It would then sink before detonating, creating a breach in the dam wall. It was Barnes Wallis who hit upon the idea of ‘bouncing’ a bomb over the torpedo nets.Īfter experimenting with marbles and a water tank, he proposed his idea: a specially designed bomb that would spin as it was released, causing it to skip along the water, over the defences until it met the dam wall. In theory, they could be breached by charges placed against the dam walls under the water, but the Germans had already installed heavy torpedo nets to guard against a submerged attack. They were well-defended and hard to hit with traditional bombing methods. The dams were incredibly difficult to attack. The dams in the Ruhr Valley – the industrial heartland of Germany – had long been viewed as important strategic targets for hydroelectric power, steel works, factories and for providing water to the industrial cities of the Ruhr. Wallis initially worked for Vickers, designing airships, aircraft, and bombs during the war. The Dambusters raid was the brainchild of engineer and inventor Barnes Wallis. 80 years on, The Dambusters raid is remembered as one of the most audacious, innovative, and courageous operations of the war. Their targets were three dams in the industrial heart of Germany. On the night of the 16th May 1943, 19 Lancaster bombers took off from Lincolnshire.
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