1942 Coastal Command had briefly and unsuccessfully used two spotlights fitted under the wings of its Hudson patrol aircraft to assist in the detection and attacking of U-boats caught on the surface.

Lockspeiser was happy to have his part in the raid "falsely attributed to Gibson (in the film), whom he considered a very brave man".

Well, now you know, eh? And, yes, Joe, I have a thing about dams....!!

Cheers - Dai. :eyebrow:

[mutley 4,498]

Who hasn't Dai, who hasn't!

Nice shot Kieran not the sort of situation to have a big sneeze!

Cheers

[hurricanemk1c 195]

Nope, I knew it wasn't a good time to sneeze or cough!!!!

Dai, I haven't heard of John Sweetmans book, but I do remember the bit out of the Dam Busters film. I have, though, Bomber Boys, which covers the Dam Busters in a whole chapter!

Kieran