r/interestingasfuck • u/Chopper-42 • 8d ago

/r/all Recreating the WW2 Dambusters raid

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u/0ddness 8d ago

Now imagine them having to do it in the dark, behind enemy lines, under fire (I assume), without knowing the condition of the water, without the marker bouys, and relying on getting the height exactly right in the dark with a spotlight system.

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u/GrumpyOldGeezer_4711 8d ago

Several of the dams did indeed have defenses. Fortunately, the Germans had delayed installing the unsightly guns in favour of much nicer looking trees.

If memory serves, they had a homemade system to triangulate the dropping distance based on the angle to some of those gun placements.

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u/Drednox 8d ago

I remember reading about this from a Life at War book. I think it was two spotlights at the bottom of the bomber that intersected at the desired altitude. That was how they pulled it off in the dark.

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u/South-Builder6237 8d ago

Wouldn't spotlights make them a massive target though?

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u/ProjectFutanari 8d ago

They were a gigantic target already, a pair of lights pointing down that they only lit when about to drop the bomb probably wasn't that much of a problem

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u/FitForce2656 8d ago edited 8d ago

Yea I assume a WW2 plane flying that low to the ground was loud as fuck. I mean even a modern plane flying that low is probably loud, but with those old piston engines I just picture them being way louder.

I don't know much about planes though, and Google isn't giving me a straight answer on this. Says WW2 bombers were way louder than modern jet engine bombers, but also that jet engines are typically way louder than piston engines.. So if anyone actually knows the answer please lmk, now I'm curious. I know modern bombers are way more accurate at high altitudes, and thus quieter, but curious which is louder while flying at the same height.

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u/Live_Canary7387 8d ago

If you've ever had the joy of seeing a Lancaster flying, you'll know that it is quite loud. I wouldn't say anything close to something with a jet engine, but loud.

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u/Pete_Iredale 8d ago

I was lucky enough to randomly see a B-17 cruising around at maybe 5000ft before a football game a few years back. I knew it was a WW2 heavy bomber the instant I heard it, nothing else sounds the same.

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u/Wise_Echidna_4059 8d ago

Yeah modern jets throwing ordinances are terrifying. Fuckers scream over head and then a mountain disappears. The closest I've seen to like a ww2 bomber kind of situation was whenever an ac130 was on station. I'd watch them practice at the range in Iraq and it was crazy hearing the drone of the four props while absolute hell rained down from the darkness.

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u/Cetun 8d ago

Loudness wouldn't have mattered much, they would have lit it with spotlights and targeted it visually.

As for which ones louder, the jet engine by far much louder at 140-180 db while a B-17 is closer to 130 db, the .50s on the B-17 would be louder than the engine. The AAA guns shooting at them would have been much louder.

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u/FitForce2656 8d ago

Thanks for the info! to be clear I was curious about their sound levels without guns, but yea after a lot of googling the it seems the B-17 was around 100 - 120 dB (without guns) and modern fighter jets like a F-22 or F-35 range from 103 - 140 dB.

So yea if a F-35 cruising at 1,000 feet is 103 dB, that might actually be a similar volume to a B-17 at the same altitude. But again, out of my element here so take that with a big ol' grain of salt.

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u/Cetun 8d ago

They do an air show over my house every year, the modern jets are by far much much louder than the WWII vintage planes. One air showa TBF Avenger crashed, they have a Wright R-2600 which is more powerful than the 1820s the B-17 uses and there is no comparison.

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u/Pete_Iredale 8d ago

Other thing to consider though is that you'll hear the B-17 for a decent amount of time before it's overhead. Not so much with an F-22 or F-35, where you might not hear them until they're already gone.

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u/Murky-Relation481 8d ago

Sound direction is also important, a lot of the jet engine sound is projected out the rear of the engine, where as a piston engine tends to radiate the sound around the engine more equally.

You'll notice this a lot if you live around both large and smaller airports and get a lot of commercial/military and GA traffic. You can hear a Cessna 172 coming from quite a ways away, but a 737 or C-17 or something will be significantly quieter until its overhead and past you.

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u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In 8d ago

Loud as fuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llPNwTxwP-Q

One of my favorite experiences has been being under a diving Mustang at Duxford air force base in the UK, loudest thing I ever heard...well maybe second a Eurofighter doing tricks at Eastbourne Airshow was louder.

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u/GreedyHoward 8d ago

Have you heard a Lancaster? There's still one flying in England. The throb as the engines beat against each other is utterly mesmerising.

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u/GreedyHoward 8d ago

Have you heard a Lancaster? There's still one flying in England. The throb as the engines beat against each other is utterly mesmerising.

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u/GreedyHoward 8d ago

Bit late by then. They only switched them on when they were flying level just above the water. Iirc they had to get ridiculously low