Cambridge scientists recreate daring World War Two raid.

[Christel]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -raid.html

Dambusters: Building The Bouncing Bomb will be screened on Channel 4 at 8pm on Monday.

[Sandgroper]

Dr Hugh Hunt, who led the team, said: “There's no massive mystery in a theoretical sense but the fact that no one has been able to repeat the mission meant that there was no one alive who knew whether it was difficult, easy, or indeed possible.

I would have thought with the losses and the calibre of the crews that the mission was difficult and the fact they were able to do it - it was possible!

I know the records were lost in the 60's, but it seems to me this Dr had too much time on his hands to be recreating something already done. As this was done for scientific reasons, what has he learnt? That Barnes Wallace was even more brillant than he gets credit for. That the crews were even more couragous and skilled than the vast majority of people?

[ovenpaa]

I know the records were lost in the 60's, but it seems to me this Dr had too much time on his hands to be recreating something already done. As this was done for scientific reasons, what has he learnt? That Barnes Wallace was even more brillant than he gets credit for. That the crews were even more couragous and skilled than the vast majority of people?

I am currently reading "Men of Air - The doomed Youth of Bomber Command" by Kevin Wilson which details the Berlin raids onwards during the Winter of 1944.

The word courageous barely does them justice, I doubt words ever will. Brave lads.

[Blackstuff]

Did they get it working in the end? I had to go out while they were having trouble getting the practice bomb to disengage cleanly from the drop gear

[Steve]

Did they get it working in the end? I had to go out while they were having trouble getting the practice bomb to disengage cleanly from the drop gear

Yep,they got it working perfectly even with fully weighted 'bombs'.

End of the trial,the bomb was dropped,it bounced like it should and hit the dam very hard-enough to almost smash through it.Afterwards they lowered an amount of explosive inside a drum underwater to show how water pressure exagerates explosions and the dam was blown to pieces.

Great idea to recreate the raid in my opinion and proves the brilliance of Barnes Wallace.

[Chuck]

know the records were lost in the 60's, but it seems to me this Dr had too much time on his hands to be recreating something already done. As this was done for scientific reasons, what has he learnt? That Barnes Wallace was even more brillant than he gets credit for. That the crews were even more couragous and skilled than the vast majority of people?

YES, but also that in this day and age of computers etc it is a task that still demands brain power...